It took a DUI arrest more than a decade ago for Drew Lindsell to find his calling as a substance abuse counselor.
After completing treatment, he earned a master’s degree in mental health counseling and certification by the National Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors and now has 14 years of experience as a counselor.
Almost six months ago, he and Laura Lewis opened Battle Ground’s only drug and alcohol treatment center, and in that time, Anchor Point Counseling Center is growing steadily.
The faith-based center also offers domestic violence counseling.
Lewis has a degree in human services and is a certified chemical dependency professional with eight years of experience.
“Some people seem to be into punishing addicts, we’re here to support them,” Lindsell said. “We want people to be glad they came here.”
Since March, Anchor Point has completed 90 drug and alcohol evaluations (required by the Clark County’s court system for persons arrested for any drug- or alcohol-related charges) and are gaining an average of two clients per week, Lindsell said.
The court system provides offenders with a list of treatment centers in the county. Anchor Point has two advantages: The list is alphabetical, so it is positioned first on the substance-abuse treatment list and second on the domestic violence counseling list; and it is the only facility in the Battle Ground area.
Of the evaluations, an average of one in four enters into therapy at the clinic, one in four attends a one-day alcohol information education class and the other two go somewhere else.
Lindsell estimates the clinic has experienced 30 percent growth in clients, and revenue has grown 33 percent per month.
The counselors invested about $8,000 of their own money and obtained a $20,000 line of credit to open Anchor Point. The partners made their first profit in July.
Lindsell and Lewis worked together at Vancouver-based Lifeline Connections before deciding to open their own clinic.
They teamed up with Jan Harte at the Washington State University Small Business Development Center to develop a business plan, and Lindsell credits much of the center’s success to her help.
“Jan really motivated us,” he said. “Sometimes it’s hard to teach counselors to be business people, but we’re hitting our numbers.”
Lindsell said he would like to see the clinic grow slowly, perhaps adding a youth program and expanding the domestic violence and women’s anger management programs.
Anchor Point Counseling Center
Drew Lindsell and Laura Lewis, owners
1315 S.E. Grace Ave. Suite 103 in Battle Ground
www.anchorpointcounseling.com
