Addiction Therapists in El Cerrito, CA.

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.

Addiction can be a powerful force that can quickly take over your life and can lead to many negative consequences. Trying to understand your addiction(s) and the underlying reasons that led you to this way of coping can be the beginning of more control and management of these behaviors. It can be difficult to look at behaviors that have caused harm, hurt and shame. Together we can work through this process and I will support you throughout.

Use doesn’t automatically lead to abuse. Alcohol, prescription and drug abuse / addiction is less about the amount of substance consumed or the frequency, and more to do with the consequences of drug use. If your addiction is causing problems in your life or relationships, getting help may help. I will work with you in reducing stress, how to read cues from your environment and making changes in your social networks. You will be held accountable and challenged, in a supportive environment by utilizing CBT as well as solution focused therapy. I will assist you in relapse prevention, getting tools and skills towards prevention and getting to the root cause of your addiction.

Addiction is beast. It is an ever reaching cycle. If you are looking for assistance in addiction in my private practice you will be asked to be sober and attend other support groups in conjunction with individual therapy. I am warm and firm and holding in the right to set you free from the ties that bind you, whatever your choice of addiction is.

If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, it can feel as though you are very much alone. Alcohol and drug abuse can begin to take over most areas of a person’s life, affecting work and home in major ways. The addicted person’s life can begin to feel out of control and family members may feel at a loss about how to help their loved one. Fortunately, effective treatment is available. There are many different levels of treatment including outpatient psychotherapy, intensive outpatient programs and inpatient programs depending on the needs and resources available to the person struggling with substance abuse and their family. I am experienced in helping guide this complicated process.

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.

Addiction can be a debilitating disease. Whether it is an addiction to alcohol, drugs, food, spending, love, sex or gambling, the effects can greatly impact your life and relationships. My main goal in working with addiction is exploring what it is that makes one satisfied. I also work to uncover potential issues underlying the addiction, such as past trauma or grief. I've worked with those who are both active addicts and those who are in recovery, but want to process their past experiences and lifestyle from when they were active in their addiction.

I help men when alcohol or other substance use has become a barrier in their relationships and/or career. For more then 10 years I have focused on the particular way men use substances to relate to, and cope with the world around them. At some point, the partying stops feeling like a party, and the consequences set in. Often times men go back and forth trying to answer the question, "do I really have a problem here?" You can do something about this, and you do not have to deal or cope with this alone. The majority of my clients express that they are comforted and inspired in their work with me, as they gradually develop greater self-understanding, and a feeling of empowerment in their lives.

Is your use of alcohol or other substances a concern for you? Do you wonder if you are struggling with addiction? I help you explore your feelings associated with the use. You can learn to control it by getting clear on what you want to get out of substance use. You may consciously choose abstinence, 12-step work or continued controlled use (also called harm reduction). Discover for yourself what supports best a fulfilling, healthy life style.

Most of the clients I see in my job as Mental Health Clinician for Solano County have a diagnosis that includes substance abuse. I believe that substance abuse can be overcome through various behavioral and psychotherapeutic approaches and I readily apply these techiques to my treatment plan. I also rely on the assistance of outside groups such as Alcoholics Anonoymous and NA. Sexual addiction is an area of importance in our society and I can work with people who are preoccupied with self-destructive sexual behavior, too.

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.

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.

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.