Addiction Counseling

Addictions counseling is a process of building nets of support around you while you shift your harmful coping mechanisms into ways of living that are sustainable. This process includes education, inner work, support system building, and a willingness to keep moving forward honestly. It is not a solo adventure.

Working with addiction is about accepting who you are while also asking you to change. People with addictions are blamed, and yes you need to be held responsible, but you also need to find the part of yourself that knows that you didn't consciously choose this for yourself and they you want better...in spite of all of the evidence others have of you being selfish, uncaring, and irresponsible.

I take a Harm Reduction approach to my work with clients struggling with substance misuse. HR is a biopsychosocial approach that treats the complexities of your substance use, misuse, and addiction. Instead of focusing solely on your addiction, we will also explore other factors, such as symptoms of anxiety and depression, family relationships, medical problems etc. that interact, and underpin your addictive behaviors.

Are you struggling with cutting down or quitting alcohol or marijuana? Addiction Counseling can help. I use Mindfulness, Cognitive and a Trauma-focused approach called EMDR to help you get to the bottom of what's been going on for you. Having a Therapist that has personal experience with addiction and treating addiction will help you to receive the support that you need in order to reach your goals. Call me for a free 15 minute consultation. I can't wait to hear from you!

As an addiction counselor, I specialize in working with people who struggle with dual diagnoses, or both mental health diagnoses and addiction. I will address the root causes of your addiction and the related areas of impaired functioning, and together we’ll structure the time and content of your ongoing recovery.

Seeking out support to move away from using or other destructive behaviors can be daunting; it can be hard to find a good fit even when you're feeling ready to make the leap into changing. I'm not the most typical therapist in the field ~ I'm here to support you, offer up choices and options, look for patterns in what's happening in your life and recovery efforts. I'm not here to tell you there's only one way to do 'this.' There is no magic formula ~ let's find what works for you.

Since 2012, I have worked in residential treatment centers, intensive outpatient treatment centers and was a manager of Kaiser Permanente's Addiction Medicine and Recovery Services clinic in Santa Clara. I have years of experience and training in many approaches to addiction treatment, including abstinence-based care, harm reduction, 12 step and non-12 step modalities, Relapse Prevention, Medication Assisted Treatment, Co-Occurring Disorders, and Family Codependency Treatment.

As a person in recovery Alan has real-world experience with the disease of addiction. This experience has been the catalyst for becoming a therapist. Alan, during his master's program for his social work degree, also obtained a Master certificate in addictions. Lastly, Alan is a licensed clinical addiction specialist in NC. Alan has the knowledge and apathy to help you.

My work at a substance use treatment center really instilled in me that substance use is not the problem. It is the symptom of a much bigger problem. Maybe that's feeling out of control. Maybe that's not knowing how to cope with intense emotions. Maybe it's trying to escape difficult thoughts or memories. Whatever it is, that substance is serving a purpose in your life. When we can understand what purpose it's serving, we can begin to introduce new strategies that achieve the same function.

I'm a psychotherapist who is an ally of the 12-step recovery community. I provide mental health treatment that goes hand-in-hand with those recovering from addictions (alcohol and/or drugs). My approach is to provide co-occurring therapy to address both substance use and trauma. In addition, I have a wealth of experience in supporting the healing of family members, partners, etc. who have suffered from seeing a loved one hurting with addictions ( for example, adult children of alcoholics).

I have over 5 years of experience in this area, which is not limited to people struggling with substances, but also with pleasure-causing activities like pornography, gambling, relationships, food, and gaming.

I have worked in the addictions field since 2019 and have gained an understanding on how substances can restructure an addicts brain.

These are not specializations but areas I am interested in learning more about