Addiction Therapists in Lafayette, CA.

If you are an addict or in a relationship with an addict, you know what an insidious disease this is. Gambling, alcohol, drug, eating disorder, internet, sex, or shopping addiction affects not only the addict, but the addict's family and friends; the grip of addiction is crushing. The manifestation of any addiction is cunning, baffling, and powerful. It feels impossible to live without your drug or behavior of choice and impossible to live with it. If you are the loved one of an addict, you might experience monstrous resentment at them for their behavior. You have probably said or thought, "If they loved me, they would stop." If it were about love, they'd stop. Contact me for a consultation.

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 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.

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.

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.

Addiction is a coping mechanism gone wrong. It's a self-protective defense that no longer works. Usually it is avoidance of underlying, unconscious pain. Therapy will help you get to the root of issues causing addiction. A harm-reduction model is used which means we follow your own goals for reduced substance use not necessarily abstinence. I will help you figure out your own goals for change. Talking to a therapist can bring you out of the isolation and hiding that perpetuates your substance use. Simply sharing your struggles relieves pain.

I work with a lot of people who are in recovery, who may or may not be in an addiction support program such as 12-step programs. All addictions are attempts to regulate the nervous system. Nervous systems get dysregulated as the after-effect of unresolved trauma. Being a certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, I use the tools of SE to help clients learn to regulate their nervous systems so the constant unconscious drive to use in order to get relief from anxiety and depression dissipates.

Addiction is usually the symptom, not directly the problem. Addiction is usually present initially because someone has really hard experiences and feelings that they are trying to escape from. But once we find a substance or behavior, it can be physiologically and emotionally/psychologically addictive. The addiction is so hard to break partly because it helps relieve us of the thoughts and feeling that we don't want to or even can't deal with. Don't beat yourself up for having addictive tendencies. A large portion of our community does. I can help you find relief, understanding and compassion as you evolve to a more nourishing and growthful existence. You're not alone.

I like to use solution-focused therapy as well as CBT for addiction treatment in my practice. The underlying issue is what drives addicts to use, making that the real problem. The drugs and alcohol are a symptom or byproduct of the real problem that lies underneath. Thus creating the cycle of guilt and shame and driving a person to use more and more. I have had extensive training and experience working with both people in their active addictions as well as recovering addicts and alcoholics.

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.

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.

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.