Addiction Therapists in Inglewood, CA.

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.

We become addicted to certain behaviors when painful feelings about ourself cannot be recognized or expressed, and therefore unprocessed. Caught in these unrecognized feelings that never get understood, behaviors of accommodation take hold and keep us trapped. Therapy is a process of recognizing these emotional patterns leading to a personal empowerment to speak what one really desires and needs. This process breaks the addictive patterns.

Dr. Clark offers serves for some of the most common addictions: alcohol, gambling, theft, and sexual addictions (including internet addiction, infedelity, seeking prostitutes, and other sexual compulsions such as public exhibitionism and voyeurism). Unfortunately, most people avoid seeking help until they run into trouble with the law and risk loosing their marriage and/or employment. Don't wait that long to ask for help.

I believe in a harm reduction model for addiction. I spent years in a clinic dealing with 50 clients, who were addicted to alcohol, opiates, cocaine, crack, and various prescription medications. Clients and I collaborated in finding the motivation to change. Every addict has entertained the thought of quiting. What we do in session is engage you in "change talk" expand on it, and reinforce it. Once the motivation for change is there, learning more positive reactions to triggers can begin. We will deal with self-esteem issues and possible traumas that may have led to self-medication. 12-Step programs are effective in relapse provention. Remember, you are not alone.

Don't know if you're an "addict"? Are you SURE you are? Whether someone just accuses you of addiction or you've been around the recovery block a few times, you'll find qualified and understanding help at CCRG. But nobody REALLY understands you? Try us! You'll find real understanding and patience, skill and knowledge, motivation and support. Would all that help? Call us and let us help.

If you have been clean and sober for at least six months, are in a 12 step program and working with a sponsor and looking to get into therapy, then spiritually oriented counseling can be a wonderful addition to the work you are already doing. Whether you are struggling with a concept of a "higher power," or feel that you have easily embraced it, spiritual counseling can be the right direction. Call Dr. Ellie for an initial consultation.

Addicted to alcohol, drugs, sex, gambling, romance or food? Counseling can help! I work with clients from a holistic approach addressing the mind, body and spirit. Addiction is associated with deep emotional pain in the human psyche. In order to truly heal your pain, you will need to address the needs of all aspects of yourself. Call me for a consult!

Struggles with addiction and substance abuse can often be accompanied by guilt and shame, and this guilt and shame are typically triggers for continued use/relapse. Use of a strengths-based approach to treating substance abuse can tap an individual's own strengths to gain insight and to increase coping skills. Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Interpersonal Therapy can also prove useful to address unmet needs, feeling "stuck" and challenging irrational thoughts that lead to continued use.

I work with many individuals who have either identified themselves as having addiction problems or are still in denial that they have problems with addiction....either to substances or to certain destructive activities. Either way, I work with them so that they have a realistic understanding of the destructive consequences of their actions as well as an empathic awareness of the underlying self-destructive attitudes or beliefs (or life experiences) that may have led to their addictions. Addicts need support to deal with their addictions. There is no one way to get this support, but it is vital that addicts know that they they do need support...group support and psychotherapeutic support.

I strongly believe that the first step in overcoming an addiction is to feel supported in a safe and comforting therapeutic environment. Without trust, it is nearly impossible to address the issues, including shame, that so often accompany substance abuse. My approach is to help my clients learn to identify the thoughts and beliefs (often negative thoughts about themselves and their lives) that lead them to turn to drugs or alcohol. Treatment helps the client unlearn old patterns of behavior and to learn new ways of coping with situations and thoughts that may have led them to use substances in the past.

Any addiction is an attempt to deal with feelings that are unmanageable. The alcoholic turns to alcohol to escape problems at home or at work. The gambler turns to gambling to avoid uncomfortable feelings. The sex addict turns to sex to numb him or herself from other feelings. "Self-medicating" through addiction works in the short turn but always has a price attached to it. Together we can discover the underlying issues surrounding your addiction and work towards a life free of compelling urges you may find difficult to resist. Dr. Gary has been featured numerous times on the Dr. Phil show discussing addition. Type in "Dr. Phil and Dr. Gary Stollman" on youtube and watch his numerous videos.

The approach I use has to do with helping people understand their childhood and failure of a parent who does not affirm/approve them and how their addiction is used to mask that pain. I also like to use Shame therory to help people see how their addiction is a strategy to not deal with shame/guilt issues. I recommend AA, CA, & Celebrate Recovery.

While most treatment approaches to addiction include 12 step programs, rehabs, and now sober living houses, Grey Matters International, Inc. provides a wildly successful alternative to traditional models of addiction treatment----that keeps the brain in mind. That is, talking to the conscious brain while the primal brain is deciding things even before you are consciously aware? Well, that is the problem to solve in addiction. We have the solution utilizing a new cutting edge neuroscience-centered brain rebalancing system. Contact kevin@kevinflemingphd.com or call 877-606-6161.