Addiction Therapists in Pacific Palisades, CA.

I love the 12 step programs and will want my clients to attend some of those sessions. I will work with clients to find the personal power to attend these meetings and gain more knowledge about others as well as themselves. I work here with self forgiveness, shame, and forgiveness of others. I work to strengthen their personal worth. I find that having the client take personal responsibility for their actions is the key to their going forward in grace and honesty.

Addiction and Anxiety are good friends. They feed off of each other. You use when you feel uncomfortable, sad, nervous, or stressed. Feelings of unease, low self-esteem and pressure add to addictions, but addiction are also their own animal. They are treated with behavioral methods which include lots of accountability. If you are serious about getting help, call me for a consultation so we can talk and plan your next move.

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.

Addiction is a chronic, relapsing, progressive brain disease. Addiction is an attempt at self-repair. Addition comes in forms of substances, chemical dependency or process addictions such as sex, internet, gambling, eating and more. Of the most talked about is alcohol and drug abuse, or substance abusers. Substance abusers are unable to use their feelings as signals and guides in managing or protecting themselves against the instability and chaos of their internal world. All treatment of addiction is a time dependent process. Effective addiction treatment is in treatment strategy. The first stage of treatment is abstinence to the later stage of treatment which is prevention from relapse. Currently most addition treatments are in three step...(view profile to read more)

Dr. Clark offers serves for some of the most common addictions: alcohol, gambling, theft, and sexual addictions (including internet addiction, infidelity, 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.

My work at a residential drug treatment facility for three years complements my 25 years of experience as a psychotherapist. In addition to substance abuse and codependence issues, I support individuals with sexual compulsivity issues. I refrain from labeling this as an "addiction" per se, as does ASSECT (American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists). Treatment may sometimes involve significant others and family, as all are affected.

I specialize in helping people who are struggling with addiction. I provide a safe, empathic environment that will enable us to build a trusting relationship that you can come to depend on instead of dependency on a substance. Through our relationship, you can learn to explore your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors so that you can learn how to tolerate and regulate them without a substance.

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.

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.

We are talking about craving for substances or behavior that gets in the way of relationships, work, and general health. First, treat yourself to sharing with a professional what is going on because you are unlikely to be able to solve this all by yourself if you are still suffering. Talking is obviously not enough and you will learn to take the steps to change these destructive habits.

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.

Are you trapped by an addiction? Do you drink too much? Eat too much? Watch too much TV? Spend too much time on your phone or iPad? Do the pole in your life say you are not available to them or that you have problem? Most addictive behavior is an attempt to distract oneself from something painful that is going on. Instead of avoiding what's wrong, face it. Deal with it. Once you do, your need to participate in your addiction of choice will lessen. Need help doing this? Join one of my groups and do group therapy to uncover whatever your addiction is masking and get in with your life. Group not for you? Then do individual therapy instead. Either an help you get out from under your addiction.

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.

The world of addiction treatment has a tendency to skew towards the identification of the client with his/her addiction. Just as other mental health concerns, I believe that addiction is a problem that does not define the person but rather reflects a segment of experience that has the tendency to take precedence over various aspect of life. Addiction is often co-conspiring with other dominant forces such as shame and blame, thereby pressuring clients to be silent and hide under it's control. I find that an important step to dealing with addiction is to find out how it operates on a person's life, to understand it's tactics and what it is trying to take away, what it has to gain.

The benefits of Addiction Counseling and Treatment are manifold. Too often individuals are controlled by substances in their life and don't feel free to make their own choices. People can be addicted to everything from drugs, to caffeine, to shopping, to gambling, to alcohol, etc. Addiction counseling is about understanding the need one may feel to be attached to a substance. Counseling focuses on developing other coping skills to manage ones' life without depending on a substance to get through each day.

Are you abusing, addicted, or not sure? Are you concerned about substances (alcohol, pot, cocaine, meth), behaviors (sex, porn, computers, gambling, spending, cutting), or both? Together, we can see if these issues are really a problem for you. If you’re having problems in these areas, we can sort it out and deal with it. Some people benefit from 12-step programs, and others don’t want them. I can work either way. Together, we’ll see what triggers you, how you deal with them, what works, what doesn’t, what situations affect your using and not using, and how this ties in with your earlier life. We’ll see what helps you to cope, where that works and doesn’t, and what other options might be.

We will work together to help you find your motivation to quit using substances, to change self-defeating behaviors, identify risk factors for relapse and to rebuild damaged relationships. Group therapy combined with individual therapy one-on-one is the most effective method for tackling the issues surrounding addiction. The support of the group and the attention an individual gets from their therapist help support them on the road to recovery.

The long-term goals for working with addiction consists of improving the quality of life for clients by maintaining ongoing abstinence. Therapy assists clients in identifying the negative ways that using has impacted their lives. Treatment consists of educating client's about the disease, decreasing resistance and denial, finding ways to obtain sobriety, identifying triggers for relapse, and finding social and emotional support to overcome their addiction. My approach is to assess the type and severity of the addiction and provide my clients with referrals necessary to help them in the journey for recovery.

If you are in a relationship and find that substance use, drinking, gambling, infidelity, pornography, or any other behavior is driving a wedge between you and your partner, we can help. When there is a breach in the relationship and the priority of the partner is dropped, we can help you to repair. Together we will explore how to engage your partner without threat. We will help you to build roads to reduce the influence of the intruding behavior that threatens trust and intimacy.

I was the Clinical Director of a drug treatment centerI offer many different approaches and tools for leaving your substance behind, and I tailor my approach to your individual circumstances. But overall I view addiction as a form of coping (a coping strategy), and we would work to replace your current coping strategy with other, more life-affirming ones. We wouldn't just look at staying sober (triggers, relapse prevention, scheduling--whatever you wanted in these areas), but we would figure out where all of this came from. Then, we would work together to find ways to help you to live a richer, fuller, and substance-free life.

Addictions are beyond our understanding. Together, we can walk through the path of your life to help make sense of what you are trying to relieve through addictive behaviors. Whether your addiction is chemical, eating, sexual, pornography, gambling, or internet/gaming related, I can help you understand why you are making the choice of avoidance, even though it doesn't feel like a choice.

Addiction is often stigmatized in our society and struggles with addiction can carry a great weight of shame. I can help you understand the dynamics of addiction and create meaningful change without the judgment with which it is so often associated. Addressing addiction requires care and understanding, and I can provide you with that as we navigate the process of working through this issue that can be so impactful in your life.

Often the quickest and easiest way to stuff away negative thoughts and emotions or to just shut down and go numb is to self-medicate. Whether your substance of choice is drugs, alcohol, food, prescriptions, porn, or video games, you have fallen into the habit of dealing with life by turning to your substance. Breaking this cycle takes work and dedication but it is possible! Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Seeking Safety will help you identify your triggers, create a plan to cope with those triggers in a healthy way, and begin to create a support network. Addiction is one of the struggles where support is vital to one's recovery! You're not supposed to do it alone!

I approach addiction in a non-judgmental and empathic manner. have a variety of experience working with several forms of addiction including drug and alcohol addiction and various forms of behavioral addictions. I completed my dissertation on the topic of sex addiction and thus have worked extensively in this area. I believe that the underlying dynamics associated with any addiction must be examined.

I have many times worked in therapy with clients who struggle with addictions, among other issues. I have studied Motivational Interviewing, which is remarkably helpful in addictions work. Clients feel supported and not judged, and are able to find their internal motivations for change. Therapy with me can complement work in separate addiction treatment as well.