(318) 828-1645 4801 Line Avenue. Pierremont Mall

Terri Schaffner of Active Recovery in Shreveport is a true testament to the power of the words “Change your thinking, change your life” – the motto for her counseling business. “I feel like I’m redeeming some of the things I may have done in my past that weren’t so great.” she says. “After 23 years of making unwise choices, I’ve come a long way from where I was”.

Schaffner became a Licensed Addiction Counselor (LAC) after receiving a Masters degree from Louisiana Tech University in 2010. When the center she was working at closed down, it presented her with a new obstacle. “I was at Pines/ Centerpoint when it shut down in 2012, and had to get on unemployment,” Schaffner said. “My dream had always been to be self-employed by the age of 50, and so I decided to start my own private practice. It took about 9 months of barricades and red tape, but I was able to open Active Recovery on May 1, 2013 in an awesome facility on Jordan.”

Active Recovery offers counseling services for adults and youth, as well as classes in anger management, parenting skills, conflict resolution, self-esteem workshops, and mainstay - an intensive outpatient addiction program. “It’s a God thing, it’s clearly always been a God thing.” she says. “We are not a 12-step program, but we are a spiritual program, but it’s kind of an alternative to 12-step. We have 10 core concepts that we teach on, and work on changing thinking errors. ‘Change your thinking, change your life’ is our motto, and I really just think it starts between your ears. It’s not so much about just substance abuse or addiction, it’s more about changing your mindset and lifestyle in general. Keeping a more positive perception.”

Schaffner knows from experience, after having turned her life around, as she has been clean from meth herself since 2001. “Despite all the negatives in my life, I was able to turn things around and take all those negatives and turn them into a positive. A lot of my clients look to the fact that I’ve ‘been there, done that’” and pulled myself out of it. If I can do it, maybe they can, too. That gives them hope.” she says.

A passion for helping people brought Schaffner to her calling. “I love the Individual sessions, and when someone comes in completely broken and leaves feeling whole…. We offer a great support system as well. I also love watching a good, working group that’s fully meshing…. that’s golden to me.”

It is a family affair, as Schaffner’s daughter, Rachel Barnhouse, is the Executive Administrator for Active Recovery. “I really enjoy working with my daughter!” she says. In addition, Angie Owen works with the group as what Schaffner calls her “Office Manager Extraordinaire” She also has two counselors that work at Active Recovery on a part-time basis.

Along with her daughter, she has a son, Dakota, and two grandchildren. Her spare time is filled with reading, gardening and riding her motorcycle. “I have a 2005 Triumph motorcycle, and I love the “wind therapy.” My husband Paul and I go riding together a lot. On Sundays, we go to Open Road Fellowship in Haughton, which is awesome.” she says.

Schaffner made her way to where she is on a ride with more than a few twists and turns, but because of her experience, she has a lot to offer to her clients. “I think because I have been down the road before, people can identify more with me and know there is no judgment. I had so many obstacles I had to jump over to get here. I persevered, and prayed about it, and here we are.”