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I have ten years of experience in addictions treatment, and can help assess any substance use issue to find the right way forward. If you are struggling with a loved one’s substance use, I offer compassion and clarity to help you decide what to do. I am objective and nonjudgmental, and after this long in the field of substance use disorders, nothing fazes me!
Local Resources for Alcohol or Drug Addictions
I believe quality addiction treatment is based on dignity, respect, deep listening, and accountability. Too often, people with addictions have bad experiences in our health care system, because is not designed to serve them very well. At one extreme of treatment, patients are stereotyped, lectured, or sent away without much effort to help them. At the other extreme, providers enable the addiction by failing to recognize how serious it is, or missing signs that it's worsening. I find that when a person seeks help for a substance use disorder, they want a provider who takes real interest in them and their life, and who understands their addiction as a chronic, potentially fatal condition that needs to be monitored closely.
In addition to alcohol and drugs, some behaviors or relationship patterns may resemble addictions in a person’s life. In such cases, we know what we "should" do, or that we "need to stop"...but it's easier said than done. This dilemma can take many different forms, but here are some common examples:
Overspending; being unable to stick to a budget
Keeping up a relationship that is obviously not working; codependency
Focusing too much on work; neglecting other activities and relationships
Sex or love addiction
Continuing in choices that are causing you medical problems
Breaking one destructive bad habit, then realizing you've replaced it with a new one ("whac-a-mole")
Anything that feels out of control, destructive, or unsustainable to your wellbeing, we can address productively in counseling.
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