Addiction Therapists in Etobicoke, ON.

I have significant experience working with alcohol, drug, internet, gambling and sex addictions. My goal is to help reduce the harm to you and others and to restore your sense of dignity and integrity, and your feelings of being in control of your own life. You are not require to completely stop your use forever in order to change or access therapy. These choices are yours.

Do you or a loved one need help for alcohol or substance abuse? Are addictions to pornography, sex and/or the internet hurting the people in your life? Do you have a gambling, drug, alcohol, food, sex, work, and/or shopping addiction (s) that are impacting your life? Are you impacted by your family member's addiction? Counselling for addiction and codependency is available. I am an adult child of an alcoholic. I am a recovering addict myself. It takes one to know one, and it takes one to help one! You do not need to struggle alone, let me be your one! I've Got your Back. We can work holistically and also utilize the 12 Steps. Note: I am a Cannabis Friendly Psychotherapist

Addictive behaviours may feel like comfort to the vacuum left by aloneness or detachment. The feeling of aloneness can start early. Children require a lot of emotional interaction to develop trust that their needs for support and caring will be met. If they don’t experience positive attachments, they may turn their needs for love and caring into physical cravings, which are easier to fill, and develop relationships with their addictions because they're more in control of them than those they look to for love and attention. I create a therapeutic environment in which individuals can deepen their understanding of their feelings and learn to trust their inner resources to connect with others.

While substance use typically begins as recreational activity it can become habit forming and often develops addictive behaviors interfering with other areas of our lives, such as relationships, jobs, and finances. To increase awareness and insight into the reasons for using, I offer evidence-based treatment while providing you with options along the continuum of the Harm Reduction approach towards abstinence. We will explore any underlying emotional needs and relationships. By gaining insight to any ambivalent thoughts and feelings around changing patterns of substance misuse I will support you in the setting and achieving of personal goals. Schedule a free consultation today.

The Family Enhancement Centre offers therapy and counselling for individuals who are addicted to drugs, alcohol, smoking, gambling, internet or sex, to help them better understand their dependency and to support their efforts to recover. Our addiction counsellors can provide lasting change in dealing with your addiction. We can help you to explore the root triggers of your addiction, which can include emotions, workplace issues, family relationships, and social environments. Call us today to know more about how we can help you!

Addiction is often an attempt to cope with intolerable feelings. As humans, we use substances or behavioural addictions as a form of escape. Often they are pleasurable at first and then we become trapped. The goal of therapy is to understand what pain we are trying to numb and avoid. We must work through these experiences to truly overcome our addictions.

We are social beings who thrive when we feel connected to others. When we are unable to connect with our loved ones, we feel painful disconnection. These feelings of disconnection can lead us to explore other strategies to feel good, even temporarily. The use of substances or addictive behaviours can temporarily reduce our feelings of emotional and physical pain while increasing our sense of pleasurable feelings. Because it is temporary, we must continue to engage in these addictive practices to cope with feeling disconnected, and our use becomes more problematic and destructive. Together, we will explore the disconnection that is driving the addictive behaviour.

Research indicates there can be both a biological and emotional element to addictions. Addictions can flow through families and can go hand in hand with ADHD as a result of genetic based nutritional deficiencies. An addiction can therefore represent a self-medicating boost in the stimulation of dopamine and other neurotransmitters, creating a desire for more. As research into addictions continues understanding has also grown around the role of relationships in addictions. While unsatisfying relationships and negative emotional dances can be at the root of addiction, healing connected relationships and resolving negative emotional patterns can also facilitate choices which stop the addiction.