Addiction Therapists in Lancaster, CA.

My approach to treating addiction incorporates aspects of motivational interviewing. The hardest part in breaking an addiction is acknowledging that you have an addiction and committing to rehabilitation. I differ from other rehabilitation programs like alcoholics anonymous, in that I believe that clients can practice selective sobriety, and that they should not replace their addiction with another addiction of group meetings.

An addiction can be hidden for years before a spouse or parent catches on. Addiction is not limited to street drugs and alcohol, people can become addicted to things like prescription medication, binge eating, video games, gambling, or pornography. Addiction always starts as something that seems harmless and innocent. It is common for a distressed person to turn to their addiction to escape from their problems--the drugs/action takes their minds off their problems. As time goes by, the physical dependency grows, and then the psychological dependency grows; the addiction grows and grows until it takes over the person's mind. I know what it is like and I can help the person get into recovery.

Are you addicted to pornography, visiting massage parlors, paying for sex? Have you tried to stop and failed? Are you leading a double life, afraid of being found out? Has your partner discovered your secret life? There is hope if you're ready to change your life. I provide a confidential, non-judgmental place for addicts and their partners to share the shame of a double life and the pain of betrayal. I will help stop the out-of-control behavior and re-engineer your life to develop healthy intimate connections. There is hope and you will not be alone in the journey. Go to www.sexhelp.com for an online assessment.

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.

I specialize in working with internet, video game, cell phone, social media, and porn addictions. These process addictions have acquired a power over you that is difficult to break. I take a multi-faceted approach to helping you experience the change you desire. I use Motivational Interviewing to help you solidify your desire to change, I utilize abstinence based strategies and methods to help you establish and sustain sobriety, I help you learn how to replace these addictions with real relationships and interests that foster real relationships and I support you in identifying or establishing a natural support network that helps you to maintain and sustain the new changes in your life!

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.

Addictions can be tricky as they can often fly under the radar if they don't seem to impact other people, such as an individual who exercises to extremes; however, problems arise when addiction(s) begin to impact their social, academic, mental/physical health, financial or professional life. Looking at the difference between merely habit forming behaviors and true addictions can be examined during psychotherapy and looking at benefits and patterns of these behaviors. Supportive measures are key before addictions take over and become the sole purpose of an individual's functioning. I have worked with a number of individuals and psychotherapy can be of a great benefit towards recovery.

There are many forms of addiction: Alcoholism & Chemical Dependency, Sexual Addictions, and Gambling are just a few. We believe there are root problems to every addiction that you can get to. Even if you don't consider yourself an "addict" you may have a problem in one of these areas. That can still be a very difficult thing to manage in your life on your own. We help people come to grips with addictions and problem behaviors that can get worse if left unaddressed. If you are struggling in this area don't try to go it alone. We can help.

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.

Addiction is complex and encompasses many entities. One of them is the participation in an AA program, another one the therapist. I can help on the therapeutic side, as addiction is often connect to underlying trauma. We will work through the trauma and the tools needed, while AA provides the tools required for sobriety. It's an ongoing process, providing growth and stability over time.