Addiction Therapists in Calgary, AB.

Addictions; they meet a need, they have a purpose. I will help you identify what your addiction is doing for you and how to reach that need in a healthier way. You can learn what your triggers are, how to address them and how to maintain an eye on what contributes to relapse, so you can address it early on, as well as identify what helps you maintain progress. Part of my therapy, for those who are interested, involves hypnotherapy because of the benefits and positive difference I see when I work with clients. I'd be happy to chat with you about what your goals are, how I approach counselling (accepting, goal focused and action oriented), and how to begin to create long term success.

An addiction, whether to a substance or a behaviour, is an attempt to alleviate distress, self-soothe or fill an emptiness. The substance or behavior cannot bring relief because it is not what you truly need. No matter how you have been self-medicating your stress and pain thus far, I can help you treat the underlying issues in ways that are life-sustaining rather than destructive. The earlier you get help, the better. I will compassionately help you no matter how many times you have tried to quit and will help you establish ways that will help you stay quit. I provide therapy for various addictions with a sex addiction specialty. I help those addicted as well as their families.

This isn't who you are. Is it time for a change? Ready to consider doing something different in your life? My approach to addictions looks at behavioral, emotional and cognitive changes that can support your recovery, building a new you and a new life. Drawing on CBT and other approaches, the supportive, non-judging space I provide teaches you practical strategies to cope with life, alternative (aka more rewarding and fulfilling) behaviors (and to learn to like them!), and helps you heal. You'll come to know greater freedom and satisfaction with who you are, your relationships, and with your life.

Addiction is a concern that many people struggle with. Often people are unaware of the way in which addiction can significantly affect life, and cause harm to self and others. Feeling out of control and unable to stop harmful behaviours is a normal experience when someone is addicted to a substance or behaviour. Addiction is a treatable disease, which can be managed through therapy and a recovery program. I treat individuals with addiction to alcohol, drugs, sex, gambling, food.

Have your addictions and/or compulsive behaviours taken control of your life? Does life seem unmanageable and you feel the things you value slipping away? Does someone you love appear unable to quit doing something even though it is hurting them? As a therapist, my role in the recovery journey is a supportive one. I help people who are already in a 12-step or other program to maintain sobriety by exploring their unhelpful thinking styles, helping them mourn past losses, and addressing other underlying issues that have led to the addictive behaviours. I also help the loved ones of addicts, especially partners of sex addicts who are trying to heal from the trauma of betrayal.

Individual therapy can be a route for creating behavioural change. A motivational, stages of change approach, meets people where they are at. For example, when people are contemplating change, they may utilize therapy to explore feelings about pros and cons of change. For people who have made the decision to change behaviour, strategies would involve identifying challenges and personalized strategies to address them. Having achieved the desired change, there may be a period of support during maintenance which may include monitoring situations presenting risk for relapse so that confidence that such situations can be managed may evolve and confidence created to strengthen new behaviours.

For every woman, the first step towards freedom from addiction is always the step of coming to believe in freedom and to believe that freedom is possible. We can show you a way out of the guilt and away from the shame that keeps you from the love your heart longs for. Reject the lie that you will always be an addict, reclaim your ability to know truth and choose life!

Support for relationship, career, and mental health issues associated with addictions. Gerard has diverse experience as a psychologist and leader in social services, schools, universities, corporati, and his private practice. He supports addicts in recovery from all walks of life, including continuity of care for physicians, dentists, pharmacists, and others struggling with addiction. Using a theoretical foundation of social learning and cognitive-behavioural training, he is well-versed in formal and informal assessment and solution-focussed approaches. He listens carefully to understand your needs and relies on his extensive experience to help you find solutions to your dilemmas.

One of my favourite authors on addiction says "What if we replaced the word "addict" with: “A human being who suffered so much that he or she finds in drugs or some other behavior a temporary escape from that suffering"? G. Mate. When I see clients struggling with an addiction, I also see them struggling with pain. I work on both pain and the addiction as a method.

Addictions issues can both result from distress in relationships and precipitate or create distress. Support in addressing addictions issues can have a signifiacant positive impact on overall relationship functioning. The fact that relationships are one of our primary coping mechanisms multiplies the potential distress when addictions is present as it impacts the very mechanisms we use to cope.

My work with addiction is to examine the beliefs, thoughts and feelings that lay beneath the addictive behaviour. My approach is to help you see the value that the addiction has in your life and why you have held onto the behaviours associated with the addiction as long as you have. Once we identify what you are getting from the addiction we can begin to look at replacing the behaviours.

I know what it’s like to be an addict. I have been in a recovery from my addiction for several years now. I am also an expert in addictions and I am currently writing an American textbook called “Addictions Counseling Now: Substances and Addictive Behaviors.” If you need a competent psychologist, book now at https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=14249112

I have worked in the addictions field for the past 15+ years. My understanding of addiction is that it stems from multiple traumas whether beginning in childhood or adulthood. My approach to counselling is mind/body focused and aims to assist clients to heal wounds caused by trauma at the body level where trauma is stored. If we experienced early childhood trauma, often the body is the only access point to heal trauma as we experienced trauma before we had the ability to process things verbally. I also believe that in order to heal trauma, we need to heal in relationship as the majority of our traumas occurred in relationships which counselling provides between therapist and client.