(Updated 12/10/2025)
INTO THE SUNSET I GO...
January 1, 2026 will be the beginning of my 50th year in the field of treating addictions. It seems like a good time to call it a career. I started this journey in June of 1976 when I was hired as an Alcohol Education Consultant by the new and upcoming organization called Smoky Mountain Counseling Center. I was part of a 4-man team created to start one of the first DWI education programs in the State of North Carolina. This was a number of years before the State decided it was a good idea. Along with Blue Ridge Mental Health and Trend Mental Health we provided services to all of Western North Carolina. The times have certainly changed.
I've been blessed to have learned from and been associated with some of the greats in the field. My mentor, Dr. John Edwards, was a shining light introducing family therapy to Western North Carolina.. Dr. Craig Iversen and I were lucky enough to bring John to Smoky Mountain for several years of staff training bolstering what was a pretty complete service delivery system. Mr. Hugh Moon was our team leader in developing ADETS (the DWI program) under the auspices of Chief Judge Robert Leatherwood and District Court Judge Charles McDarris. It was interesting times. The times have certainly changed.
As I leave, it is with a sense that I've been part of changes that helped people improve their lives and thusly improved our communities. I will miss counseling and the people I've been blessed to know. I thank each of you for having shared a part of yourself with me and I wish you the best. The times are certainly changing...
(Updated 01/03/2025)
Greetings and welcome to my website. Just a short note of update today. Yes, I still provide DWI assessment services and counseling services for individuals impacted by substance misuse within their family. My practice continues to be a solo Limited Private Practice on a part-time basis. The easiest way to reach me is via email at Cecil.Yount@assessmentsbyyount.org. Emails tend to get responses quicker than phone calls because all calls go to an attendant. Emails generally get same day response while phone call messages may go 24 hours before a response is received. Current state law allows me to provide services anywhere in North Carolina. I am also a registered provider in South Carolina. All of my services are via telehealth using the Zoom platform.
(Past news)
NOW REGISTERED TO PROVIDE TELEHEALTH SERVICES IN SOUTH CAROLINA!
(May 2023) I have recently received notification that my registration in South Carolina to provide Telehealth services has been approved. I anticipate the bulk of this option will be in providing NC DWI assessments for South Carolina residents, who were arrested for DWI in North Carolina, It also does allow for counseling services within my scope of privileges to be provided across State lines. I look forward to being able to smooth the DWI assessment process for individuals as they experience North Carolina requirements.
The past month (April 2023) has included a focus on maintaining my knowledge base in both service provision and in how and where services are provided. I've just completed the three day APNC (Alcoholism Professionals of NC) conference held at beautiful Lake Junaluska. I've also completed my recertification as a Nationally Certified Telehealth provider. This is my second certification in that arena and comes at the end of my third year of telehealth services. Telehealth continues to be widely accepted and appreciated by consumers. Finally, I am in the application process to provide services to South Carolina residents via telehealth. After much confusion and time, I seem to have located a vehicle to now provide services via telehealth in the state of South Carolina. I'm awaiting their decision. During the official emergency declaration due to Covid, rules allowed the provision of services across state lines. With the official end of that declaration, treatment rules revert to requirements for each state. This continues to be a very confusing time for service provision for both consumers and providers given there is no consistency between states. In my case, I am licensed to provide services within N.C. and am hoping to be REGISTERED to provide telehealth only services in South Carolina.
As part of my second Adventures in Telehealth webinar on August 5th for the DWI Services Section in North Carolina, I began creating a Youtube channel to handle the video files that were used in the webinar itself. This effort led to yet another "Loose Thought" and I have reworked the interviews utilized in the webinar. At this point in time, the existing YouTube videos include conversations about utilizing telehealth or mHealth platforms to provide services. All interviewees are nationally certified in their use of telehealth services and all are licensed in their respective fields. Each brings a somewhat different focus to telehealth services. My current plans include additional interviews with other practitioners with the intent to broaden the scope of understanding how to utilize videoconferencing services. To view the existing interviews, please visit my YouTube channel and, while there, hit the subscribe button and leave a comment! The channel is located at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-E3k0pAJsvTpdHdlGNPpKA
