Recovery Through Choice

At the heart of addiction treatment lies a profound struggle: the struggle between a client’s unmet needs and the behaviors adopted to ease pain. Wholehearted.org proudly presents Recovery Through Choice: A Science-Driven Masterclass for Treating Addiction, an evidence-based professional development program designed to provide mental health and wellness professionals with transformative insights into treating addictive behaviors.

Presented by BJ Davis, PsyD, this 5-hour professionally produced video series introduces The Davis Model, an evidence-based approach that simplifies the complexities of addiction while empowering both clinicians and clients. Dr. Davis brings wisdom earned through both personal experience and professional mastery, guiding you through a model that is measurable, reproducible, and adaptable to each client’s unique needs. Rejecting the traditional view of addiction as an inherited disease or a condition of powerlessness, this masterclass frames addiction as behavior driven by unmet needs, often rooted in the desire to escape pain. Through this series, you’ll learn how to help clients reclaim their agency and take control of their recovery journey.

You Will Learn:

The Five Basic Needs driving human behavior and their role in addiction.
The Quality World concept and how clients can learn to meet their Five Basic Needs.
The Four Questions of self-evaluation and behavioral change, guiding clients toward recovery through empowerment and personal choice.
The Four Components of Good Counseling, an essential framework for mental health professionals.
The Total Behavior concept, offering clients life-changing skills and education in self-compassion, understanding, and authentic change.
How to help clients choose recovery on their own terms, free from dogmatic interventions.
Why addiction is not a matter of choice, but recovery can be.
Empowerment through Behavioral Activation as the path to lasting recovery.
Why spiritual intervention and admitting powerlessness are not prerequisites for recovery.

The Davis Model dismantles long-held misconceptions about addiction treatment by offering a flexible yet powerful framework that allows clinicians to meet clients where they are and help them rebuild their lives on their terms.

This program equips mental health professionals with tools that empower clients, enabling them to choose their recovery path and reclaim their lives in a healthy, sustainable way rooted in self-understanding.

Dr. Davis, a pioneering figure in addiction treatment, has guided thousands toward recovery and trained hundreds of professionals dedicated to the healing of their clients. His personal journey and dedication to this field serve as the foundation of this masterclass, offering you the unique opportunity to learn from a renowned expert at the top of his field.

The series is a Wholehearted Original, available exclusively at Wholehearted.org, where we produce the highest quality mental health education programs. Free from dogma, this masterclass offers a compassionate, empowering perspective on addiction and recovery.

Part One | Meet Dr. BJ Davis: The Past Can Define You or Refine You
- Recovery Through Choice: The Davis Model
- January 1, 2025
- 72 Minutes
Meet Dr. BJ Davis as he presents his core belief; addiction is a behavior driven by unmet needs and recovery is possible by addressing these needs through behavioral change. The episode sets the stage for the rest of the series, focusing on practical approaches to addiction treatment that empower both counselors and clients.
Part Two | Myth Busting: Redefining Substance Abuse, Accountability, and Treatment
- Recovery Through Choice: The Davis Model
- January 1, 2025
- 30 Minutes
In Part Two Dr. Davis dives into misconceptions surrounding substance abuse counseling and the flawed practices that have historically stigmatized individuals struggling with addiction. He critiques the punitive approaches often adopted by criminal justice systems and treatment programs, challenging the traditional notions of accountability that can harm rather than heal. Dr. Davis advocates for a more compassionate, science-based method that treats addiction with the same respect and care as other behavioral health issues, focusing on empathy over punishment. This episode encourages addiction professionals to rethink how they approach relapse, accountability, and the role of self-help in the recovery journey.
Part Three | Beyond Diagnosis: Empowerment Through Choice
- Recovery Through Choice: The Davis Model
- January 1, 2025
- 30 Minutes
Part Three is a pivotal episode, where the foundational elements of his groundbreaking approach to addiction treatment, known as the Davis Model, is outlined. Rooted in the power of personal choice, Dr. Davis challenges the traditional disease model, advocating for a perspective that views addiction as a behavior that responds to motivation and intentional change. Through engaging examples, he illustrates the significance of meeting clients where they are and empowering them to take charge of their recovery. Dr. Davis emphasizes that recovery is not about external control but about helping individuals recognize their capacity for choice. By focusing on personal agency and behavioral change, this episode equips addiction counselors with the tools to guide clients toward self-directed transformation and lasting recovery.
Part Four | Motivated Behavior: The Five Basic Needs & The Quality World
- Recovery Through Choice: The Davis Model
- January 1, 2025
- 39 Minutes
In Part Four, Dr. Davis explores the core of Choice Theory by diving into Dr. William Glasser’s concept of the Quality World and the five basic needs that drive human behavior: survival, love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun. Dr. Davis explains how these needs, shaped by our life experiences, create a unique mental blueprint – the Quality World – that influences our every choice. With clarity and insight, Dr. Davis encourages counselors to teach clients about these needs openly, empowering individuals to recognize their unmet needs and the choices they are making to meet them. By understanding what truly drives us, clients can begin to shift behaviors, redefine their motivations, and reclaim control over their lives. This session offers practical tools for guiding clients toward making healthier, more fulfilling choices, ultimately helping them replace destructive patterns with actions that meet their needs in a sustainable way.
Part Five | Guiding Change: Demonstrating Choice, Motivated Behavior, and Quality World
- Recovery Through Choice: The Davis Model
- January 1, 2025
- 21 Minutes
In Part Five Dr. Davis takes the theoretical concepts of choice, motivated behavior, and the Quality World and brings them to life through a live demonstration. By working directly with a participant, Dr. Davis shows how counselors can practically apply the Davis Model in a real-world setting. This powerful session allows addiction counselors to observe the critical moments where clients make choices that affect their lives and outcomes. Dr. Davis highlights how reframing strategies and guiding behavior towards constructive choices can dramatically improve relationships with authority figures, such as social workers, and foster better long-term recovery outcomes. Through this demonstration, counselors gain invaluable insight into helping their clients reclaim control, meet their basic needs, and build a new path to recovery.
Part Six | Total Behavior: Integrating Choice, Counseling, and Change
- Recovery Through Choice: The Davis Model
- January 1, 2025
- 15 Minutes
In Part Six, Dr. BJ Davis integrates the key elements of the Davis Model, focusing on the concept of total behavior. Building on the foundational principles of choice, motivated behavior, and the Quality World, Dr. Davis explains how all these components come together in real-world counseling. He emphasizes the importance of addressing not only thoughts and feelings but also actions, which ultimately drive meaningful change. Through this session, counselors will learn how to apply these insights in practical ways, helping clients move beyond surface-level emotions to create lasting transformation. Dr. Davis also introduces core principles of effective counseling, offering actionable tools to enhance counselors' philosophies and practices.
Part Seven | Reality Check: Aligning Expectations, Disparities, and Incentives
- Recovery Through Choice: The Davis Model
- January 1, 2025
- 23 Minutes
In Part Seven, Dr. BJ Davis unpacks the critical gap between expectations and reality in the recovery process. He explores how clients often have unrealistic expectations about recovery, which can lead to frustration and setbacks. Using practical examples, Dr. Davis emphasizes the importance of aligning expectations with realistic outcomes and the power of using incentives and pay-offs as motivational tools. He introduces the concept of “Living Between The Fives," to help understand the extreme range of stimulation between drug using and everyday life. Dr. Davis shows how to shift away from unhealthy highs and lows towards balanced and sustainable change. By understanding total behavior and learning to manage their own choices, clients can navigate recovery with greater clarity and resilience, ultimately building a healthier, more fulfilling life. This episode provides valuable tools for counselors to guide clients through the ups and downs of recovery while keeping their expectations grounded in reality.
Part Eight | Mastering Recovery: Identifying The Compelling ‘Why’, The Four Questions, and Healing from Post-Acute Withdrawal Symptoms (P.A.W.S.)
- Recovery Through Choice: The Davis Model
- January 1, 2025
- 45 Minutes
In Part Eight, Dr. Davis introduces three critical concepts in the journey to recovery and personal empowerment: A client’s Compelling ‘Why’, The Four Questions of Behavior Modification, and Post-Acute Withdrawal Symptoms (PAWS). Dr. Davis guides viewers through the process of using the Four Questions to help clients explore their motivations and develop strategies for long-term behavioral change. By asking clients what they want, what they are currently doing, whether their approach is working, and what they are willing to do differently, counselors can empower them to make conscious choices that promote lasting recovery. Dr. Davis also provides a deep dive into PAWS, explaining how these symptoms can impact the recovery process and how to manage them effectively. He emphasizes the importance of staying busy and filling one's "Quality World" with positive activities to mitigate cravings and prevent relapse. This session equips addiction counselors with the tools to guide their clients through both the psychological and physiological challenges of early recovery, helping them regain control of their lives and build a healthier future.
Part Nine | Counseling That Works: Applying the Davis Model for Lasting Change
- Recovery Through Choice: The Davis Model
- January 1, 2025
- 36 Minutes
In the final episode, Dr. Davis brings together the essential elements of effective counseling, offering a comprehensive guide to integrating the Davis Model into practice. He outlines the four critical components that any successful treatment must include: education, individualized treatment, skill development, and practical application. Dr. Davis also introduces SAMIC, an actionable framework for creating treatment plans that are Simple, Attainable, Measurable, Immediate, and Committed, designed to help counselors empower their clients in recovery. By emphasizing the importance of skill-building, self-evaluation, and continuous practice, this episode equips addiction counselors with the tools to promote lasting change and guide clients through real-world challenges, ensuring they leave with actionable strategies to implement immediately.