CENAPS Corp. Announces Passing of Founder Terence T. Gorski

The CENAPS Corporation has announced the passing of its founder and president, Terence T. Gorski, a leading voice on relapse prevention within the addiction treatment field. Gorski, 71, died on July 2.

A longtime industry thought leader on the topics of substance use disorder, mental health, violence and crime, Gorski developed the Gorski-CENAPS model of recovery and relapse prevention. He founded CENAPS (Center for Applied Sciences), a private firm that provides training in behavioral health and addiction recovery.

Gorski conducted training sessions and workshops in more than 20 cities per year, and he produced several books and videos on relapse prevention.

“Anyone that knew Terry knew he committed his life and career to helping anyone who suffered with addiction and mental health disorders,” CENAPS business manager Tresa J. Watson and director of training Roland F. Williams wrote in a statement. “Terry helped us all understand that addiction is an insidious disease that knows no social status or geographic boundaries and believed every single person could recover.

“Terry’s mission remains and will be carried on through his legacy to bring hope, healing and support to those and their families struggling with addiction and other behavioral disorders all over the world.”

Stephen Grinstead, LMFT, ACRPS, CADC-II, who developed the Addiction-Free Pain Management System and served as director of training and consultation for CENAPS from 2004-16, told Addiction Professional in an email that Gorski was his “most important professional mentor” and “a dear friend.”

“It’s difficult to calculate the thousands of people Terry has impacted over the years, both personally, through the Gorski-CENAPS certification programs and his publications,” Grinstead wrote. “He was an internationally recognized expert on substance abuse, mental health, violence, and crime, and his contributions to relapse prevention and managing chemically dependent offenders will carry on far into the future.”