Consultant

I met David Gust in 1980, when I became Director of the addiction program at Total Health Medical Center Oakland, which now operates as Thunder Road, a program for adolescents. As I surveyed the many needs of the program at that time, the brightest spot in the facility was the youngest staff member, David, who was already a seasoned and highly proficient counselor. I relied heavily on David's expertise and his total commitment to his work in upgrading the program to new standards. He was always a joy as a colleague, then and ever since. I moved on to another position in 1981 and while we never worked directly with each other after that, we stayed in touch professionally and have enjoyed a long and trusting relationship of referral to each other's programs. It has been my delight to follow his outstanding career, read his books and to know that if I referred a client to David or to his organization, they would receive the finest attention. When he referred a client to Mountain Vista Farm, where I retired as Executive Director in 2017, he followed his client's progress carefully. (more…)

I am a clinical psychologist practicing in the Sacramento area for 30 years. I have a specialty in chemical dependency issues and strong ties to the addiction treatment/recovery community. David Gust is a leader and innovator in this field. I have had many opportunities to refer, collaborate, and consult with him. He has extensive knowledge and experience in the treatment of adolescent and adult chemical dependency. He developed a treatment and training program that today is a model in the community. He has superb Clinical Skills. He is dedicated to his clients and always adheres to the highest ethical standards. His reputation in the community is that of a trusted leader and mentor.

I have known David since February 28, 1978, when we were both in Counselor Training in the Hazelden Foundation in Minnesota. I have nothing but the highest regard for him. He was the youngest in our class, but handled himself in a professional and Mature manner. Over the years, I have been impressed with his accomplishments in the field, including his work with adolescents. As you know, there is a desperate need for adolescent treatment in the State of California; he not only worked directly with adolescents but created trainings for others in the field to help them work with this population.  I visited his offices when I was the Director of the Department of Alcohol & Drug Programs and was pleased at the quality of services he offered. 

David is a pioneer in the development of outpatient treatment for adolescent and young adult chemical dependency. I have also had the opportunity to experience first hand his skills as a trainer. In my view David is very passionate regards to providing the highest quality of care for young people.

If you are blessed to be able to work with David, know you are working with one of the legends in this field. David has incredible skills and knowledge in the matter of healing and growing beyond addiction and into a life worth living!  David also is one of the few counselors that understands the connection between diet and sobriety. It matters! 

David Gust was truly a pioneer. I remember specifically when he walked into my laboratory (Drug Detection Laboratories, Inc) in the early part of 1986 and asked if we could design a drug testing protocol for testing adolescents with addiction problems. He explained that he needed a test to be specific but also to be capable of producing a reliable report when a specific drug (or alcohol) was not there. This was in contrast to typical drug testing procedures at the time, which were focused on identifying the drug confidently but not concerned about false negatives. We designed a specific protocol under David Gust’s suggestions, which was focused on (more…)

I have asked David to speak to physician groups where he has been very effective and well-received. I am very pleased that he is continuing to offer consultation to individuals and families seeking understanding and hope regarding diagnosis, and to professionals and institutions seeking practical, meaningful, effective treatment for substance use issues.

I have known David for over thirty years. When I began my private practice I immediately was confronted with the terrible burden of drug and alcohol related problems for my patients and their families. As I engaged the battle in our community David and I were providentially connected and he has continued to be my first line of intervention for these young men and women and their families. I have received outstanding feedback from all. I give him my highest possible recommendation and hope he will continue to fight the good fight for years to come. His wisdom from the trenches is a great resource.

Through my own experiences as a parent, I was able to connect with other parents, currently experiencing these very issues. The depth of the pain my family endured, helped me connect to families/parents. David was extremely helpful and supportive, particularly in ensuring my statistics and data were accurate and current. This support included, along with learning about the substance abuse problem, preparatory time for the many presentations I made as a member of the organization’s speakers bureau. Being determined to make a difference I expanded my exposure into the substance abuse arena, by mentoring both adolescents and training parents using the Parent Project, Inc. ® model. David would lend strong support as a visiting expert for the parents, including the invaluable Q&A. In the summer of 2019, while I was on vacation in Sacramento, David and I met, he brought me up to date regarding the state of the adolescent addiction recovery field. David has spent decades helping parents and I have been thankful for his advice.

I am very happy to write a letter of recommendation for David Gust. I am a Clinical Psychologist who has an extensive practice which includes private pay clients, working as clinician /clinical director in an inpatient psychiatric hospital, and therapist in a full service federally funded family practice clinic. I have known David Gust professionally for over 30 years. Substance abuse concerns are common across all socio-economic levels and therefore have been and continue to be a primary therapeutic topic in all components of my practice. When I have had questions about substance abuse, Mr. Gust has been my first and primary professional consultant. He is without a doubt a professional and expert in all aspects in the field of substance abuse. I have always found Mr. Gust to be personable, easy to work with, and his advice and knowledge to be excellent. David Gust has my unqualified recommendation for any position in the substance abuse field and I believe he would be an outstanding asset in any such position.

I am writing this letter of recommendation for David Gust who was an amazing force to the education of a school district and many of its community members, including local public agencies. As the Coordinator of the Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Prevention Program in the late 80’s and 90’s for Yuba City Unified School District, I was responsible for implementing a district wide program to address alcohol and other drug abuse. I was extremely fortunate to discover that David had a very busy practice called New Directions in nearby Sacramento, counseling adolescents and their families dealing with these issues. He literally had written the book on these issues. As a result, I was able to contract with David to present on multiple occasions to district personnel and community members regarding alcohol and other drug abuse concerns. David’s knowledge is incredible, and what makes that even more important is that he has a gift (more…)