Strategist.
Sometimes Counselor. Builder of Frameworks.
Steve R. Patterson operates at the intersection of trauma recovery, spiritual integration, and applied systems design. A former U.S. Army Infantryman, Grateful Dead-era traveler, and digital media pioneer, his work bridges decades of lived experience—from the field to the forum to the front lines of healing. A liver transplant survivor and former terminal cancer patient, he lives by a single vow made during illness: If I survive, I live differently.
Today, Steve builds frameworks that reconnect structure with soul—guiding others through transformation with the same discipline that rebuilt his own life. He has worked remotely since 1996.
Beginning in 2026, Steve will turn his full-time attention to growing Valkyrie Counseling Group’s coaching platform, as well as a collaboration with his brother Troy Patterson, who is the same age, also underwent a liver transplant, is in recovery, and the two have a podcast, GenXTransplantsBros.
Healing & Clinical Frameworks
Steve is the founder of Valkyrie Counseling Group and Wind and Raven—interwoven platforms dedicated to trauma-informed, integrative recovery. Valkyrie focuses on clinical frameworks and group systems. Wind and Raven bring forward the psycho-spiritual dimension of healing through indigenous and narrative practice. Together, they form a complete ecosystem of grounded transformation.
At the center of this work is the Healing Pathways Program—a trauma-informed, 12-session curriculum merging CBT, somatic resilience, and archetypal narrative. It’s designed for outpatient, spiritual, and court-mandated recovery settings, reframing personal truth as a tool for freedom, not shame. While this program is not offered by us in it clinical format, it will be for small groups and individuals early in 2026.
In parallel, his latest release, The ASAM Level One Group Facilitator’s Guide, offers counselors a complete 12-session framework for outpatient behavioral health—tested in real ASAM groups, built for modern hybrid and telehealth environments. This independent project fills the space institutions left empty: how actually to run a group that works. Note: this is a research and development process and not offered as clinical counseling for individuals. We do not offer any licensed or clinical mental or physical health services.
Steve’s ethos is simple: the body never lies; the mind often does. Healing is born in the cracks, not comfort. The hardest addiction to break is being right. Every person holds a share in the work of recovery.
Digital Legacy: The UGASports Era
Before the world of recovery, Steve spent seventeen years at the forefront of digital media innovation. In 1997, he founded UGASports.com—a community-driven sports platform that reshaped how fans engage with college football. Under his leadership, The Dawgvent became one of the internet’s earliest social ecosystems, predating the rise of social media itself.
From 1997 to 2014, UGASportsNetworks, LLC built, hosted, and managed multiple sites across the SEC, pioneering behavioral feedback loops and adaptive storytelling models now common in modern digital strategy. The company sold to Yahoo! in 2014. The same systems thinking that fueled that empire now drives Steve’s frameworks for recovery, consciousness, and human systems.
Education & Certifications
- Oregon State University — B.S., Military History & History of Medicine
- Addiction Studies — Prime Solutions Level 2 Facilitator; Certified Seeking Safety Instructor; CCAR Recovery Coach Trainer; Nationally Certified Clinical Peer Support Specialist; former ADACBGA Counselor (2019–2023). Georgia Addiction Counselors Association CCIT.
- AI Ethics — Stanford University “AI in Healthcare” Specialization; CertNexus CEET; IBM Generative AI Fundamentals
Publications & Media
- The ASAM Level One Group Facilitator’s Guide — An independent, field-tested 12-session structure for outpatient group facilitation. Designed for telehealth and hybrid delivery, this guide fills the gap left by institutional silence on how ASAM groups are actually run.
- Healing Pathways: Facilitator Manual — A trauma-informed, narrative-based framework for group leaders integrating psychology, story, and spiritual practice.
- Healing Pathways: Companion Guide — The participant version of the program, guiding individuals through self-discovery and narrative transformation.
- This Is How It Feels to Heal — A firsthand account of survival, recovery, and the internal architecture of healing after terminal illness.
- UGASports.com — The pioneering digital media community that redefined college football coverage from 1997–2014. Steve remains active in this community as is currently writing a book on this era.
Earlier Career
- Founder & Publisher, UGASports.com (1997–2014)
- Publisher, Dawgs Illustrated Magazine
- Host, UGASports LIVE (2005–2014) — Early podcast
- Guest, RivalsRadio (2007–2010) — Sirius Satellite
- U.S. Army Infantryman (1985–1988) — Cold War era, REFORGER ’86 veteran
Current Side Projects
- AI & Ethics in Recovery — Exploring ethical AI applications in human transformation to include in the final edition of the Healing Pathways Program, to include a third book for individual application and use scheduled for early 2026.
Advocacy & Volunteerism
- Recovery Café Recovery Coach (2015-2019) — Trauma-informed peer support and group leadership in both ASAM and maintenance applications.
- Spiritual Coaching Across Borders — Cross-cultural guidance in healing and transformation. Mexico 2021-22.
- Wake of the Flood Organizer — Post-disaster aid for Deadhead communities, archived by the U.S. National Archives 1996.
Speaking & Collaboration
Steve is available for speaking engagements, collaborative development (program design, scaling, or new frameworks), interviews/podcasts, and advisory partnerships with organizations building human-centered systems for recovery and transformation. If you’re working at the edge—between structure and soul—let’s talk.
Contact
When you’re done with salesmen and hollow frameworks, you don’t need a guru.
You need a guide who’s walked through hell and mapped the trail out.
That’s Steve Patterson.
