Addiction Therapists in Tustin, CA.

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.

I do not work with severe drug and alcohol addiction. I work with clients who are able to function, yet finding it becoming more difficult and needing to stop their behavior before they hit bottom. We use cognitive behaviorial techniques to protect them from acting out and build up a support network. We also begin to explore soothing and coping techniques which are needed and missing.

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.

Clients grappling with addiction often feel a profound injury to their confidence, trapped in a cycle that seems insurmountable. In my therapy process, you will discover a compassionate and understanding environment where the underlying reasons for addiction are not only identified but addressed with clear, actionable solutions. My approach emphasizes the your unique experience, helping you to rebuild self-trust and confidence. Through personalized support and long-term management strategies, clients will find empowerment in their journey towards recovery, regaining control, and hope for a healthier future.

Addictions medicate being wound up inside. Tools help people release the buried feelings that actually cause addictions! Stop treating the symptoms by trying to "white knuckle it" or give yourself pep talks. Buried feelings in old wounds are the real problem so we need tools to reach the cause, not treat the symptoms! Core wounds can keep you so wound up you can't sleep, feel anxious or crave some way to relax and "get out of your head". Tools help you understand addictions at a deeper level than just trying to say no! Addicts are actually in a great deal of pain underneath the wound up/bored level of living. Really grow out of addictions. You don't need a crutch, you need a cure

For many people, addictions can be a private pain that they keep hidden away from others. Often times, people feel powerless to overcome these temptations that may eventually impact their relationships and life functioning. In the safety of therapy, we will work towards identifying triggers or times when you feel most vulnerable to your addiction. We'll process through underlying issues and develop feasible steps for you to resist temptations and replace them with constructive and healthy ways of coping. Whether it's internet addiction, pornography, substance abuse, binge eating- you do not have to let your addiction consume you any longer.

Battling an addiction is one of the hardest hurdles to overcome because you basically have two enormous issues to work through. You have the addiction, which is an overpowering urge to engage in a particular activity despite it’s negative consequences and then you have the issue underneath that you’re attempting to cope with by means of the addiction. Therefore, my approach is to work with the client on reducing the addictive behaviors so we can explore the root cause of it. Obviously elimination of the addiction is the goal, but sometimes just slowly reducing it is enough to begin work on the underlying cause. Benefits of this would be gaining back your control over your life.

Most often, nothing becomes an issue until it starts to interfere with your own level of functioning. Depending on the level of addiction, may depend on your level of treatment. Outpatient therapy is focused on those who are more stable within their addiction, and are wanting continued accountability and personal growth as their focus. Treatment may be more collaborative at this level (psychiatrist, physician, sponsor) to ensure that progress is continuing. Types of addiction treated in my practice: drug/alcohol use, food/exercise, shopping and co-dependency issues.

I bring an empathetic, non-judgemental style to my approach to treating addiction. I have extensive experience working with a variety of addictions including but not limited to pornography, gaming, shopping, cosmetic surgery and drugs and alcohol. I am currently the Program Director of The Haven at University of Redlands serving as a Clinical Life Coach for University students in recovery from drugs and alcohol living in a sober collegiate community.

Are you struggling with addictive lifestyle behaviors around food, exercise, gambling, shopping or sex? If so you may feel like your out-of-control. A part of you may know you have to stop this behavior or your life will be a mess, but you can't seem to do it. Are you filled with broken promises to yourself to change? So why not get help? I use a task-centered approach to behavioral addictions. It is a structured path that leads to recovery. It is a step by step approach that has helped others change their lives. Do the tasks and get better. It is simple but not easy. Don't wait until it is too late. If your ready to change then give me a call.

Addictions are ways people have learned to cope and regulate difficult and painful feelings. My approach is to teach you how to talk about and process the underlying emotions which fuel your addiction, and find alternative ways of coping. No matter what the addiction, it can distract you from important relationships in your life and keep you from being the person you know you can be.

There are many kind of addictions....chemicals....gambling....adultery....sexual...pornography....internet. These addictions often serve to "mask" intense emotions felt by an individual. The addiction serves, at least for the moment or hour to allow one to "escape". Obsessive Compulsive behaviors follow, often by the decline in quality of life. Working with a professional therapist will allow you to talk about your life, your emotions, your unresolved issues. This journey of discovery can lead to a better self image, better relationships (since addictions are "instead" of people) and better health.

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!