Working as a psychologist full-time in outpatient Addiction Treatment, I have helped many adults reach their goals in their recovery. If you feel tired of living “the life” of addiction and want to make a change, I invite you to reach out. I take a harm reduction approach that is focused on you living your values, the life you want to be living.
Available treatments:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Substance Use. Together, we explore thoughts and behaviors associated with substance use and help you to gain skills to modify unwanted behaviors, so that you are better equipped to identify and cope with triggers for use, manage high risk situations, reinforce behaviors that align with their recovery goals, and challenge thoughts that precipitate substance use. The treatment length of CBT for substance use varies widely, standard approaches are delivered over approximately 6-14 sessions.
Motivational interviewing/Motivational Enhancement. If you are thinking about changing your use of alcohol or drugs, this brief intervention focuses on exploring your reasons and motivations for changing your substance use.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Behavioral Addiction. Addiction does not always mean substance abuse. Addiction can be behavioral, we will work to explore your values and goals for your life. ACT is used by therapists to help patients acknowledge that—while the experience of sadness, fear, anxiety or anger is very real and very challenging—these thoughts and feelings don’t have to run the whole show. Therapy guides patients in developing acceptance-based skills, mindfulness techniques and self-compassion in order to respond and move through unwanted thoughts and feelings (rather than ignore them, obsess over them or simply check out).
Concurrent Treatment of PTSD and Substance Use Disorders Using Prolonged Exposure (COPE). A cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy program designed for patients who have PTSD and a co-occurring alcohol or drug use disorder. COPE represents an integration of two evidence-based treatments: Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy for PTSD and Relapse Prevention for substance use disorders. COPE is an integrated treatment, meaning that both the PTSD and substance use disorder are addressed concurrently in therapy. The program is comprised of 12 individual, 60 to 90 minute therapy sessions. The program includes several components: information about how PTSD symptoms and substance use interact with one another; information about the most common reactions to trauma; techniques to help the patient manage cravings and thoughts about using alcohol or drugs; coping skills to help the patient prevent relapse to substances; a breathing retraining relaxation exercise; and in vivo (real life) and imaginal exposures to target the patient’s PTSD symptoms.
“Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Descriptive information from www.mentalhealth.va.gov
