Addiction Therapists in Ottawa, ON.

Mood altering to avoid feeling difficult emotions is common. Be it with substances or behaviors. It often comes with shame and isolation. Over time, becoming dependent on a mood altering substance or behaviour actually provokes deep changes in the brain and decreases a person's ability to make healthy choices. It is also said that addiction is a disease of attachement where the person has come to obtain solace in their addiction which temporarily reduces their pain, be it physical or emotional. As a certified alcohol and drug counsellor and certified sex addiction counsellor, I am trained to help people return to who they are or were meant to be without harmful substances and/or behaviours.

My approach to counselling is attachment based and trauma informed. I have extensive training in emotionally focused therapy, the gold standard in couple's therapy, which I apply in my work with couples, families, and individuals. Addiction often isolates us and keeps us from forming meaningful and intimate relationships with those most important to us. During our sessions I will be engaged and focused on helping you to make the positive changes you are looking to make and helping you to build stronger and more authentic relationships.

Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and Alcohol use disorder (AUD) can affect mental and physical health, relationships, work, and quality of life. There are many factors that contribute to drug and alcohol use and addiction counselling can help a person explore these factors as well discuss motivation to change the cycle of addiction. I use a blend of CBT and DBT to help give practical skills to help with cravings, emotional regulation and thought processes. Addiction counselling works to: • Strengthen a persons self-worth • Develop alternative ways to manage stress • Prepare and manage triggers • Develop skills to help manage cravings • Help with broken relationship

Addiction can be a scary thing that is often surrounded by ambiguity and confusion: why do I continue to use when I know it is bad for me? Why do I want to use in the first place? Why can't I seem to stop using and why cant I change? In working with clients, step 1 of our work is figuring out the answers to these questions and figuring out why addiction occurs in the first place. After this, we explore tools, resources, and therapies that will best work for clients in helping them create the changes they need and to promote the lives they want.

In a supportive and empathic environment I help people suffering from an addiction to develop trust, build motivation to change, implement and maintain strategies to change as monitor their recovery process and journey of self-discovery. I work with both cognitive and behavioral techniques on the cycle of addiction as well as insight-oriented methods to develop a healthier and more productive whole person.

I provide individuals with a safe space where they will have the opportunity to openly address any aspect of their life that may present difficulties while trying to overcome addiction. Psychotherapy can also be effective for individuals who have a history of addiction and are emotionally and interpersonally vulnerable. I can offer coping-focused psychotherapy to help you learn the practical and specific ways in which you can cope with your problems. These may be addiction, relapse prevention, panic, anxiety, and depression.

Gaining recovery from addiction will help you to feel empowered and more in control of how your life enfolds. You can begin to proactively choose beneficial goals and outcomes, rather than being at the mercy of a behaviour or a substance. Gaining the ability to live in the present--rather than, consciously or unconsciously, constantly focusing on capturing a future state promised by a substance or behaviour--can offer you new-found appreciation and joy in your everyday surroundings and bring you back to self-love.

Addiction is my specialty. I am an addict with 16 years of recovery and I have seen hundreds of clients with all kinds of addiction issues. My method is to address past issues that drove the formation of the addiction while simultaneously dealing with the daily here-and-now issues that prevent it from ending. I use a task-based approach to recovery where each task includes a combination of a variety of therapies. It gives the therapy a framework and backbone. And it also involved some homework on your part. Addiction recovery is not as complicated as it may sound. You do have to give it your all. And it helps to have someone in your corner.

Addictions, are characterized by an over focus and dependence on something (even a relationship) that serves to keep us disconnected from inner pain, and thus the ability to deal with that pain. Being locked in this pattern of dependence, can be quite destructive to your inner and outer worlds. I work with helping you to reconnect with your essential self, with helping you identify and address limiting and painful patterns, and navigate your way to the life that you want. If you are someone struggling with being in a codependent relationship I provide support to assist you with accessing your own wisdom to move towards a life and relationships that are more peaceful and fulfilling.

Substance use can often feel like the only effective way of coping with traumatic events or challenging life circumstances. I believe that therapy should open space for clients to discuss their experience with substance use and what purpose this serves in their lives. I take a de-pathologizing stance and work collaboratively with clients to explore what substance use means to them and see how this fits with their ideas and hopes for their life and future. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation to ensure we are a good fit.

Addiction is a multifaceted challenge, and understanding its roots is key to recovery. While I do not offer therapy sessions for addiction, we have several addiction specialists at Psychotherapy Collective who are available to schedule a free 15-minute consultation with you to ensure they are the proper fit for your journey. Visit our profiles at https://www.psychotherapycollective.ca/our-team

Addiction is a multifaceted challenge, and understanding its roots is key to recovery. While I do not offer therapy sessions for addiction, we have several addiction specialists at Psychotherapy Collective who are available to schedule a free 15-minute consultation with you to ensure they are the proper fit for your journey. Visit our profiles at https://www.psychotherapycollective.ca/our-team

Often, the focus of addiction counselling is abstinence. But our treatment philosophy focuses on getting at the feelings that lie beneath the symptoms - the symptoms of addictions or substance use. Substances or any addictive behaviours are driven by painful hurt, trauma, and losses/grief and by working through these issues, we can help you better understand the role of substances in your life. We take a compassionate approach to substance use issues.

Addiction has taken a toll on your life affecting each aspect of it. Whether it is technology addiction, gambling, addiction to substances or to people, we will explore what fuels these addictions. We will get to the bottom of the problem and explore adaptive behaviours to live a life free from addiction. We will use CBT,Cognitive Processing Therapy, EMDR, SF, and Relapse Prevention to explore your addictions.

Substance use/ Addiction is on a continuum. It can be something we occasionally due to numb out some distressing feelings, or it can be something that we can't function without. Wherever you are on the continuum, there is always room to shift. In therapy, we can help you gain new perspectives and learn strategies for managing your use, including exploring the areas of your life your use affects (i.e. relationships, emotions, healing, functioning, etc.). Our clinicians greet each of our clients with non-judgment and meet you where you’re at. If you're wanting to feel more in control of your substance use- Book a consultation or session today! www.kaleidoscopecounsellingco.com