Addiction Therapists in Santa Cruz, CA.

In conjunction with couples counseling, I have had extensive experience on porn and sexual addiction recovery for husbands. For drug and alcohol addictions, I am only one part of a team for these clients - they must be participating in an outside group (such as AA, CR, etc.) and be in some type of rehab program, as well as in personal counseling.

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!

What drives your addiction? Do you self-medicate emotional problems? Get to the source of the addictive urge, resolve it and put new positive behaviors in place for lasting recovery and a happy, healthy lifestyle. Donald Dufford, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist has over 25 years experience in helping clients overcome addictive behavior. He is a Certified Doctoral Addictions Counselor, Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist and Certified Cognitive-Behavioral Therapist. Call now for a free 10 minute phone consultation.

In my work with clients battling addictions I work to help them discover the root causes for their addictive behaviors and find new ways to resolve them. We work collaboratively with their support system to create healthy lifestyle habits and associations, resolve old recurrent pain, set new healthier boundaries in their work and personal relationships, and find new meaning for their lives. When there are setbacks, my clients learn to explore them in a non-judgmental environment designed to help them move forward toward the sober, healthy life and relationships they are seeking.

In this generation, the growth of individuals with addictions is very significant. Addictions originally were isolated to alcohol and drugs. Today’s addictions are understood to also include, food, sex, money, gambling, video, internet, internet games, internet chatrooms, internet pornography and other types of prolonged, repeated and out of control behaviors and actions. Addictions take over a person’s ability to have of self- control of the action which leads to the fogging of any will power to stop the addictive activity even when a matter of great importance comes in conflict with the addiction. Addictions ruin people and all relationships surrounding them. Addiction counseling explores underlying factors leading to the addiction and looks to find...(view profile to read more)