Addiction

FINE also known as Fucked up, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional...

Often times it is believed that if we can just get the individual off of drugs an/or alcohol than everything will be fine. Unfortunately, in addiction drugs and alcohol are not the problem. They are symptoms of a much bigger problem. In reality all addictions are, are simply coping tools used to solve what the actual problem(s) are.

In my practice my clients are encouraged to participate in at least some sort of recovery based program along with weekly individual therapy session. Whether it's AA/NA, Smart Recovery, or refugee to recovery it doesn't matter to me. All that matters is this disease thrives in isolation and and feeds on shame. And if you only want to white knuckle your way through your recovery then relapse unfortunately may be inevitable. 

One on one therapy provides the client with undivided attention and focus on his or her addiction. As a therapist my role is to help the client identify and address the hidden causes behind how their addiction developed (usually referred to Adverse Childhood experiences or ACE's), as well as work to address any and all issues that might have developed in response to the addiction. 

Working on a regular basis with a therapist can help the client learn new healthy coping skills to replace what the addiction was treating and also allow the client to explore and utilize self reflection as a means of healing. Other benefits of individual therapy include identifying and learning how to avoid specific triggers, learning how to set boundaries that promote good overall health, and establishing a strong understanding of the disease of addiction.

*** Please note--Unless you have completed some kind of treatment program or are currently working in a program with a sponsor of sorts my recommendation will be if you are still engaging in life threatening drug/alcohol use to complete a drug/alcohol program before considering outpatient therapy only.

Growing up as the daughter of a alcoholic I understand the impact addiction has on the individual as well as the family and how deeply our early experiences impact our ability to connect later on in life. My clients range all over the place in age, gender, experience, trauma and stages of life but the one thing that remains consistent is that we still, after all these years, can't quite answer the question "what does a healthy relationship look like?" And "How do I find one?" My goal is to help my clients explore and discover what this means to them, not what they think they should want from life but what they actually desire.