Who We Are
Inner Direction Recovery is the Mother/Daughter team of Mary Gordon and Peggy McGillicuddy. With extensive experience in family recovery from addiction, Mary and Peggy work together to provide clients with a personalized experience that emphasizes strengths and nurtures the spirit.
Inner Direction Recovery provides counseling, group work and coaching services that are focused on building resilience. Our hope is to provide all family members with an opportunity to be part of a healing recovery process.
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In addition to individual and family work, Inner Direction Recovery provides consultation, education, retreat facilitation and workshops for professionals and organizations. We are based in Southern California and the Greater Toronto Area, but services can be provided via on-line video to any location. Please review our professional experience and explore what we have to offer.
Mary Gordon, MA, LAADC, ICAADC
Counselor, Coach and Dance/Movement Practitioner
Mary McGraw Gordon is a Licensed Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor, an Internationally Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counsellor and a skilled Dance/Movement Facilitator. Mary's focus is on recovery for all family members and she has completed expert training at the Caron Foundation using the Weigschedier-Cruise Model of Adult Children of Alcoholics therapy. She works with professionals and organizations on developing programs focused on family healing from addiction. In her work with recovering people, Mary brings a unique and engaging style that builds on strength and honors each individual's unique path.
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Mary's diverse experience in the addiction treatment field spans over three decades. She began her professional life in rural Maine, maintaining a private practice while providing consultation, workshops and public education for the state. After a move across the country, Mary continued her career at the world-renowned Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, CA. Here she worked as a counselor, marketer, and most recently as the Director of their critically acclaimed Family and Outpatient Program. In this role, Mary expanded and developed programs, focusing on resiliency and recovery.
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Mary retired in 2015 and established Inner Direction Recovery which
allowed her to broaden her scope of practice. She integrates her vast professional work in the addiction field with her broad knowledge of dance/movement therapeutic modalities. As a counselor, facilitator and educator, Mary continues bringing her passion for the work to organizations, groups and individuals.
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Mary provides counseling and coaching to a variety of clients, including family members who have a loved one struggling with substance use, individuals embarking on a sobriety journey, and people who need to re-invigorate their approach to their own wellness. She also offers consulting and program facilitation for organizations who wish to enhance their services to families impacted by addiction.
Mary's facilitation style provides a unique experience that empowers participants.
Her work with individuals and families is personalized and she
integrates the body, mind and spiritual aspects of the recovery journey.
Peggy McGillicuddy, MEd, CTSS
Educator and Consultant
Peggy McGillicuddy has worked in the field of mental health/addiction for over 20 years. With a focus on program development and service delivery, Peggy brings both clinical and administrative skills to Inner Direction Recovery.
Peggy began her professional career in Maine, working in residential treatment with teenagers/young adults struggling with mental health, addiction and housing issues. A move across country in 2000 brought her to Southern California, where she began working for the Betty Ford Center. After gaining experience as an Admissions and Children's Counselor, she eventually took on the role of managing the day-to-day operations of the acclaimed Betty Ford Children’s Program in Rancho Mirage. Along with her team, she provided support and education to young children impacted by parental addiction, providing four-day intensive group programs 3-4 times monthly. She had the privilege of working with hundreds of kids and their families from across the Coachella Valley and North America as they embarked on their own personal journeys of recovery.
Following a move to Ontario, Canada in 2009, Peggy continued this work for the Betty Ford Center as a consultant and trainer for the Children's Program Training Academy. In this capacity, she traveled to other organizations as they implemented their own programs for children. She provided hands-on training on group facilitation and consultation on new program development. In her local area, Peggy worked at the Lighthouse for Grieving Children, facilitating grief support groups for children experiencing the death of a loved one.
In 2013 Peggy co-founded Heartache2Hope, a non-profit organization in the Toronto area that provides grief support to people impacted by suicide loss. She worked with the organization for 5 years, and with a team of committed professionals, developed programs, provided group facilitation and delivered training on grief and traumatic bereavement. Heartache2Hope continues to thrive and provides much-needed grief support to people who have experienced a death due to suicide.
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Peggy's belief is that recovery from addiction should include all family members, even the youngest. Her approach emphasizes the importance of a strength-based recovery process for kids. She began providing support to Inner Direction Recovery in 2018. Her professional experience complements that of her mother, Mary Gordon.
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In addition to administrative assistance, Peggy provides consultation and education on grief issues, group process delivery and workshop design for Inner Direction Recovery.
Peggy holds an MEd in Adult Education and Community Development, a Certificate in Grief and Bereavement Education from the University of Toronto, and is a Certified Trauma Support Specialist (CTSS).