Addiction Therapists in El Cerrito, CA.

There are so many different approaches to treating substance abuse and addiction. Without shame or judgement I work with clients to help them uncover the underlying pain that often maintains addictive behaviors. I encourage clients to take back control of their lives by exploring and understanding their unique relationship with the addictive substance or behavior. Clients can learn to make different, healthier choices and will begin to feel that they really do deserve a better way of life. This increase in self worth and new found peace can guide clients as they heal from within and work to improve the relationships in their lives.

Are you sitting with feelings of shame, guilt, regret, angst, or fear in regards to your battle with addiction? Have you been through one program after another, but keep resorting to the same old patterns that ultimately lead to relapse? Are you struggling to understand what has you turning to drugs time and time again despite your various efforts to abstain? I specialize in working with people through profound shame and helping them understand the various ways it manifests in their lives. I work with those battling addiction in trying to understand their patterns and thirst for something more in life by getting them to focus more deeply on the complex issues they face in a safe space.

I see addiction from the perspective of what is called "The Hungry Ghost". That when we aren't fed the nourishment we need as children, love, support, being seen, heard, cared for and held safe, that we then feel a huge hole in our psyche's. And when we have not experienced the natural highs of intimacy and love in relationships, we will naturally find a replacement for that feeling in an addiction. The solution is not to shame the addict, but help them see that there addiction is simply Mal-adaptive, and to help guide them to get their needs met with health intimacy. In other words to show them that once they find healthy ways to meet their needs they won't need the addiction.

Addition can show up in many forms - substance abuse, addiction to technology, love addiction, or addiction to work. Whatever the addiction, you are here because it has started to take over your life and affecting your health, relationships, or work. You might feel powerless over the addiction. Counseling can help you find support and strategies for overcoming the addiction. You can learn to practice mindfulness so you can choose to act in the way you want, not the way the addiction wants. It's time to take your life back. Give me a call today to schedule a free consultation.

Addiction is a treatable illness. All that is required is that you want to stop using the substance(s). Therapy can help you overcome your addiction. Not all people fit into the AA model, although all people could benefit from the support. Even without the 12 steps, I can help you think about your cravings and your triggers so we make a plan to help you stop using - and stay stopped.

Addiction can be layered with loss, grief, and isolation. It might seem impossible to give up or reduce something that has felt so central to your life. I will provide a safe and nonjudgemental space for us to explore your experience and to create change and movement. My style is warm, empathic, and collaborative. By making links between your past and present experience we can develop and increase understanding and awareness and create space for something new to happen.

Addictions are very difficult to seek treatment for. Often there is guilt and shame as well as some resistance to giving up the addiction forever. As a result, it is important to help people learn what the addiction has done for them so that other strategies can be developed to fill the same or similar needs in more productive ways. Sometimes with addiction, people need to change friends and that can be challenging because isolation is very difficult for early recovery. I do believe 12-step type meetings can be helpful for some people but it is an individual decision and I do not push it. Recovery is an active and collaborative road.

I welcome those who have had previous experience in a recovery program, and now wish to use counseling to strengthen sobriety and rebuild self confidence and self esteem. The goal: to work through the painful emotional experiences that led to addictive behavior, and to develop a solid foundation for the future. I also welcome adult family members who are seeking help relating to a loved one who is currently engaged in the recovery process. The goal is to identify codependent emotional patterns and enabling behaviors, so that healthy interpersonal boundaries and deeper intimacy can be reestablished. Please visit KinseyLeaseCounseling.com for more.

I take a collaborative approach to working with issues of addiction. I believe that addiction stems from attempt to maintain the belief that one is in control of their consumption in spite of lots of evidence to the contrary. I partner with clients to help them objectively evaluate this belief and consider whether they have less control over their use than they had thought. Once one can acknowledge that they do not have control over their use, the path to full recovery becomes accessible. Each person must come to this conclusion on their own and with the aid of support rather than judgment. I strive to do this in my therapy practice.

Are you having difficulty coping with stress and find yourself repeatedly doing those unhealthy things that you want to quit? This does not have to be a full-blown "addiction" to substance but maybe you find yourself having problems stopping yourself. If so this is the perfect time to get some help to understand what you need and how to stop those habits.

For many people who did not get the emotional support and security that they needed as a child, drugs, alcohol, and other compulsive behaviors can become a powerful way to experience a sense of calm, comfort, and internal cohesion. Ultimately, however, these same substances that once offered somewhat of a haven and a comfort, become a source of great stress, anguish and upheaval. I try to help my clients understand both how this behavior serves them and the damage that it has done to them and to get them to the point where they feel capable of giving it up because they have the tools available to help them to cope without it.

Addictions are highly entrenched behavioral patterns that seem to take on a life of their own. I view addictive patterns as ways that parts of ourselves are trying to fill unmet needs, search for comfort, relieve stress/tension and sometimes to express a powerful urge to be independent or defiant. In addition to encouraging group supports such as AA/NA, I use body awareness to help us identify triggers and to allow them to act out/ express themselves in sessions. This lessens the likelihood that they will be acted in the world- and fills in the unmet needs. I also teach ways of grounding in our body, and holding a strong stance, so that we can contain the urges when they arise.

Addiction is a mental health condition and I treat addiction by a multi-pronged process predominately from a Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) model. I help my clients understand the reasons they use a substance or engage in an addictive behavior, teach them skills regulate their emotions and tolerance distress that might otherwise lead them to engage in their addiction, and address any underlying issues that contribute to their addiction. I also help clients with with concerns about their substance use or compulsive behavior to avoid developing addictions.