About Jeff Jay and Debra Jay
Jeff Jay, BSc, CADC, CIP, is a clinical interventionist and addiction specialist. He has been guiding families into recovery for more than 30 years. His work has appeared on CNN, the Jane Pauley Show, PBS, Forbes Online, and many professional journals.
Jeff is the coauthor (with Debra Jay) of the best-selling book Love First: A Family’s Guide to Intervention, (3rd edition, 2021, Hazelden). His recovery memoir from Hazelden is Navigating Grace, a solo voyage of survival and redemption. He is also the co-author of At Wit’s End: What You Need to Know When a Loved One Is Diagnosed with Addiction and Mental Illness, (with Jerry Boriskin Ph.D., Hazelden).
Jeff Jay is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, and a certified alcohol and drug counselor, and a certified intervention professional (CIP). Jeff currently serves as a board member of the Association of Intervention Specialists; the editorial board of Human Development magazine; and on the advisory board of Jefferson House, in Detroit, MI. He has previously served as president of the Terry McGovern Foundation in Washington, DC, and on the board of directors of the Michigan Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors, Dawn Farm Treatment Center, and the Employee Assistance Professionals Association of Greater Detroit.
He heads a national private practice that provides intervention and recovery mentoring services. He served as a clinician with Hazelden and also Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Center. His personal recovery dates from October 4, 1981.
Read Jeff Jay’s articles on intervention
“I am passionate about intervention for a very simple reason,” says Jeff. “Intervention saved my life.”
Debra Jay, MA, is a noted author, lecturer, and addiction specialist with a focus on the entire family system. Over three seasons, she appeared frequently on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She also appeared on Oprah After the Show and The Dr. Oz Show.
Debra is the author of It Takes a Family: Creating Lasting Sobriety, Togetherness, and Happiness, 2nd edition, (Hazelden Publishing, 2014, 2021), the ground-breaking book on Structured Family Recovery®. She is also the author of No More Letting Go: The Spirituality of Taking Action Against Alcoholism and Drug Addiction (Bantam, 2006)). She is co-author of Love First: A Family’s Guide to Intervention, 3rd edition (Hazelden Publishing, 2000, 2008. 2021),and Aging and Addiction (Hazelden Publishing, 2002).
Debra worked for the Hazelden Foundation as an inpatient addiction counselor on both men’s and women’s units in primary care. She facilitated the family program and worked in the extended care, aftercare, and outpatient programs. She designed an outpatient family program. She also supervised the women’s unit and was coordinator for the Older Adult Track. She has worked as a clinical interventionist and designs professional trainings for clinical interventionists and Structured Family Recovery counselors.
She was previously a guest lecturer at Wayne State University, over a period of 14 years, for graduate-level studies on substance abuse. She has served on the Care Continuum Board of Ascension St. John Hospital. She was honored at the 54th Annual Detroit Bishop’s Dinner and received the Sister Letitia Close Award, which recognized her efforts in helping women affected by the disease of addiction. Debra Jay has also served on the boards of Dawn Farm and Brighton Hospital.
Debra Jay is a nationally recognized public speaker and has been writing a newspaper advice column on addiction and the family since 1996. She is a graduate of The Ohio State University, with a focus on psychology. She holds a Master’s Degree with a focus on multifamily group programming in the addiction field. She also completed the Hazelden Addiction Professional Training at Hanley-Hazelden, a 14-month program, followed by a three-month internship.
