Addiction Therapists in South Waverly, PA.

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.

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.

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.

To help you manage addictive behaviors and dependence on any mood altering substances, we will start with reviewing the history of your addictive behavior and the impact it has on your relationships, health, employment, and functioning. Sometimes addictive substances or behaviors have served to mask underlying sources of pain, such as mood instability, anxiety, relationship stressors, or emptiness and loss of meaning. These underlying factors can be addressed in psychotherapy along with learning new resources for managing addictive behaviors, such as educational lectures, family therapy, 12 step groups, and/or referral to a medical doctor for medication that aids your overall recovery.

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.