Addiction Therapists in Bon Accord, AB.

Change is hard. However, you made a first step and recognized there is a problem. Next step is to find a caring professional who will support you on your road to recovery. I want to be that person for you. I want to give you time and space to share with me your thoughts, emotions, needs, desires, struggles, and questions. I want to empower you to take control.

Addictions come in a variety of forms such as alcohol and drugs, pornography, media, the internet, sex and sexual intimacy, relationships, and many others. What is common to all types of addiction is the negative impact such patterns can have on our lives, our loved ones, and things we hold dear in life. If you are caught in the chains of addiction and find yourself unable to break free, I can help you. I want to give you the power to walk down the path of recovery and to mend the damage that addiction has created in your life. In therapy we will invest the time and energy to discover what has led to addiction for you, and use proven methods to resolve the sources of addiction.

Addictions are not problems, they are bad solutions. We always need to find the underlying problems and find effective solutions for them before we can let go of the stop-gap solution - whether the addiction is to a substance, a person, or an activity such as sex or gambling. There is always fear and pain underlying the addiction. We must learn to accept these feelings in order to free ourselves.

Our Therapists at Rivers Edge Counselling can help you to • Find the cause of your addiction and manage it effectively • Learn how addiction works and take necessary steps to reduce it • Control emotions and quit unhealthy habits • Coping with the stages of change • Understanding your own self and develop self esteem • Develop skills to understand your addiction

I have advanced training in the assessment of addictions. In order to have any success with addictions counselling there has to be some level of commitment to deal with the discomfort of giving up or at least reducing the addiction. Family and relationships are core to the success of the counselling. Addictions are powerful coping techniques that don't really work. Dealing with addictions means dealing with the pain and past hurts that have not healed or been properly dealt with. Any successful additions therapy means diving deeply into ones life and the beliefs one has developed over a whole lifetime. Connecting to a deeper spiritual set of values can be a tremendous help and support

I am Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT). Sex addiction is an umbrella term for a variety of compulsive sexual behaviors. I have worked in the field of addictions since 2010. I can help clients navigate the best route for them (treatment centers, support groups, individual therapy). The first stage is to develop enough structure in your life to stop using, the second stage is healing and transformation.

Are you feeling like your life is spiralling out of control? Do you feel that something is preoccupying your thoughts or making it difficult to focus on your daily life? Addiction comes in many forms, including substance abuse and computer/video game addiction. The root of addiction is often deeper than it appears, and I can work with you to uncover and understand your addiction, and then develop healthy coping strategies tailored to your unique context.

Addiction is the constant need to use certain substances or engage in particular behaviours. It isn’t limited to substance use (drugs and alcohol); addiction can also show up as impulse control (gambling, self-harming, kleptomania, pyromania) and behavioural (internet, pornography, sex, video games, working, exercising, shopping, food). An activity or substance becomes an addiction when you use it to avoid or deal with activities, emotions or thoughts. Once you stop or slow down, the withdrawal symptoms begin. These Symptoms Can Present Physically and Psychological symptoms. Our specialists will help you move through this towards long term sustainable function.

Addiction is often the surface problem, it's a way of staying away from a greater pain that is below the surface. Doing addiction counselling with me is a gentle and compassionate process of tending to the real issues below the addiction, so that there is no longer a need to engage in this harmful behaviour. When you pull out the roots of a weed, the weed will not grow back, and real change has been achieved!

Addictions can appear in many forms including substance addictions, internet addiction, sex addiction, gambling addiction, shopping addiction, pornography, social media, excessive exercise, food, etc. Strong cravings with a loss of control can lead people to become addicted in spite of possible dire consequences. Counselling is one of several possible treatments available for addictions. Individual, group and family therapies have been found to be helpful in order to inform a client regarding the harmful effects the addiction may have on themselves, their friends, family and society. Promoting physical, emotional and spiritual well being is often critical for the rehabilitation process.

I have been clean and sober nearly 26 years. I am familiar with 12-step approaches to treating addictions and compulsions, and sympathetic to those who find them uesful. There are, however, many who need help but cannot find it in 12 step programs. I am able to meet many of these where they are, and help them in ways they are able to use. Addiction and compulsions, like all conditions that respond to psychotherapy, are phenomena that are overcome through personal growth.

In our early environments, we absorb a lot of information about ourselves and the world. Sometimes this stuff is positive – like language or self-soothing, but sometimes it comes from a disruptor and is not. Things like criticism, alcohol used by a parent, detachment from parents, perfectionism, or whatever can cause limiting beliefs about one’s self.

Addictions are created by things that make us feel better. I gets completed because some things we get addicted to change our brains and now we need that thing just to feel normal. The problem is that addictions tie us down and inhibit the ability to connect to the pain the made the addiction seem like a viable option in the first place. Reconnecting with this heals and frees us from the addiction. Visit my website at www.prairieowlpsychology.ca from more details. I have successfully worked with people from a variety of backgrounds to treat a variety of addiction issues and look forward to working with you.