✦ MARC ✦
Testimonials From Families, Alumni, & Professionals
Evidence of Lives Changed and Stories Rewritten
Welcome To The MARC Recovery Community
Whether this is your first time engaging with us or if you’re an alumni with a story to share, we’re so glad you’re here! We hope the stories of transformation and growth you see here inspire you to seek help or be a support for others who need it.
MARC Alumni Testimonials
MARC has changed my life forever and will continue to shape my life forever. My journey began in Men’s Phase I, then Men’s Phase II at Caron, PA before arriving at my new home in Baltimore. This program is tough and intense. So is addiction, therefore, recovery. Try to learn to trust again while also learning how to stand up for yourself and what you believe in. MARC is a very special place to me and the treatment team is abundant with seasoned professionals. Go and get your money’s worth. Take advantage of the resources surrounding you. This program can save your life if you allow it to.
A.O.
MARC has forever changed my life. One thing MARC and the 12 steps has taught me is that I don’t know anything. Prior assumptions were to my detriment. Despite that, I will say this: I know no matter what happens from here, MARC has set me up in the best possible manner. You have an incredible staff. Seriously, from top to bottom. The way the clinical team is run. The way the community living is run. It’s uncanny how beautiful of a program MARC is. It is not for the faint of heart. It certainly is incredibly challenging, but it’s the safest place on earth to go through those challenges. I not only had to change in order to grow, but I had to become a completely different person. All of that is so because of what MARC offers. Because MARC gave me the tools to change. MARC gave me the ability to practice self-love; it taught how to be an adult. Like for real. Learning how to budget on was one of the best things for me. I mean, dude, I didn’t even know how to bake a damn chicken breast before coming to MARC. I had no capacity to be of service to anyone. Not anyone. But MARC, and the 12 Steps, taught me that if I can’t practice self-love, if I’m not willing to work through my trauma, and if I’m not willing to work through my resentments, then this disease we share will kill me. I no longer want that to happen. I no longer have the desire to fade off into a heroin abyss. All of this, every ounce of this, is because of the tools MARC gave me. I mean dude, MARC is what actually introduced to me AA. It’s so beautiful how the two things coincide- treatment and recovery. Alright, I won’t ramble. Seriously, from every member of my family- thank you. From someone who never felt safe in his own skin and as someone who was almost certainly going to die from this disease- thank you so fucking much for your program! Nothing but love.
Extended Care Alumnus
I came to MARC directly out of a 28-day inpatient center, into a city that I didn’t know and had never even really been to before. At 22 years old I was honestly terrified of what lay ahead for me in terms of recovery and I didn’t really have much faith or belief in myself at all. Due to this fear I was initially very defiant and resistant towards the treatment program and staff at MARC. I felt like I was being forced to stay at the facility, since I had no money and no one else who would take me in. It was safe to say I had pretty much burned every bridge by that point.
I struggled in my first couple weeks at MARC and this showed in my actions and my defiance towards staff. Despite this by the end of my first month I had begun to notice that maybe, just maybe, these people actually cared about my well-being. Maybe they actually knew what they were doing when it came to guiding my recovery. It was at this point that I began to notice myself become more open and receptive to MARC’S method of treatment and recovery. Once this small change began to happen, everything else in my life began to change in a rapid and significant way.
I got involved in an outside 12-step program and really threw myself into the therapy provided by the clinicians in treatment. I developed strong connections with other members of the community at MARC and learned to become vulnerable with these peers in ways I never had been able to with anyone ever before. Today, with almost 3 years sober, I personally believe that MARC’s methods and approaches to recovery changed my life. I am a huge believer in their program and recommend them to anyone who has been unsuccessful at staying sober through other short-term treatment programs.
David M.
I have been wrestling with alcoholism for 20 years. Over that time I have been through more than a dozen detoxes, rehabs, outpatient programs, psychiatric hospitals & recovery homes only to return to my alcoholic lifestyle within months of successful completion. Along with my family, friends and everyone else who knew me, I had lost hope in my recovery and began to except that there wasn’t anything that was going to save me from this condition. It was just a matter of time before alcoholism would take my life. Then in September 2017 I was lying in a hospital bed barely surviving alcohol withdrawal, wanting nothing besides a bottle of whiskey, when I received a call from the clinical team at Maryland Addiction Recovery Center. They asked me if I would come back.
The question running through my mind was “What are they going to do?” but what I said was yes. Why I don’t know. You see, MARC was one of the 20 pitstops that I successfully completed and yet here I was in the hospital again, barely alive and dying from alcoholism. The team at MARC made all of the arrangements for me to go from that hospital to a detox facility and then to the MARC facility. I arrived coincidentally on 9/11 beat up, broken, angry, confused, hopeless and afraid. I made it very clear that I wasn’t done drinking and they made it very clear that they weren’t giving up on me. Over the next few months MARC pushed, prodded and challenged me like no person or institution ever has. No matter what my complaint, fear, hurt or delusion of the day was they only offered me the truth and forced me to make a decision based on that truth.
The residential program at MARC really served in a powerful way to fully immerse me in a process where recovery is dealt with in every facet of my life. This program fostered an environment which forced me to face and deal with recovery physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Where the willingness came from to face the truth, fear, wreckage of my life and let go I don’t know. What I do know is that once I had it MARC was there to help me walk it out every step of the way like no place I’ve ever been. Everyone from the TA’s to the therapists to the executive team and even alumni became involved in my recovery process.
As hard as they were on me they were equally as compassionate, encouraging and supportive as I begin to change how I lived. From there I began to lean that changing how I lived had nothing to do with my circumstances or situations and had everything to do with my choices and decisions. I began to live with authentic freedom even though from the outside my circumstances may have appeared as though I lived in captivity/rehab.
It has been 10 months since I hobbled into the doors at MARC. At the age of 39 this has been the hardest year of my life without question. I am still sober and I am now starting to experience some joy and peace without whiskey for the first time in 20 years. MARC has helped me make recovery a way of life rather than a part of life. Now I continue to pass on what I’ve been given as an alumnus to the new patients arriving every month in hopes that they will find the freedom that I have found.
Michael S.
Parent and Family Testimonials
We cannot say enough about how Maryland Addiction Recovery Center (MARC) has saved our daughter’s life! She experienced treatment in several other programs in Maryland, DC, and Pennsylvania for about two years without success. Only with the expertise of MARC was she able to truly understand her addiction and the work she needed to do towards her recovery. She has now been in recovery for over 2 ½ years!
Your program really works, and not just for individuals with active addiction. Our entire family benefitted from the therapy we underwent with Lisa’s MARC therapist and the guidance we received from other MARC staff on what to do and not to do to help our daughter towards recovery. As you know, it certainly wasn’t always easy!
We believe the key to our daughter’s long-lasting success was MARC’s professional understanding of the need to commit the necessary resources (individual, group, and family therapy; sober living residence, attendance at recovery meetings, etc.) over a period of time long enough to have a lasting impact. At MARC, she soon realized that she needed to really commit to recovery with her family’s support, and her needs were not going to be met in only a month or two, that she required long-term care for her disease. With MARC’s guidance, we were able to demonstrate that we were serious about and committed to her recovery. She gradually realized this and began to have more faith in herself and became able to work with MARC staff towards her recovery. She eventually became a sponsor to other young women. Moreover, just last week she spent all day at her former high school telling her personal recovery story to 10th grade health classes, something she has done at other area high schools.
Thank you for all the work you did to help our daughter. We will always be grateful to MARC for giving us back our daughter.
Parents of MARC Alumnus
More than three years ago, our son came to us with a devastating problem and asked for our help. As parents we felt a myriad of emotions: shock, terror, sadness, anger, confusion. We knew nothing about addiction and even less about treatment options. After countless phone calls to other treatment facilities, we finally reached Sam Bierman at MARC. That was the phone call that set our son’s recovery in motion. Sam was receptive, friendly, genuine and empathetic. He immediately put our worries at ease and answered all our questions in an unhurried manner, as if he valued our son and our unique situation. From that phone call on, everything fell into place.
Our son worked extremely hard with the counselors and staff at MARC. They gave him the individual attention that was paramount to his recovery. Through treatment, he became a much more confident, strong and caring man. It was amazing to see his transformation. We fully understand and appreciate how lucky we were that he not only received the best of care, but that he was willing to make the difficult changes in his life that lead to his recovery. Our son has a very bright future ahead of him largely due to the support and attention he received during his treatment. We will forever be grateful to MARC.
Suzanne L.
After realizing our daughter had a problem with addiction, she came to us for help. She went to detox, then a 28 day treatment facility. We thought she would be cured. So many questions we all still had. What do you mean addition is a daily struggle? What do you mean addiction is a disease? How can this be? We raised her with values. She is smart, educated. She had everything life could offer our young beautiful girl. We made sure of that. We can fix her. We will take care of her. We won’t let her fail.
After sending our beautiful girl to Maryland Addiction Recovery Center for extended care, we realized this was a very necessary part of the recovery process. This was the beginning of our recovery journey. Yes, this is a family disease. When addiction affects a person in the family, everyone is in need of help.
The help our daughter got at MARC made us realize this was the best treatment facility we could have asked for. They treated her for her addiction and helped her deal with newly diagnosed co-occurring mental health issues. She was very fortunate to have a wonderfully talented team of psychiatrists, psychologists and counselors and staff. In patient living facility and groups helped keep her from isolating. She learned to be social, think independently and become her own person.
With the help of everyone at MARC she is on medication for her mental health issues and working a twelve step program that is vital to her recovery. As parents we learned from MARC the need for our daughter to be independent and let go of our co-dependency. We also learned we needed counseling because this didn’t just happen. This addiction was building for years before. Parent groups help us feel we are not alone. We have learned so much about addiction and recovery. It is a long road and without the expert advice and guidance MARC had to offer I am not sure we would be where we are now. Almost Two years in recovery and still learning. MARC is a fully staffed and educated facility that keeps working on ways to reach out and help families suffering from the disease of addiction. Our sincere gratitude to MARC and all the staff who helped us along this journey.
Tony & Kim
The staff at Maryland Addiction Recovery Center offered our family a safe and secure environment during the time that our son was a client there. Dealing with these issues was very trying and was a difficult time for us as parents. The staff at MARC was understanding, compassionate, and never made us feel judged. They took the time to talk with us and even included regular treatment sessions for my husband and me.
They made the process comforting and at a time when we felt lost as parents they were able to bring some clarity and focus. They gave us great tools that we can now use to help support our son in his recovery.
Mother of an Adolescent Client
I can confidently say that MARC saved my family.
My daughter was admitted into the Community Living Treatment program shortly after her 18th birthday. Life before MARC was a whirlwind of treatment centers, relapses and overdoses- My youngest daughter was using Fentanyl (and other drugs) and I was constantly filled with panic, dread and hopelessness. Once she was admitted to MARC, I felt like I could breathe again. She went through the Community Living, Partial, Intensive Outpatient and Outpatient treatment - she received educational and vocational services. We participated in the family programming and were able to repair our strained relationship. I was also able to work through my own issues that had been contributing to her addiction.
She graduated from high school during her treatment and when she completed treatment at MARC, she was gainfully employed and enrolled in college. She was also a completely different person than the one who had entered treatment- she made so much progress during her time.
Today she has been sober for more than 18 months- and while she did and continues to do an amazing amount of hard work to maintain her sobriety, we credit the program and staff at MARC for their work with her- and will be forever grateful for all that they continue to do.
Parents of MARC Alumnus
We are forever grateful to everyone at MARC who supported our son’s recovery. Prior to coming to MARC, our son had been in fourteen treatment programs for severe alcohol use disorder. We were desperate to find an effective treatment program and knew it was likely our son would die if we did not find the right program for him.
When we contacted MARC about their extended care program, they showed a level of care, communication, and support that was superior to any we had received in the past. The intake specialist stayed in touch with us prior to and during our trip from Pittsburgh to Towson. After we arrived at MARC, we received a warm welcome from caring, compassionate and confident staff in a professional environment that exceeded what we had experienced at other treatment centers. We felt we finally found a treatment center that would effectively oversee our son’s treatment and not rely on us to solve problems and decide what our son needed. Also, their continuum of care and Family Recovery Program were important in addressing our family’s needs.
The MARC clinicians and support staff are highly skilled and trained in various treatment modalities and can be trusted to make sound clinical decisions. Given this, we learned quickly to follow the recommendations of the clinical team even though we had some hesitation at times. For example, our son’s and our goals were for him to finish his college degree and be gainfully employed in his chosen field. When a job a Target was recommended to us and our son, it was difficult for us to accept, but it was what he needed to regain his footing in life and to begin to feel productive. It was a positive experience and what he needed to support his recovery. This experience taught us how important it was to put our egos and expectations aside to support our son’s recovery, and let MARC make decisions based on their expertise.
MARC’s extended care program provided our son with a supportive and structured living environment that helped him to reconnect with life and others, to regain his competencies and identify his strengths that were buried when he was in the throes of addiction, to re-engage in daily living activities and budgeting, manage life’s everyday challenges, and to find a job. By living with others in an extended care program and attending AA meetings, our son developed a support network that he continues to have in Towson which has been critical in supporting his long-term recovery. More importantly, MARC helped him to develop patience, perseverance, discipline, and an understanding of the importance of service and connection to others which are cornerstones of recovery.
MARC does not forget about its patients after they have completed their program. They continue to include them in MARC sponsored activities and events. This has been important in helping our son keep connections with the MARC community and the recovery community in Towson.
Our son hit many potholes on his road to recovery even while at MARC. When difficulties arose, MARC challenged him and held him accountable, and supported us. They always responded with the utmost integrity and professionalism.
Our son has worked hard to maintain his sobriety and actively takes part in AA. However, we also believe that he would not have achieved three years of sobriety without the foundation MARC helped him to build with tools and strategies he had to learn and apply, and the connections he made while at MARC. Thanks to Tara Pistorio and MARC’s Family Recovery Program, we learned new behaviors and how to support our son in more productive ways and not enable him. More importantly, MARC guided and challenged us during our most difficult moments. We highly recommend MARC as a treatment center. Because of MARC, we experienced first-hand that recovery is possible.
Parents of MARC Alumnus
9 years ago our daughter started her recovery journey after. A 28 day stay at father martin Ashley. Now just known as Ashley . During that time we learned that for Olivia she required more time at a facility that would treat her specifically in a more complete assessment. The choice was hers and she chose MARC. They were new and had a team of professionals to help us all. While at mark it was a very scary time for all of us. Not knowing exactly what was going on with her addiction and mental health. She was assigned a very nice place to live and her treatment began. Not only for her but our family. She was at MARC for approximately 6 months. The time spent there helped her grow and learn about herself. Her drs and therapists helped her find who she is and how to begin to handle her own life of PTSD. It has been 9 years and through it all we have become a strong family. Close as ever and Olivia got her masters and is now a counselor on her own. We will always be great full for this amazing place. We learned to change because if we did not she would not. MARC has continued to grow and become one of the best and most complete treatment centers. I thank them for the help in giving our family the wonderful place we are in today. It works if you trust it!
Parents of MARC Alumnus
MARC saved our family! The staff worked tirelessly to support our son as we worked together to heal. They talked, and we listened-working on and using new strategies when faced with challenges. We are so appreciative of all that they did and highly recommend MARC to anyone in need of treatment.
Parent of MARC Alumnus
The professionalism and dedication of the staff is unparalleled. Even after the end of the process of recovery of our son, the leadership is available to the family for support and consultation.
He was in MARC for near 18 months and they handle the occasional crisis with understanding and true knowledge.
Parent of MARC Alumnus
My loved one attended MARC twice and both times we were welcomed and we felt so much support from the owners and staff. A turning point for our whole family was the way MARC included the family in their recovery program. The first time one of the owners, Sam did my loved ones intake and he told me how I needed help as well, early on I knew nothing and that helped propel my husband and I to get the support we needed. They also had us meeting with our loved one’s therapist once a week and we were part of a 4 day intensive family weekend and the work we did with the therapists and other families and our loved one was life changing like a spiritual awakening for me. I also met a recovery coach for families and related to do much of what she had shared about her own recovery journey that I signed on for a year family program and recovery coaching for my husband and I. I also want to mention that the staff from Kim and Maura are always available to talk with families and so helping with resources and support. I cannot say enough good things about MARC and how much great work they are doing!!! Addiction is a family disease and they help both the addict and family!
Parent of MARC Alumnus
My family is forever grateful to the stellar team at MARC. Their professional and loving care was transformational for our family. We felt desperate.We did not know how to help our son who has substance use disorder. MARC's quality, clinical approach was life changing for our son, and offered therapeutical support and resources to our whole family. The trajectory of our lives is changed, and we highly recommend MARC to anyone struggling with SUD and ready for a new life. We remain connected to the MARC community and want to share the gift given to our family with others. Thank you.
Parent of MARC Alumnus
Professional Testimonials
By far, the best substance use treatment setting and approach I have ever worked with in my 40 years as a clinician. Extremely knowledgeable and caring. The people I have referred there have done so well.
Heidi Waltos
Clinical Psychotherapist
Smart, passionate, intuitive, insightful, and incredibly committed to the recovery process are just a few of the phrases I’d use to describe Sam Bierman. As the Senior Clinical Advisor to one of the nation’s leading residential treatment facilities, a clinician in private practice in Manhattan and advisor to the Dr. Oz Show on issues relating to addictions, relationships, and family dynamics, I’ve had the opportunity to observe many professionals in the field.
Mr. Bierman stands head and shoulders above any of the professionals who I’ve encountered. The Maryland Addiction Recovery Center, the individuals, and families whose lives he will impact are incredibly fortunate to have him at the helm of their challenging and profoundly rewarding journey.
Paul Hokemeyer, JD, PhD
Having facilitated interventions for individuals and their families stricken with the diseases of substance abuse disorders and behavioral addictions for over thirty years, I have had the opportunity to see countless service providers come and go; some that provide compassionate and competent care with remarkable outcomes and some with less than remarkable outcomes. In 2010, a study was released stating that the greater Washington-Baltimore region had the biggest gap between the need for chemical dependency treatment services and providers available of any metropolitan area in the nation.
It was shortly after that study was released that I had breakfast with my friend and colleague Sam Bierman, whom I had worked with for many years, and where I first met Zach Snitzer. During that meal Sam and Zach shared their dream to meet the needs of the Baltimore region by opening an intensive outpatient program to treat the persons and their families that were struggling with alcoholism and/or addiction. As I left that meeting I thought, if they can harness their zeal to help, combine that with their knowledge of treatment and the integrity that they have, then there was a good possibility that they would be able to make a substantive contribution through actualizing their dream.
Roughly three years later, Sam and Zach opened Maryland Addiction Recovery Center. They have established themselves and their organization as the preeminent provider of intensive outpatient services in the region. This is as the result of them adhering to a strict value proposition of all decisions being driven by “What’s in our client’s best interest” grounded in integrity of compassionate care first, hiring gifted, educated and talented staff, providing countless community based advocacy seminars, being personally involved with each of their clients, partnering with other providers in the treatment community and their recognition that strong partnerships will allow us to collectively positively impact more individuals and their families.
It is a refreshing pleasure to be aligned with Sam, Zach, and Maryland Addiction Recovery Center.
Don Sloane
Recovery Care Partner, Owner
The staff of Maryland Addiction Recovery Center is incredibly effective and have a tremendous impact on the individuals and families who suffer from the disease of addiction.
Sam Bierman and Zach Snitzer possess a compassionate and concise understanding of the disease and go beyond their work to change people’s lives. They are both true pioneers in our field.
Nancy Rosen-Cohen
Executive Director, NCADD-Maryland
As a family and addictions therapist, I’ve worked with many treatment centers, but MARC really stands out. They go beyond just addressing the surface level of Substance Use Disorders – they dig deep into the emotional and systemic factors that contribute to it, which is crucial for lasting recovery.
What I appreciate most about MARC is their holistic approach. They involve the family, offer evidence-based treatment, and provide a truly supportive environment for both clients and their loved ones. The team is compassionate, knowledgeable, and committed to helping people not just get into recovery, but build a healthier, more fulfilling life.
If you're looking for a place that takes treatment seriously and treats the whole person and the whole family system, MARC is a top-notch choice.
Patrick Trentalange
Family Therapist
I have known the team at MARC for nearly 10 years and highly recommend them. Their programming is excellent, including their IOP, community living treatment, and family programming, among others. MARC's leadership has a strong passion and clear vision for addiction treatment, and this is reflected positively throughout their organization.
Dr. Joseph Andrews
Psychiatrist
I have been in the field for 25+ years and known many people who have had their lives saved here. What they have built in the mid-Atlantic region is really impressive. They don't just contain people and introduce them to the basics of recovery, but also have psychotherapy that takes place along with life skills work that I've seen turn lives completely around.
Dr. Thomas Franklin
MindWork Group
MARC is an excellent treatment program with solid, ethical leadership and a deeply committed staff. I’ve worked in addiction treatment almost two decades and I’ve referred numerous patients and families to MARC and the MARC team. I’m always impressed with the feedback I get. I highly recommend MARC’s programs
Alex Denstman
Ashley Addiction Treatment
Share Your Story
If MARC or any of our team members have made a positive impression on you or if this was your launch pad into the best version of yourself and your life, we want to hear about it! Please fill out the form below.
✦ Thank you so much for sharing! ✦
Why Choose MARC?
Maryland Addiction Recovery Center in the Baltimore, MD, area is a community-focused treatment center that we confidently believe will be the last treatment solution you need. With evidence-based treatment, trauma-informed care, and practical lifestyle assistance, you or your loved one can build a whole new life in the safety and support of our community.
Our goal is to help patients establish themselves in the safety of the treatment setting and organically transition back into daily routines without missing a beat. Treatment and lifestyle transitions all happen simultaneously as part of one comprehensive program.
The industry average treatment timeline for a similar level of care to what we offer at MARC is approximately three months. Our average timeline is seven months for standard Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHP) and nine months for Extended Care PHP. We’re dedicated to long-term support because the nature of addiction requires it, and we have seen its success.
Other signature programs include Vocational Support, College Success, Extended Care, and Sober Living. All of our interventions are applied through a trauma-informed lens to ensure 360 degrees of support and healing.
✦ What Will Your Story Be? ✦
Let’s Partner Together On Your Recovery
You may not get to choose where your story begins, but you can always influence where it will end. At MARC, we’re committed to helping you or your loved one navigate the challenges associated with substance use and mental health disorders—just like we did for those who shared their stories above.
If you or a loved one are struggling with substance use or co-occurring mental health disorders, reach out today. We welcome you to the launch pad for the best of your life!