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Addiction & Recovery

Addiction and recovery is a broad field, and not all agree on how to define and treat addiction. I prefer DiClemente's work, "Addiction and Change" as a solid starting point and general baseline to guide my understanding and approach for counseling related to addiction and recovery.


According to DiClemente, "Addiction is best understood as the result of a matrix of various factors that represent past and present, environment and person, physiology and psychology, and personal processes of change that will ultimately determine the course of acquisition and the path to the well-maintained addiction."

Relationship Issues

Relationships may become strained throughout different facets of our lives, at home, work, church or school. People often develop poor habits and patterns of habits, that cause relationships to deteriorate.


I often rely on the work of M. Scott Peck, MD, in The Road Less Traveled to assist in forming a more sustainable concept of love and what it means to love another. Peck says love is best thought of as a triad of attraction, investment and commitment. This concept of love can assist clients in examining their relationship issues and helps them sort out the tangle of emotions and thoughts about the ones they love. 

Emotional Issues

My work with clients on emotional difficulties is seated in an Emotion-Focused Therapy framework. This typically involves an examination of the client's understanding of their own fear, anger, hurt, loneliness, shame, guilt, sadness and gladness. I generally base my approach on the concepts provided in "The Voice of the Heart" by Chip Dodd.


Emotions are integral to the way we are made, whether you believe in a 'higher power' or not. Our emotions give us useful information and may be perceived as an impairment or an endowment. Learning to understand our emotions can tell us what we need to ask for, how to set reasonable personal boundaries, and how to best share yourself with others.

Common Issues Addressed

• Behavioral Issues

• Anxiety and Depression

• Separation and Divorce

• Life Transitions

• Career Changes

• Grief and Loss

• Chronic Pain

• Men's Issues

• Parenting

• Spirituality


Religious Orientation

• Judeo-Christian


Age of Clients

• Adolescents/Teenagers (14-19)

• Adults

• Elders (65+)


Treatment Approaches Used

• Acceptance/Commitment Therapy

• Emotion-Focused Therapy

• Existential Therapy

• Family/Marital Therapy

• Intervention



Modality

• Individuals

• Couples

• Families

• Groups

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