Claudia Black is the clinical architect and is actively involved in the Claudia Black Center at The Meadows, for young adults ages 18 – 26 who are struggling with unresolved emotional trauma, addictions, or who have a dual diagnosis. She works with the executive director, the clinical director, and their teams to assess and enhance the program’s quality. She is frequently on-site, speaking with clients and family members. She serves as a Senior Fellow and has been a clinical consultant at The Meadows Treatment Center in Arizona since 1998.

Since the 1970’s, Claudia’s work has encompassed the impact of addiction on young and adult children. She was the first to name and coin the dysfunctional family rules: Don’t Talk, Don’t Trust, Don’t Feel. She broke the barrier and openly discussed physical and sexual abuse in the context of addictive families. She utilized art therapy in the context of group work with young children, a model that has served as a basis for children’s programs for the past 4+ decades. She described the phenomena of delayed stress, emotional trauma, the child’s denial process, the phenomena of ‘looking good’ kids as they relate to growing up with addiction, and hence the meaning and phraseology of “Adult Children of Addiction.”

Her work and her passion are ageless. She has written over 20 books offering a foundation for those impacted by addiction to recover and providing the professional field with a library of depth and breadth.

Over the course of her career, she has presented to a wide array of audiences, including military academies, prison systems, medical schools, colleges, and mental health and addiction programs. Claudia has extensive multi-cultural experiences working with agencies and audiences in Mexico, Japan, Brazil, Australia, Scotland, Iceland, Germany, England, and Canada.

Today, she offers models of intervention and treatment related to unresolved emotional trauma, family violence, multi-addictions, relapse, anger, depression, and women’s issues. Her writings and teachings are a standard in the field of addictions.

She is one of the original founders and serves on the Advisory Board of NACoA, the National Association of Children of Addiction, and the Advisory Council of the Eluna Foundation, which developed Camp Mariposa, a camp for children impacted by addiction.

She has been featured in and written articles for many professional magazines and journals, including Paradigm, Recovery Today, Counselor Magazine, and has appeared on television, radio, and today is frequently speaking via video conferencing, webinars, and podcasts worldwide.

Claudia is the recipient of a number of national awards including the Marty Mann Award, the SECAD Award, the National Council on Alcohol and Drug Addiction Educator of the Year Award, the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Washington School of Social Work, the Robert Rehmar Addiction Professional Award, the Father Martin Professional Excellence Award, the NAADAC Lifetime Achievement Award, the American Society of Addiction Medicine Media Award, the Conway Hunter Award for excellence in the field of addiction, and the 2025 Michael Ford Journalism Award.

Claudia holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in Social Psychology from Columbia Pacific University, a Master’s Degree in Social Work, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Welfare from the University of Washington.