From Recovery to Helping Others Grow: Our Story in the Courier Journal

November 5, 2026 · News & Reflections

In 2013, I walked into treatment with a trash bag of clothes and very little hope for my future. A decade later, I returned to that same place with a doctorate and a program designed to help others see the strengths within themselves.

Today, Courier Journal reporter Maggie Menderski shares that journey in her feature, “From rehab to doctorate, how one Kentucky man is helping others heal.”

For Amanda and me, this is an opportunity to share something that has shaped both our lives and the work we do through Start from Strength: the belief that people are more than their circumstances, and that meaningful growth can begin with strengths they already possess.

Where the work began

During my own recovery, I met people whose resilience, creativity, compassion, and determination were remarkable. Many struggled to recognize those qualities in themselves. I understood that struggle. When your life has been defined by addiction and its consequences, it can be difficult to imagine what else might be true about you.

People who recognized something more in me helped me begin to see myself differently. That experience eventually became a question I wanted to study: What becomes possible when we help people recognize and develop the strengths already within them?

That question continues to guide the Trait-Based Model.

Understanding strengths under pressure

A strength does not always show up in a helpful way. Determination can become compulsion. Empathy can become so entangled with another person’s needs that we lose sight of our own. Recognizing a strength is the beginning of the work; learning to express it with awareness and balance takes practice.

Through reflection, conversation, and everyday application, people can begin to understand those patterns and make more intentional choices. Accountability remains part of that process. So does the possibility of developing an identity that extends beyond past behavior.

Start from Strength brings this developmental work into schools, recovery organizations, and justice settings through the Trait-Based Model. The environments differ, but the question remains relevant: What is already strong within this person, and how can we help them develop it?

Carrying the work forward

I’m grateful to Maggie for taking the time to learn about this journey and to the Courier Journal for sharing it. I’m also grateful to the people and organizations who have helped bring this work into their communities.

What began as a belief that people are more than their circumstances has grown into a mission that continues to shape our lives.

My hope is that this story helps someone see a little more possibility in themselves, in someone they love, or in the people they serve.

Read Maggie Menderski’s feature in the Courier Journal
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If you’d like to explore a staff workshop or bringing Start from Strength into your organization, contact [email protected]. We’d welcome a conversation about your community and what you hope to build.

Jason Roop, PhD