Why choose me to help you?

I’ve privately helped dozens of people reduce or eliminate daily opioid use. I have 8 years of volunteer experience supporting people with addiction and over 30 years of lived experience with opioids and recovery.

Cycling defined my early life. At 18 I was hit by a delivery van. At 25 I was struck from behind, left temporarily paralyzed with C5–C7 damage, and spent five years relearning how to walk and ride. I returned to amateur racing and built a new career in IT. At 35, I was hit again—knocked down and run over in a second major crash.

Those years taught me how quickly pain, medication, and judgment from others collide. People assume you “shouldn’t need help” if you’re strong enough. I learned the opposite: anyone can end up relying on medication just to function, and no one deserves shame for surviving.

Opioid use (prescribed or not), often starts as normal self-medication for real pain or stress. You’re not weak, broken, or alone. You just need a workable plan to take your life back.

My approach is confidential and non-judgmental. I work with people in demanding roles who need stability, privacy, and a realistic path off daily opioids. Some reduce to safer long-acting medication; others taper to zero. The goal is the same: regain control without chaos.

I’m not a doctor: I’m a peer who’s lived it and understands the pressure, the fear of exposure, and the need for discretion. My only job is to help you stabilize and move forward quickly and safely.

Continuing to learn: I have completed non-credit training in opioid addiction support, including the UBC CPD Provincial Opioid Addiction Treatment Support Program and the Alison Diploma in Addictions, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Treatment.

I work for you alone.

Private. Confidential. No reporting. No exposure.

If you want change, I can help you rebuild a life with clarity, energy, and control again. 

Gerald Kichok

Addiction Peer Counsellor — Beat Addiction Now