PSYCHOTHERAPY & ADDICTION COUNSELLING
IN ST. JOHN'S WOOD, MAIDA VALE, CENTRAL LONDON & ONLINE
THE COURAGE TO CHANGE
If you are struggling with an addiction of any kind, I know it can feel extremely difficult to change your path, but I am here to provide the help you need through personalised psychotherapy and addiction counselling in St John’s Wood, Maida Vale, and online. I have over two decades of experience in supporting people in their recovery from addiction, creating a safe, non-judgemental space where I look to understand the problems you face from your perspective, ahead of working with you to formulate a plan going forward that makes sense to you. Making that change isn’t easy, but it is doable, and I will be with you every step of the way as you move towards a better place.
To ask any questions about my psychotherapy and addiction counselling in St John’s Wood Maida Vale, and online, feel free to get in touch with me by phone or email at any time.
HOW WE WORK TOGETHER- INITIAL SESSION
In our first meeting together, we will gather as much information about your background. This includes your addiction history, be it alcohol, drugs, shopping, eating, or gambling, along with discussing any diagnoses from other professionals. Having established your patterns of behaviour, we will begin to look at what the triggers are, and how they relate to events in your childhood.
Doing this initial groundwork is crucial for genuinely engaging with your addiction and understanding why it happens in the first place.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR ADDICTION
The first thing we do is establish that your addiction is not a choice. We become addicted to something for a reason. If you are stressed, anxious, angry, or have suppressed traumatic episodes from early life, the addiction – alcohol, drugs, sex, etc. – provides a temporary solution to the pain you hold inside yourself. If you are normally anxious and stressed, for example, alcohol loosens you up, and this eventually becomes a daily pattern. Our work, therefore, will not be about making you stop, or learning what’s bad about your addiction, but instead understanding what kind of role it plays in your life – what it does for you, what exact kind of hole it fills.
In other words, our approach will reflect the words of addiction specialist Gabor Mate: “Not ‘Why the addiction?’ but ‘Why the pain?’”
SETTING A PATH TO RECOVERY
Having established the reasons for your addiction, we will look at how we can move on a path to recovery. Understanding the neuroscience behind your dependency is important in this sense: we look at the way addiction keeps us in a cycle of having low dopamine and depending on external remedies to bring those dopamine levels up again. Having an acute awareness of the process, along with being genuinely determined to change, is the first step towards reaching a place of greater stability.
If relapses happen, don’t worry. This does not make you a failure. Recovery is never a linear process, and it takes courage and self-compassion to keep moving forward, and I am here to help you for the duration of this journey.
OTHER AREAS I WORK WITH
DEPRESSION
Addiction and depression often come hand in hand. When difficult feelings come up, we tend to push them down – or ‘depress’ them – and addictions are an effective way of doing this. As a result, we maintain the same negative core beliefs about ourselves and the wider world, which only serves to perpetuate the cycle and reinforce low mood and maladaptive behaviours. Using cognitive behavioural therapy techniques, along with other modalities such as meditation, we will gradually replace these automatically negative interpretations and replace them with more compassionate thoughts.
ANXIETY
In a similar way to depression, anxiety is a sign of trauma being held in the body, which naturally causes people to seek remedies outside themselves to regulate that constant sense of inner panic and unease. Together, and in a way that is comfortable for you, we will engage with the traumas lying behind your addiction and anxiety in a curious, compassionate way, with a view towards getting you to a place where you don’t have to keep escaping into addictions as a way of making yourself feel better.
RELATIONSHIP ISSUES
I have experience in working with couples when it comes to problems with addiction, especially drinking, gambling, and substance abuse. Addiction can often create a barrier between the two parties and generate resentment, anger, and poor communication. I give you and your partner the space to talk through these feelings and carve out a way forward based on acceptance and greater understanding.
If you are struggling with an addiction and would like some professional support to reach a better place, I am here for you. Get in touch today to arrange your first appointment of psychotherapy and addiction counselling in St John’s Wood, Maida Vale, or online.
Addiction Doesn't Discriminate
CONTACT ME
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about how psychotherapy works, or to arrange an initial assessment appointment. This enables us to discuss the reasons you are thinking of coming to psychotherapy, whether it could be helpful for you and whether I am the right therapist to help.
You can also call me on 07917447366 if you would prefer to leave a message or speak to me first. I am happy to discuss any queries or questions you may have prior to arranging an initial appointment.
All enquires are usually answered within 24 hours, and all contact is strictly confidential and uses secure phone and email services.
©2022 Richard Turner
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