Our Vision

The Mindful Psychology Behind Sober Buddha

Our Mission

At Sober Buddha Counseling, our mission is to help people cultivate clarity, resilience, and meaning by understanding how their minds truly work.

Anxiety, depression, and addiction do not define who we are—they grow from habitual thoughts, emotions, and actions repeated unconsciously over time. Through spiritual psychology, mindfulness, and modern neuroscience, we help individuals gently uproot these toxic patterns and restore balance to mind and body.

By combining ancient wisdom with contemporary psychological science, we guide our clients toward direct insight into the impermanent nature of thoughts, emotions, and sensations—empowering them to live with greater freedom, compassion, and purpose, and to become a positive influence in an increasingly troubled world.

Our Promise

We promise to meet you with respect, curiosity, and compassion—never with judgment or labels.

At Sober Buddha Counseling, we will:

  • Help you recognize how craving, stress, and fear quietly shape your inner landscape
  • Offer mindfully created, evidence-informed therapies that go beyond short-term fixes
  • Teach practical skills for observing thoughts and emotions without interference or overwhelm
  • Integrate insight meditation, depth psychology, existential inquiry, and one-to-one counseling in a way that is personalized and humane

In moments of clarity, we help you see that what you’ve been seeking outside yourself cannot provide lasting fulfillment—and we guide you toward a deeper, steadier source of well-being within.

Our promise is not to “fix” you, but to help you become the master gardener of your own mind, cultivating awareness, wisdom, and lasting change.

“Suffering isn’t pathology. It’s misunderstood experience” … “Awakening isn’t mystical—it’s practical” … “You don’t need control. You need clarity” …“Suffering isn’t pathology. It’s misunderstood experience” … “Awakening isn’t mystical—it’s practical” … “You don’t need control. You need clarity” …

About Michael Hoffman | The Mindful Psychology Behind Sober Buddha

Michael Hoffman

The Mindful Psychology Behind Sober Buddha

Michael Hoffman has been guiding individuals through anxiety, depression, addiction, and existential crisis since 2006.
His work is deeply unconventional— because suffering is not a mechanical problem. It’s a human one.

Holding a Doctorate in Addictive Disorders, a Master’s in Jungian Depth Psychology, certifications in mindfulness meditation teaching, Unified Mindfulness coaching, and clinical hypnotherapy, Hoffman integrates spiritual psychology with clinical rigor.
Before entering mental health, he trained as a journalist—learning how stories shape perception. Today, he helps clients rewrite the unconscious narratives that quietly govern their lives.

His work has been featured in Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, and his books—including Life After Rehab and The Thirsty Addict Papers—challenge conventional recovery and mental-health models.

Elected to the Board of Directors of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT)

Author of influential works including Life After Rehab and The Thirsty Addict Papers: Spiritual Psychology for Counselors

Published contributor to Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, with the widely read article “Mind on the Run”

Recipient of the Public Relations Society of America Protos Award for Excellence in Trade Journalism

Honored with the Los Angeles Ad Club Lulu Award for Cause-Related Media Campaigns

Awarded the Dog Writers Association of America Maxwell Award for short story fiction (Hounds of Mercy)

Moments of Clarity

Real experiences. Real insight. Real change.

The work of Sober Buddha Counseling is best understood through lived experience. These reflections share moments when clients recognized old patterns, gained insight into their minds, and discovered new ways of relating to thoughts, emotions, and life itself.

I went looking for a Buddhist teacher when I felt stuck in my meditation practice. Michael was so kind and I have learned so much from him. He brought a wealth of knowledge about different mindfulness traditions. His compassion and caring shine through brightly and consistently. I highly recommend him for anyone seeking to advance in their meditation practice.

Linda H. (yelp)

… It has been 2 weeks since his visit with Michael, and the self-defeat he was temporarily suffering from before hitting the wrestling mat has definitely subsided. His practice has returned back to normal and he is not beating himself up before sparring with his opponent (whose goal IS beating him up so to speak, so why get beat up twice!). He is also no longer nervous before speaking in his Spanish 4 class and has far less anxiety before taking his tests. All of this after only 1 session!

Cori L. (yelp)

Michael is amazing. His kind, humorous, and compassionate counseling has helped my son find his way. Learning how to meditate has been crucial to his well-being. He’s also been working with us as a family and has helped us navigate some difficult times. He goes above and beyond other therapists. I would highly recommend working with Sober Buddah! He’s the best!

Jana H. (yelp)

In my early stages of recovery, I met Michael and he posed a question: During all those times I was so uncomfortable in my own skin, what if, instead of escaping, I just sat and felt it?

That introduction launched me into the discovery of Vipassana meditation, and with it a heightened awareness and an acceptance of the people, things, places and situations around me. Michael was instrumental in accelerating the development of a framework with which I have built a sober life…

Chuck F. (yelp)

My life has profoundly improved thanks to Dr. Hoffman’s services, in particular his teachings of meditation. Dr. Hoffman is an exceptional teacher, kind, compassionate yet objective and honest. He gave me the tools to see more clearly for myself and I cannot thank him enough. The investment to try this out continues to pay dividends in my daily life. I highly encourage seeing what he has to offer! It is one of the best decisions I have made.

Ghazi A. (google)