Addiction Therapists in Airmont, NY.

What do you do if 12-step based treatment and AA or NA aren’t a good fit for you? You may want to explore cutting back on your drinking. You may not be ready to stop using marijuana but need support to look at how using is impacting your life. You may know you need to stop, and are abstinent, but need help to develop a long-term recovery plan with alternatives to AA or NA. A good life without drugs or alcohol is possible with or without 12-step meeting attendance.

My work with addictions is a highly compassionate approach, exploring with the client what the stressors or conditions have been which has led to addictive behaviors. These behaviors often affect the entire family. Getting to know the various aspects, thoughts and feelings of the client which are being affected by addiction can lead to healing and a restoration of health and balance.

Having worked in the addiction counseling and psychotherapy field has allowed me to become a certified alcohol and addiction counselor (CASAC) where I offer treatment for substance abuse understanding individuals who suffer from addiction and their families who also might be suffering. I have helped many clients find treatment help whether its in Westchester or Putnam County partnering with substance abuse rehabs and other treatment providers. Often the client likes to talk about their struggles or a family member might call for an intervention. Call to discuss your needs.

Sometimes consuming drugs, food, alcohol, sex, among other things soothe anxiety or satisfy emotional hunger. However, when the roots of the anxiety and emptiness are not addressed, consumption and use have a fleeting effect, leaving you at a loss and in need of consuming or using more, and the cycle continues. As a therapist, I will help you look at the roots of your addiction: together we will do the hard work of searching underneath layers of denial and understand the wounds and pain that lie at the core of your addition. There is no magical wand that would make addictions disappears, but there is caring understanding that will help you find new ways of dealing with wounds and pain.

I focus on providing support for individuals in recovery from addiction, helping them maintain sobriety and build a healthy, balanced lifestyle. My approach involves equipping clients with effective coping strategies, fostering personal growth, and reinforcing the skills they gained during treatment. While I do not work with individuals actively battling addiction, I offer guidance to those in recovery, emphasizing relapse prevention, personal accountability, and long-term emotional well-being to ensure sustained progress and a fulfilling life post-addiction.

I have 20 years working with adolescents and adults in substance abuse. I also work with people with opiate addiction and buprenorphine treatment. I do substance abuse evaluations with recommendations if requested.I can also manage outpatient and inpatient treatment if needed. I have an extensive background in substance abuse treatment, family therapy, and working with adult children of alcoholics and substance abusers.

I am a licensed clinical social worker, licensed alcohol and drug counselor and have a sap credential. I have worked in a treatment facility, 27 years in a school district as a substance abuse coordinator and have also worked in a state prison. Through out all these years, I have worked with all populations and all addictions. There is not one approach. I tend to be eclectic. I am passionate about helping people and offer an environment that is supportive in implementing pathways to healing.

One area of "addictions" I work with is in the sexual arena. However, I view this from a lens of "out of control sexual behavior," rather than an addiction lens. I see this behavior as a symptom of something deeper in the person's history and what is happening in their life, and together, whether individually, or in the context of couples therapy (or both), we explore this. Understanding what is underneath the sexual behavior, is a step toward being able to manage it differently. Regarding substances, though I am not a specialist in this area, substance use issues emerge with clients who come for other things, so I am comfortable working in this arena, and will make referrals if needed.

I began my career working outpatient with alcoholics, addicts, and their families. Though I believe that the 12 steps offer a full and complete basis for recovery, I also acknowledge that the help of a professional can be beneficial as well, particularly in early recovery or at later stages when life gets very "real". In early recovery, the information can be overwhelming, and having a professional to help sort things out is super helpful. In later recovery, we often develop some unrealistic expectations that need to be right-sized.

The purpose of Addiction Counseling is to help the client identify for him or herself if there is an addiction present. If this is the case, a variety of cognitive behavioral techniques are utilized as well as mindfulness exercises to help with focusing and how to cope with difficult emotions in healthy ways to become abstinent. In addition, there is a focus on stengths, and what the client has done in the past to abstain from using the substance of choice. Thus, the client can try and implement at least some of these techniques again and stay away from triggers and past negative behaviors that led to relapse. There is also focus on self-esteem building and how to prevent relapse in the future once the client is abstinent.

Cyber and video game addictions or abuse are a relative recent phenomena. This is a issue that effects youth and adults. It can cause loss of sleep, social isolation and result in neglecting basic and important responsibilities. Through psychotherapy we will explore the need for the escape, what is the secondary gain, as well as working on tools to help change the behaviors that have become routine and habit.

Addictions are a very painful form of emotional and physical suffering that can lead people into having profound feelings of shame and guilt and an unyielding sense of inadequacy and failure. The individual may have tried innumerable times on their own to stop the compulsive and driven pressures occurring in their addictions only to find discouragement and feelings of failure when addictive behaviors relentlessly continue. One often finds that relationships and jobs may deteriorate or even be lost from the preoccupation with the addiction, and legal problems may occur. If you or a loved one finds they are suffering from an addiction, please seek addiction therapy.

Addiction: Alcohol, Drugs, Porn, Sexual, Gambling, & Over Spending Do you really believe that your addiction is ruining your life then you are ready for us to work together. However, having said that, if you are addicted, you need more than will power. To “beat your addiction” you need new strategies and tools, and you also have to develop a practical plan to be able to combat your addiction that would involve additional techniques. To learn about 7 different therapies that can be used to treat addiction go to: http://drmartytashman.com/a-note-to-the-person-struggling-with-addiction

While most treatment approaches to addiction include 12 step programs, rehabs, and now sober living houses, Grey Matters International, Inc. provides a wildly successful alternative to traditional models of addiction treatment----that keeps the brain in mind. That is, talking to the conscious brain while the primal brain is deciding things even before you are consciously aware? Well, that is the problem to solve in addiction. We have the solution utilizing a new cutting edge neuroscience-centered brain rebalancing system. Contact kevin@kevinflemingphd.com or call 877-606-6161.

This is an area of treatment where I have seen many miracles. Successfully moving beyond substance dependence and abuse is not a matter of will power and character. Addictions are very 'sticky' and nine decades of research and experience confirms that attempting to keep them in check without help does not work. Twelve step programs (AA, NA, CA, etc) are the ‘gold standard’ of recovery, and are tried and true methods of achieving lasting abstinence. I possess a strong 12 Step program background, but know it is very helpful to be introduced to recovery properly to feel at home. Come for a consultation and see what is possible.

As a recovering person myself, I have a firsthand knowledge of the power of addiction and the joys of sobriety. I enjoy working with other people who have the courage to face their addiction, understand what is driving it and who are willing to commit to living a sober life. Living sober is a challenging task, and is best accomplished through education, exploration of triggers and alternative coping strategies, and the support of others who encourage your recovery.

I can help clients who want to change their relationship with alcohol. I am not a specialist in medical detox or advanced addiction and recovery--those concerns should be handled by a specialist. But I can work with clients who want to set goals to drink differently and pursue healthier approaches to reducing stress, connecting with others, or healing from grief and trauma. We'll take the approach of "what are you drinking about?" and go from there. I'm here to help you every step of the way.

The cycle of addiction is dizzying to the addict and it creates what I calling "doing" some forward movement in growth. And undoing. The old (by now probably moldy) undoing). The trapdoor for the addict is you know the drug offers relief. And since you live only in the hear and now (emotional and physical pain can cause that feeling) you want the instant relief that it seems only the drug gives you. My job is to gently and sometimes not so gently dispel you of this massive myth. What you really need is to learn to slow down by substitution of behaviors. It will be clearer when we meet.