Addiction Counseling
Online in Allen and across Texas
Are you in recovery and find yourself experiencing the stress to keep it all together?
If you have been in recovery for a few months or even a few years, you know how difficult some days can be. You know the saying “one day at a time” but some days can feel like an eternity.
Are you struggling to concentrate at work? Feel distracted when you go home? Perhaps you worry that you’ve let your friends or family down. You may find it hard to sleep at night with feelings of frustration and doubt running through your mind. You begin to question all the hard work you’ve already done in your recovery. You can’t believe you’re having these thoughts again and start to criticize yourself over and over.
This can be overwhelming and some people may not understand which can lead you to having urges to use/drink. I don’t want you to feel like you have to handle this all on your own. Life can be stressful enough, so please don’t try to tackle this on your own.
We will navigate this together!
Want to feel proud and hopeful again?
Therapy for your addiction can help!
What is Addiction Counseling?
With a person-centered mindset we will work together to build a treatment plan that is right for you. I mostly use the therapeutic technique of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help you continue on your road to recovery. This allows us to focus on what we can control: your thoughts and actions. In order to reduce feelings of anxiety and stress, we will focus on how your thoughts and actions can have a direct effect on how you feel. We will take deep look at your triggers: what they are and how to handle them; coping skills: finding ones that work specifically for you and practicing them; relapse prevention: learning how to prevent a relapse for the future. During our sessions, we also will work on healthy ways to communicate and have boundaries with others. Often times, our messages to others can be misunderstood which can cause tension, confusion, and hurt in relationships. I will work with you so that you say what you mean and mean what you say. Recovery is life changing and I want you to feel confident in who you are when you make these positive life changes. If you’d like to involve your family in our sessions, please let me know and we will set that up.
Should I attend a 12-step program?
The answer to this is: it depends on your own recovery needs. There are the traditional Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), or Cocaine Anonymous (CA) to name a few. There is also a program called SMART Recovery (Self-Management and Recovery Training). This is a personal decision and one that should not be taken likely. The key is to find what works best for your recovery. I would encourage you to check out a few of these groups in-person or online. If you don’t like one at first, try another one. This can be a great additional resource for you when life is stressful.
Is Relapse Part of Recovery?
This is a question that often comes up. The answer is YES! Unfortunately relapsing can be part of your journey. Relapsing is a signal that it’s time to re-evaluate your recovery plan. Maybe you’ve lost a job, changed relationships, or stopped going to meetings. We will take an honest look at your everyday routine and make adjustments as needed to get you back on track. Our triggers to relapse can change over time. It’s important to acknowledge when this is happening. If you find yourself uninterested in your recovery meetings…..find a new one! You are not alone in this, so please reach out!
Recovery can look like:
Feeling proud of who you are
Connection to others
Waking up with purpose
Feeling closer to loved ones
Self-awareness
Being open and honest
Feeling healthy and strong
Handling stress better
Thinking clearer
Maintaining healthy boundaries
What we will work on in Addiction Counseling:
Triggers
Let’s talk about your triggers. In Addiction Counseling we will assess what your triggers were in the past and account for anything new that could be triggering you. This is important for your recovery because well we change! Whether we like it or not, we change throughout our recovery so this is a first step!
Coping Skills
Our next step in Addiction Counseling is talking about your coping skills. As you’ve gone through recovery, what works to keep you sober can change overtime too! It’s important that you are continuously monitoring what works and what doesn’t work.
Boundaries
Healthy boundaries are a MUST! It’s hard I know! You will begin to feel more confident in what healthy boundaries look like and then put them into practice. It will take time, so be patient. One rule that I always go by is that you can implement a boundary, but that doesn’t mean the other person will respect it. We will work through the difficulties of boundaries together!
Relapse Prevention
This step of Addiction Counseling will require continuous maintenance. In order to maintain your recovery, you will need to be prepared for any missteps. Think of those things that stress you out and prepare for how you will handle it. Will it interrupt your recovery? Then let’s make a plan! It may sound like a lot of work, but this is your life and you deserve it!
FAQs of Addiction Counseling
-
Anytime you are ready to make a change it’s important to understand where you are in this process. The following describe each stage:
Precontemplation - You are not yet able to recognize there is a problem. Maybe you have tried to make a change before, but have since given up. This shows you are not ready to acknowledge the problem.
Contemplation - You are more hesitant to make the change. You can see reasons to make a change, but can’t commit to it yet.
Preparation - You have decided you want to make a change. You start to plan what this will look like. You may start to make small changes, but have not fully stopped using substances.
Action - You have taken necessary steps to stop using substances and are making proactive steps to reach out for help and avoid triggers.
Maintenance - You have successfully made changes even though you still may face challenges, you are maintaining your sobriety.
-
While there are many types of therapy approaches, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Motivational Interviewing (MI) work best. CBT is most often used because it has you focus on your behavior, thoughts and emotions. These 3 have an effect on each other, so when we take the time to figure out what is causing our behavior, we can make necessary changes. MI is a great therapy approach because the therapist will meet you where you are at in your stage of recovery. If you are not quite ready to make changes, that is ok! We will work together to figure out what is stopping you.
-
This is your decision. There are many benefits to allowing your family to be part of your recovery. If you have supportive family members that allow you the space to be vulnerable, but also hold you accountable, then I would encourage you to let them be part of your recovery. Addiction can often make you feel ashamed or misunderstood, so if you have support out there I would use it!
-
Yes! If you decide you want a family session we can set that up. This will look like the following: first and foremost YOU are my client, so I will help you navigate difficult conversations with family members. Often times, we will share educational material with family members so that they can understand addiction and what you are working on. Family sessions can be a great healing space for all.
-
There can be many reasons that attribute to your addiction. Together in session, we will discuss biological traits, family dynamics, your environment and determine if you have suffered any trauma. There never is just one reason for the addiction, but I want you to know you are not alone in this, we will figure this out!
-
Many times there is some type of trauma associated with using substances. There is usually a reason you were numbing your feelings with substances. As you become sober, you start to feel again, which can be a scary thing. We will work at your pace to process this trauma. Check out the Trauma Therapy page for more information.
-
Mindfulness is a great skill to develop and use for all aspects of your life. Let’s first talk about what mindfulness is: Mindfulness is an awareness of your thoughts, feelings and environment without judgment. Basically what this means is you will become more in tune with your thoughts and feelings. If you feel bad, say it! If you feel sad acknowledge it! The reason this can be helpful in addiction counseling is that it encourages you to acknowledge and sit with a feeling rather than using unhealthy ways to avoid or push away the feeling. Think about the reasons you were using: to not feel stress; to avoid feeling sad/mad; to feel “relaxed”. All of these reasonings, while valid, are just temporary and it was your addictive mindset that was tricking you into thinking that using substances actually worked.
Mindfulness meditations will help you tune in to those feelings and thoughts. In our sessions, we will practice this weekly, so that you become an expert of your own mind, body and feelings. Contact me today to learn more about this!