Addiction Therapists in Temple, TX.

I offer counseling for various addictive behaviors. Addictions may include alcohol, drugs, nicotine, pornography, gambling, eating, shopping, hoarding, or relationships (co-dependency. I help clients gain insight into possible causes of their addictive behaviors. Then, a major focus becomes replacing those behaviors with a more positive, healthy lifesyle. I recommend that the client develop a positive support system of people or groups that can enhance their recovery, such as a person abusing alcohol to maintain regular, involved participation in AA. Someone with a porn addiction may first need to put a filter on the computer, and also have a trusted person to be accountable to.

If you’re struggling with unhealthy habits or addictive behaviors, in some way it’s working for you. After all, they provide relief from stress and pain. But, if you’re reading this you also know that they aren’t a long-term solution. It’s common for successful men like yourself to use over-working, pornography, alcohol, technology, and emotional eating to cope with the stressful demands of life. As a Certified EMDR therapist, I won’t give you band-aid approaches to manage your stress or make you quit these behaviors. But if you’re actually ready for a change, I can help. Like an emotional surgeon, I'll help you identify the sources of your stress and pain, and heal them at the source.

I have worked with addictions for most of my career. Whether this is for you or a loved one, I would love the opportunity to help you. If you are early in your sobriety I will help guide you through this experience and keep you focused on what is safest and healthiest for you. If you have some sobriety under your belt, I will help you maintain your new healthy lifestyle to keep you on track. I am excited to help you take care of yourself.

Through personalized treatment plans, clients will benefit from a holistic approach that addresses physical, emotional, and psychological aspects of addiction. My goal is to empower clients to identify triggers, develop healthier coping mechanisms, and build a strong foundation for lasting recovery. Together, we will create a safe and supportive environment where clients can work towards sobriety, healing, and a renewed sense of purpose, ultimately leading to a life free from the constraints of addiction.

When people think about the word addiction, the most common thought is about drugs or substance. But we can experience addiction to anything, including pornography, computer games, shopping, gambling, even things that normally represent positive things such as exercising or working. People suffering from addiction may have a brain chemistry that is hardwired that way. But sometimes addictions come about as a maladaptive response to a trauma or an event in a person's life. Part of therapy is to help determine the cause of the addiction and then to find the appropriate modality to treat it.

I've never met anyone who started using a substance because they wanted to be unable to live without it. Substance abuse and addiction start as a strategy. The strategy may be different for everyone but it begins to be THE strategy. The coping skill for unwanted emotions, for difficult times in our lives and even the way we celebrate the good times. Learning to experience life without substance is often hard in the beginning. As you grow into your new life you will have the power of choice that you may not have known you had in your addiction.

Helping clients to identify what they are seeking from and or getting out of their addiction is one of the main goals in my practice. Once clients are able to identify this they can better understand the motivation behind continuing to use. The next step is to help clients to create a "new life" or version of themselves that allows for more balance and enjoyment.