Meet Our Practitioners
Ken Collett
Founder and Addiction Specialist
At The Addiction Specialists, our mission is simple: to help individuals and families find hope, health, and lasting recovery. Founder Ken Collett has dedicated his life to supporting people struggling with addiction, drawing from both professional training and lived experience to help clients rebuild their lives and create meaningful, sustainable change.
Ken brings a unique perspective to addiction recovery. Before entering the field, he spent more than 35 years as an entrepreneur in the hospitality and entertainment industry, building and operating successful restaurants and nightclubs. Through decades of leadership, business ownership, and navigating high-pressure environments, he gained firsthand insight into the stresses faced by executives, entrepreneurs, professionals, and business owners.
What began as participation in the nightlife culture gradually evolved into a personal battle with addiction. For over a decade, Ken experienced the devastating effects of substance use on his health, relationships, and well-being. By 2009, the consequences had become life-threatening, leading him to begin a recovery journey that would ultimately transform every aspect of his life.
The path was not easy. The first four years were marked by relapse, setbacks, and difficult lessons. Through perseverance, community support, spirituality, physical wellness, and personal growth, Ken achieved lasting sobriety in May 2013. His personal recovery journey remains one of his greatest strengths, allowing him to connect with clients and families from a place of genuine understanding, compassion, and hope.
Committed to giving back, Ken has spent over a decade volunteering with the Hamilton Men's Withdrawal Management Centre, where he has shared his story and supported countless individuals taking their first steps toward recovery. Just nine months into his own sobriety, he established a recovery meeting specifically for men transitioning from withdrawal management services. That meeting continues to operate today and remains a testament to Ken's commitment to service and community support.
Recognizing the need for practical, compassionate, and recovery-focused addiction services, Ken pursued formal education in addiction treatment through Wilfrid Laurier University, earning certification in addiction recovery. He then founded The Addiction Specialists with a vision of providing comprehensive support not only to individuals struggling with addiction, but also to the families who are often profoundly affected by it.
Today, Ken specializes in:
Substance Use and Alcohol Use Disorders
Family Support and Family Recovery
Recovery Coaching
Relapse Prevention
Interventions
Behavioural Addictions
Executive and Professional Recovery Support
Pre-care and Aftercare Planning
Throughout his career, Ken has helped families navigate some of the most difficult moments of their lives. He has worked closely with spouses, parents, children, and loved ones to develop effective strategies for helping individuals engage in treatment and recovery. His experience coordinating interventions and supporting families through crisis has helped many individuals take the critical first steps toward recovery.
Ken's resilience extends beyond addiction recovery. In 2021, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and successfully navigated treatment and recovery. In 2023, his nightclub business was severely impacted by an arson attack, threatening a career he had spent decades building. Rather than allowing adversity to define him, Ken embraced these challenges as further confirmation of his purpose: helping others overcome obstacles and discover their potential for transformation.
Today, Ken is happily married, enjoys an active lifestyle, and continues to invest in his own physical, mental, and spiritual wellness. His personal and professional mission remains unchanged: to help individuals and families understand that recovery is possible, healing is achievable, and no one has to face addiction alone.
"The greatest privilege of my life is helping people discover that their story is not over. No matter how far addiction has taken someone, recovery, purpose, and hope are always possible."
Bachelor in Economics McMaster University
Certified Addiction Professional Wilfred Laurier University
Kristen Parselias
MSW, RSW, Addiction Therapist
Kristen has been drawn to helping others for as long as she can remember. Growing up active in her church community, she spent her teenage years volunteering in soup kitchens, women’s shelters, and youth shelters — experiences that shaped her values early on and sparked her commitment to social work. Even then, she understood that people often carry far more than what the world sees, and she felt called to be someone who could meet others with compassion rather than judgment
Alongside her academic journey, Kristen worked in the restaurant industry from a young age. The fast‑paced, high‑stress environment exposed her to the realities of burnout, unhealthy coping, and the ways people try to manage emotional pain. In her early twenties, Kristen faced her own struggles with addiction. It was a period marked by fear, uncertainty, and the painful recognition that she needed help. With the support of family, friends, and her faith, she found her way into recovery.
That experience changed her. It deepened her empathy, sharpened her intuition, and gave her a profound understanding of what courage looks like — not in perfection, but in the willingness to try again. Kristen’s lived experience allows her to sit with clients in a way that feels safe, grounded, and real. She knows what it’s like to feel lost, and she knows what it takes to rebuild. This personal insight informs her work every day and strengthens her ability to connect with clients who feel misunderstood or alone.
Kristen believes that no one should have to navigate pain, uncertainty, or change by themselves. What inspires her most about this work is witnessing growth in real time — the subtle shifts in confidence, the moments of clarity, the rebuilding of self‑trust. She is continually moved by the bravery it takes for people to show up, be vulnerable, and choose healing, even when it feels uncomfortable or unfamiliar.
Her therapeutic approach is grounded in empathy, practical skill‑building, and a deep respect for each person’s unique story. Kristen is committed to helping clients develop healthier relationships, stronger coping strategies, and a renewed sense of identity. She considers it a privilege to walk alongside people as they move toward the life they want and deserve.
When she’s not supporting clients, Kristen enjoys cooking, going to the gym, staying active, reading, and spending time with her family. These parts of her life reflect the same values she brings to her work — balance, curiosity, and connection. She believes deeply that growth and healing are always possible, and she carries that belief into every session with warmth and unwavering support.
Masters Of Social Work - University of Toronto
Registered Social Worker - Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers
Candis Walters
MSW, Addiction Therapist
At the heart of every journey is a story, and Candis's is one of hard-won transformation and quiet strength. From a childhood shaped by watching addiction's toll on those around her, to a career devoted to helping others find their way back, Candis brings both lived experience and professional expertise to her work.
Candis grew up understanding what addiction could do to a family. She always carried a soft heart for those who struggled with it, knowing firsthand how hard the battle was — for the person and for everyone who loved them. As an outgoing, athletic, and driven teenager, she never imagined that path would become her own. But what began as teenage experimentation with drugs and alcohol slowly tightened its grip, and by the age of 20, addiction had taken hold. Despite wanting to stop, she couldn't.
What followed was nearly two decades of struggle. Addiction led Candis down a path of destruction — for herself and for those around her — until she no longer recognized who she had become. The ambition, kindness, and light that had once defined her felt lost. Over 17 years, the disease progressed, marked by repeated attempts at recovery that didn't hold.
Change began the moment Candis finally surrendered. It started small — a flicker of hope, then the slow return of the person she used to be. She came to understand that she couldn't do it alone, and that asking for help was the hardest thing she had ever done. It was also what saved her life.
With that help, Candis rebuilt her life piece by piece. Her ambition returned, and she went back to school, earning a Master of Social Work from the University of Toronto. Her hope, faith, and sense of purpose were restored alongside her family relationships, and she found new community — in recovery, in her faith, and among people who understood exactly where she'd been. Where addiction once made her a prisoner, she now lives in freedom.
Today, Candis works to stay grounded in the present. She spends time outdoors running and hiking, believing deeply in the connection between mind and body, and works out regularly for both mental clarity and physical health. She enjoys painting and spending time with her family.
Candis is a dedicated advocate for individuals facing addiction, mental health challenges, and justice involvement, bringing compassion and understanding to every person she works with — because she knows, from the inside, what it takes to find your way back.
Master of Social Work - University of Toronto
Registered Social Worker – Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers
“Experience is the thing of supreme value".
— Henry Ford