ADDICTIONS THERAPY
Is ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOUR TAKING OVER YOUR LIFE?
Are you drinking more or using more drugs than you normally do, and experiencing negative consequences?
Is your sexual behaviour impacting you negatively or affecting your relationships?
Do you feel like your eating is out of control?
Does your gaming or screen watching feel excessive?
Does your life feel out of control?
Do you get up each morning promising yourself that you won’t do it again today, only to find yourself in the grip of your addiction later on in the day?
Maybe you’ve tried other methods to quit and they haven’t worked, so you’re starting to feel hopeless.
I’ve been there and I can help you.
As someone in recovery, I understand the pain of addiction and the overwhelming struggle of trying to quit.
Maybe you’re using alcohol or drugs to numb overwhelming emotions. Maybe you’re using sex to soothe yourself or to chase excitement. Maybe you’re overeating or obsessively counting and restricting calories. Or maybe you’re spending countless hours on social media, TV, or video games to escape.
Whatever your struggle is, I know from professional training and personal experience what works to stop addictive behaviours, and I can help you to let them go. Please contact me if you have any questions about therapy, or feel free to book a free 15-minute consultation (phone or video) to discuss working together.
have questions? Contact me.
I’ll respond to you within 1-2 days.
addiction affects all areas of life
Living with an addiction is extremely challenging, and creates issues in all areas of life, including:
Depression, anxiety, and risk of psychosis
Strained or severed relationships with family or friends
Issues at work or school
Financial instability
Social isolation
You probably already know that your addiction is creating these circumstances, but then you resort to your addictive behaviours to escape them — creating a vicious cycle that becomes harder and harder to break.
It’s becoming more difficult to think clearly and plan ahead, because you’re never sure when you’ll feel stable enough to follow through. Your relationships are suffering and you’re becoming more isolated. You’re missing work or school, or letting other responsibilities slide.
Your moods and emotions might feel like a rollercoaster — swinging wildly from hopelessness and despair to numbness or anger. Sometimes you want to ask for help, but other times you feel too ashamed and want to hide away instead.
Yet despite all of this, part of you still has hope that things can get better.
Please contact me to ask questions about addictions therapy, or to schedule a free 15-minute consultation (phone or video).
have questions? Contact me.
I’ll respond to you within 1-2 days.
what causes addiction?
Addiction occurs from a mix of factors, including biological, environmental, behavioural, psychological, and societal:
Biological: a family history of addiction can make you more vulnerable, due to genetic influence.
Environmental: growing up in a family with addictive behaviours can increase risk, as well as friends or social circles that encourage these behaviours.
Behavioural: the more frequently you engage in an addictive behaviour, the more it rewires your brain’s reward system, increasing risk; tolerance also develops over time, requiring more of the behaviour to get the same effect.
Psychological: underlying mental health conditions (such as depression or anxiety) or a history of trauma can also make you vulnerable to addiction, as a way to cope with these issues.
Societal: LGBTQ+ and racialized individuals are more vulnerable to addiction, due to societal pressures, such as discrimination, homophobia, transphobia, and racism.
There is rarely one sole cause of addiction — it’s often a combination of factors that interact to create a vicious cycle that can be hard to break.
treating addiction
Trained in a number of effective therapies, I can help you become free from addiction using techniques from:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): helps you to identify negative thinking and behavioural patterns that keep you stuck in the vicious cycle of addiction, and supports you to create more positive patterns that allow you to live free from addiction.
Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT): guides you towards the core, painful emotions that typically drive addiction — shame, guilt, and fear — and helps you to process and transform them, so that you can break the cycle of addiction.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): gives you practical tools that you can practice to help you abstain from your addiction, regulate your emotions, and build better relationships.
Mindfulness: teaches you to stay grounded in the present instead of acting on cravings or impulses, and to become more aware of your triggers so that you can safely navigate through them without engaging in your addiction.
Treating addiction often involves a combination of approaches, as the causes and consequences of addiction can vary.
maybe you’re considering ADDICTIONS therapy, but you have some questions…
How long do I have to be in therapy?
Each client’s path is unique; however, you can expect to feel some relief and forward momentum after the first few sessions. From there, the length of your therapy depends on how long you’ve been engaging in addictive behaviours, and how ingrained they are. The length of your therapy is always your decision, and a discussion that we have together.
What if my addiction goes away on its own?
Some people do find that their cycles of addiction can ebb and flow, depending on what’s going on in their lives. However, if you’re feeling badly enough now to consider asking for help, why wait? You can find relief and learn tools that will help you finally break free from addiction for good.
What are sessions like?
In the first couple of sessions you tell me about how your addiction is affecting you, when it started, and how it’s progressed over time. You also tell me about who’s in your life and how you spend your days, so that I can start to form a picture of what your life is like, and how I can help you.
From there, we identify what you want to change, and what tools or strategies will help you make those changes. We work at a pace that feels safe for you, so that you feel supported in moving forward. As the sessions progress, you will get a better understanding of where your addictive behaviour comes from, what triggers it, and how you can finally break the cycle and live free from addiction.
have questions? Contact me.
I’ll respond to you within 1-2 days.
You can live a life free FROM ADDICTION
If you’re stuck in the vicious cycle of addiction and feeling hopeless and overwhelmed, therapy can teach you how to break the cycle and live the life that you truly want, free from addiction. I know this from professional training and personal experience. Contact me for a free 15-minute consultation to discuss working together.