Walter Carter is an Art Therapist and Addictions counselor. In March of 1997, he joined the staff at Fairfax Outpatient, one of Alcohol and Drug Services treatment centers  in Fairfax, Virginia. There he was responsible for  individual and group treatment counseling, drug education, substance abuse assessments, referral recommendations, case management,  administering urine assays and Alco-sensor tests,  developing  client treatment plans, preparing monthly client reports to ASAP (Alcohol Safety Action Program) P and P, (Probation and Parole) maintaining updated client records, participating in Peer Review and staffing meetings and conducting referrals to mental health resources. He retired in February of  2009  with the focus and intent to continue his work as a drug counselor.

Based on his years of experience in Addictions Counseling and his involvement with the court system in Fairfax County, Virginia, he has developed 3BeersOnly. 

3BeersOnly is a substance abuse education and prevention program which provides an understanding of drugs, the effects of drug use and associated behaviors, and the destructive social, physical, psychological, and emotional consequences of drug use. The aim of this program is to keep your children in school, keep them from getting arrested, and out of the criminal justice system due to drug use and possession.

Walter has found that Art Therapy and Cognitive Therapy are successful treatment models in substance abuse treatment. Art Therapy is a therapeutic model used in psychiatric treatment milieus that effectively utilizes the creative process, creative expression and artistic creation in its treatment method and procedures.  Unlike early practice when Art as Therapy was used adjunctively, today Art Therapy is a primary mode of therapy in treatment centers throughout America and in many parts of the world.  For more on Cognitive Therapy, refer to Services.

Edith Kramer, a distinguished Art Therapist and ground breaker in the field of Art Therapy informs us in her 1979 publication, Childhood and Art Therapy Notes on Theory and Application, in which Walter is a contributing author,  “ the arts continue to contribute substantially to our understanding of human existence.”  The use of art media such as drawing, painting, and sculpture to represent our inner most psychological functioning is the vehicle of Art Therapy.

Walter has a unique mixture of talents and expertise amassed over twenty five years…(See full Biography)