Help With Addiction
How I Can Help
If you think you are struggling with addiction or dependency I can help you start to understand why you've found yourself here and how yo can begin to take back control.
Addiction comes in many forms and whatever your dependency is it is serving a purpose and filling an emotional hole, but doing so destructively. The challenge with addiction is to find a way to fill that space positively and constructively rather than in the destructive way that you have adopted.
The Route To Freedom.
When we are angry or frustrated with ourselves or others for destructive behaviour, and when we dismiss addiction as "weakness" we are worsening the problem which created the addiction in the first place. At the heart of an addict is disconnection from a healthy sense of self, the world and the people in it. To criticise and demonise serves only to make matters worse.
Our work with addiction seeks to heal disconnection through
- Creating clarity around addiction as a condition
- Exploring the thinking and behaviour of addicts
- Considering the particular challenges of both being and living with an addict
- Finding practical ways of dealing with the reality of addiction
Only through positive connection can addiction be sustainably addressed.
Recovery and the role of counselling
There is a big difference between rehabilitation, recovery and counselling for addiction problems. In essence, any work you do to try and understand and change the root of your addiction is a waste of time while you are still engaged in the addictive behaviour.
While there is help available for people who want to detox from a drug or alcohol habit, or those who are battling a gambling problem there is little in the way of structured counselling support to help you understand why the problem arose in the first place.
We can help you to understand what role your addiction has been playing in your life and therefore work towards finding something healthier and more sustainable to put in its place.
Recovery from addiction has so much to do with personal responsibility. You’ll only stop your addictive behaviour when you decide to and you will only decide to when you realise that you have the power and the ability to do so, and when you can see somewhere better.
We can help you find that power and keep it so that recovery becomes a long term and sustainable path rather than a short term improvement which ends in lapse and further damage to your belief in yourself.
So what next?
I'm available for face to face sessions at my clinics in Maidstone and Tenterden, but I know that the right help is sometimes hard to access, so that's why I'm supporting my face to face work with a new initiative.
I’m currently working with a colleague, who is in recovery, to create an online programme to support people recovering from addiction, and another separate programme for the partners of addicts.
We're excited about all the guidance and support we're able to provide by utilising my therapeutic background and Martin's background in addiction, and his subsequent work running support groups for people in recovery from addiction.
The programmes are due for launch this summer.
We want to make these programmes available to as many people struggling with addiction as we can so if you’re interested in receiving more details please download the "Out Of Control - Identifying A Problem With Drink"It is full of information on addiction which will be helpful to all people with dependency, not just alcohol.
In the meantime, if you'd like to read some further and wider thoughts on addiction check out these blog posts.
This first one is written by my colleague, Martin Pankhurst. Martin is a recovering alcoholic who now helps others towards recovery from substance abuse. His insight is invaluable because he understands both the darkness of addiction, and the relief and peace which emerges from finding a healthier and more positive path.
Why You Can't Remain A Functioning Alcoholic
Finally, you might like to watch this great TED talk on the importance of connection in addiction and recovery.
If you have any questions about the support we can offer please don’t hesitate to contact me.
