Addiction Therapists in Auburn, NY.

Addiction is a mental health condition and I treat addiction by a multi-pronged process predominately from a Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) model. I help my clients understand the reasons they use a substance or engage in an addictive behavior, teach them skills regulate their emotions and tolerance distress that might otherwise lead them to engage in their addiction, and address any underlying issues that contribute to their addiction. I also help clients with with concerns about their substance use or compulsive behavior to avoid developing addictions.

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.

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.

Sexual addiction can consume your life...whether you are the addicted person or the person who loves them. I have worked with people struggling with sex addiction for many years, and know the steps needed to begin the path of healing, or move further on that path. Sexual feelings are inescapable for most people, which is why it requires a different approach than standard addiction treatment based on AA. We will work together to heal the wound underneath your addiction and create a healthy relationship for you with your sexuality. If you are the partner of a sexually addicted person, we will work towards healthy boundaries that will help you handle your loved one's addiction.

We practice a harm reduction model, as we understand that abstinence is a process that can take time to start and has many stages. We start with reducing the harm that substances are causing in your life by decreasing frequency and/or amount of the substance used. This includes changing one’s environment and increasing self control. Overall, we work on helping our clients understand the cycle of addiction, helping you to find ways to counter the addiction cycle with new learned skills, perhaps a new environment, and an empowered sense of self.

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.

Many factors, such as family history, genetics, social pressure, self-medication and emotional numbing, can contribute to the onset of active addiction. Whether alcohol, drugs or behavioral addictions, they all lead to a disconnect from one's inner self. One client described it as "an inner thief stealing one's deepest needs and life force while acting like a best friend.” But, with a willingness to look more closely, addictive patterns can be understood and reshaped. What is needed most, rather than shame and condemnation, is compassionate inquiry. No matter how many attempts at sobriety, self-acceptance, self-love and overcoming stigma is the core of the process.