Individual  Counselling      Group Therapy    Family Counselling

Individual Counselling

The type of therapy offered in an individual setting will depend on your specific situation: actively using, in recovery, relapsed, or the loved one of an addict.  Whatever the circumstances, I will provide you with a personalized assessment, followed by education, guidance, and support.

When treating an addict, it is important to realize that the addiction is never the root of the problem, but the wrong solution to a problem.  Most often, the real problem is unresolved trauma, low self-esteem, or the tendency to suppress emotions. Therefore, in addition to helping the addict deal with the new problem of addiction, counselling will also have to focus on these underlying problems. It is only by recognizing and treating these issues that one can truly be considered a recovering addict.

Group Therapy

Group therapy has been proven to be a very powerful therapeutic tool for people struggling with addictions. Despite the understandable hesitations that you may have when you think about sharing in a group setting, all of my clients have reported feeling very comfortable and relaxed by the end of the very first session.

Addicts tend to feel very isolated. You feel isolated from your family and friends, and even from other addicts. The power of the group can help you realize that you are not alone in your struggles, and that your issues are not unique. Those that have been through similar situations can help you through the dark times. The opportunity to listen to the hopes and fears of others who have been down the same path has been found to be very rewarding. Clients can identify with what another addict is talking about, and you can then use what they’ve heard in group therapy to help yourself in your own healing process.

Group therapy offers the client a chance to receive and provide feedback to others. This type of feedback, client to client, is very enlightening, and often plays a major role in the client’s recovery. These skills were most likely lacking during your addiction, and learning how to communicate respectfully and effectively with the greater community is crucial for maintaining sobriety.

Click here to learn more about our group, New Beginnings, which was designed for those struggling with compulsive sexual behaviours.

Family Counselling

Most family members enable the addict’s behavior without even realizing it. If they do become aware of what they are doing, they will generally continue, either from fear of confrontation or erroneously thinking that they will cause the addict more harm than good. I will help you understand why stopping all enabling behaviors is of paramount importance. I will help you recognize how you are in fact possibly harming your loved one. Once this understanding is reached, we can plan how you can stop all enabling activities so that the addict will eventually seek treatment.

Whether you are the child, parent, sibling, spouse, or partner of the addict, your life has been impacted severely. The addict is not only destroying his life, but that of his family as well. The family of an addict needs counselling and support to help everyone through this extremely difficult and painful chapter of their lives.

Click here to learn more about addiction and the family.