Addiction Therapists in San Carlos, 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.

I see addiction from the perspective of what is called "The Hungry Ghost". That when we aren't fed the nourishment we need as children, love, support, being seen, heard, cared for and held safe, that we then feel a huge hole in our psyche's. And when we have not experienced the natural highs of intimacy and love in relationships, we will naturally find a replacement for that feeling in an addiction. The solution is not to shame the addict, but help them see that there addiction is simply Mal-adaptive, and to help guide them to get their needs met with health intimacy. In other words to show them that once they find healthy ways to meet their needs they won't need the addiction.

I am always saying “addiction is an attempt to solve a problem”. My question towards people who struggle with addiction is “what problem were you/are you trying to solve?” Let’s look at the pain and the struggles that led to the addiction and keeps the addiction going. Let’s see what we can uncover when we lift up the rock of addiction and look underneath it. We will also talk about what happens to the brain during addiction and during recovery. I am here to walk with you on this journey and support you through this. I want to help you so that you can experience more peace and serenity in your life.

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!

To live authentically and fully, we must have access to our feelings. In short, this means that we can identify, articulate, express, and finally take appropriate action on them. Addictions, while there is a vast continuum in type and intensity, block full access to our feelings. It is our feelings and our ability to effectively manage them (without addictions) that enable us to connect deeply with ourselves and others. They are our "internal compass" allowing us to discern various parts of ourselves as well as our choice in relationships. Therapy is the ideal place to process feelings and learn how to manage them without addictive substances and behavior.

While I do not work with clients in active addiction, I absolutely support clients who have addiction in their pasts, as this likely indicates some trauma. If you are receiving support from an addiction counselor, going to a support group, or working with your MD, I am always happy to be part of your support team. Trauma and addiction go hand in hand, making this a big part of my practice. Therapy is often a small piece of the puzzle, but I always ensure my clients have the tools they need to be successful. If you need support with addiction, please reach out and I can help you with coordination for you to meet all of your mental health needs.

I specialize in working with internet, video game, cell phone, social media, crypto 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

If you are moving into recovery from drugs and alcohol I am here to support your path to strength and growth. From many years of experience with those in early or later recovery from addiction, I would like very much to offer you effective ways of staying present, yet getting underneath where your substance issues began and how to move back into a sober and healthier life. There are often specific career and relationship factors that need to be healed or started anew in a fresh way...often both! I am here to give you that guidance towards adjusting to substance free feelings safely. It can be a great benefit to have support in gently allowing awareness of avoided emotions again.

If pornography is out of control in your life, or feels like an unhealthy habit, or addiction, I offer therapy specifically intended to help you understand your dependance upon porn, why it's so difficult to stop using, and how you can take your life back and experience freedom. If pornography has become a problem in your relationship, I help couples understand the role pornography serves, how to build empathy and understanding between one another, and how to fill the needs pornography serves in a more fulfilling way.

We have all experienced some sort of addiction, whether it be to food, work, sex, alcohol, a drug, gambling, shopping, or our cell phone… This unconscious escapism or desire to fill a void runs rampant in our modern day lifestyle. What do we do when addiction is eroding our quality of life and/or our relationships? I find the solution is often in identifying the core wound that is causing you to want to escape, or to fill a void. I offer a more spiritual approach to recovery work in which you will cultivate your relationship with your Higher Self and learn how to keep the addict part of you in the back seat with the seat belt on.

The famed physician and author encourages us to ask not, 'why the addition' but 'why the pain?' In our society we have the ability to turn to a multitude of substances and behaviors to numb and avoid pain, many of which are not only socially acceptable but encouraged. The brain despises pain. and will do all sorts of things to not feel pain. So how do we help you navigate the painful emotions that lay beneath your use and/or behaviors? Somatic Experiencing is a somatic trauma intervention that can help us to build a foundation from which you learn not only to bear the pain but to process it, let it go and welcome in something new and different. What would you like to welcome in?

I am very experienced in supporting those with addiction or substance use issues, whether you are seeking support with gaining or maintaining abstinence or support to cut down your use, or to better understand your relationship with substances, I can help you. I provide a safe, nonjudgmental place to explore these issues and I will support you wherever you are at in your understanding of your substance use. I also provide treatment for process addictions, such as gambling, and internet/social media addiction. Gaining insight into your relationship with substances or these addictive behaviors and learning to practice skills to maintain change can help you to lead a fuller and happier life.

Psychotherapy for addiction is an effective treatment approach that helps individuals understand and address the underlying causes of their addiction. The goal of psychotherapy for addiction is to help individuals develop new coping mechanisms and strategies for dealing with triggers and cravings, as well as to address any underlying emotional or psychological issues that may be contributing to the addiction. Through therapy, you can find what it is that you need to move on.