Top addiction therapists in Broadway District, Portland.

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.

Addictions usually begin to take life when the substance or behavior of choice we choose to use most often becomes compulsive. It begins to have a mind of its own. It becomes unconscious to you and takes over. When we compulsively seek these substances or behaviors (eating, sexuality, gambling, and many others) to relieve pain, check out or numb out, or find oblivion, we are addicted to them. Most often these are not bad in and of themselves, but when we become addicted to them and they begin to interfere with our lives on some or all levels we are at risk for many undesireable consequences. I will help you to interrupt the pattern and the power to find release.

In my work with addiction, it is important for me to treat my client with dignity and respect. I communicate in a non-shaming way that creates a safe space for clients to explore their triggers and create new alternatives. I believe that recovery is not just about quitting a behavior, but engaging in healthy behavior. I work with the individual struggling as well as significant others.

Addiction brings along with it a host of internal, emotional battles. Depression, anxiety, self-loathing and shame are merely a few of the challenges we face when struggling with an addiction. Your addiction doesn't have to define you. I will help you uncover the cause(s) of your substance abuse, and work with you to develop the awareness and tools necessary to work towards sobriety. Equally as important to your recovery, if a relapse occurs, I'll be here to support you.

Kicking the prescription drug abuse habit -- or any other addiction -- is a major accomplishment. But for most people with opioid addiction, detox is only the beginning of a long-term battle against craving and relapse. Counseling is an essential part of drug abuse treatment for many people. Cognitive behavioral therapy, family counseling, and other therapy approaches can help people recovering from opioid addiction stay clean. Psychotherapy can also treat the other mental health conditions that often contribute to prescription drug abuse.