Addiction Therapy

A food addict weighing up two different options

Addiction can be defined as "when you have a need or urge to do something or use something that can interfere with your functioning in other areas of your life". You can be addicted to anything - eating, smoking, drinking alcohol, sex, love, even work.

I can help explore your addiction and develop strategies to combat it.

With support from a psychotherapist, I was able to transform my relationship with food and improve my self-esteem. This profound change inspired me to become a counsellor and help others develop a healthy relationship with food and a better body image.

Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are best treated with personalised, one-on-one counselling with someone you trust. I offer a holistic approach to treatment, with a focus on the underlying issues that have caused your eating disorder and issues that may be getting in the way of your recovery, rather than a band-aid solution that only treats the symptoms.

In my extensive experience working with adults and teenagers to treat eating disorders, I’ve found there can be an internal battle between the part of you that wants to recover and the part that doesn’t. I help you trust your better self, so you can create a meaningful, joyful life that isn’t controlled by food.

Some other areas of addiction include:

Sex Addiction

When you’re suffering from an addictive sexual behaviour you can be overcome by feelings of despair, guilt and shame over your behaviour and your inability to control it. You may not know how to have a close and intimate relationship and sexual arousal has become the substitute for a healthy connection.You feel intensely alone, preoccupied with feelings of despair, confusion or even suicidal thoughts in an attempt to escape this vicious cycle of constantly engaging in sexual activity. You can see the consequences it is having on your life, your relationships, your ability to manage life’s demands but despite this you cannot stop. You may have withdrawn from your family and friends and feel that everything is hopeless.

Your sex addiction may be a response to childhood abuse, trauma or neglect. Perhaps you feel like you are “damaged goods” because of what has happened to you as a child. As a result intimate relationships and closeness can become terrifying for you while sexual activity is soothing. To cope with everyday stress and the pressures of life, your sexual behaviours can become a stress release and soothe against difficult feelings.

If you are ready to take the next step give me a call today on 0403 683 520 to arrange a phone consultation.

Love Addiction

If you are a love addict you may feel completely afraid to trust anyone in a relationship. You are probably in a lot of pain yet it’s often hidden from those around you and you maintain a facade of having it all together when in reality you feel like you’re falling apart.

Your life may revolve around a series of romantic attachments that ultimately leave you feeling unfulfilled. Yet without a relationship or partner you may feel worthless as you think you need a relationship to make you feel complete. Your relationships may be driven by drama and conflict which can become addictive.

Often love addicts mistake intensity for intimacy. You are terrified of being alone and will do anything to avoid abandonment which often leads to you feeling out-of-control.

Like sex addiction, love addiction can often be a response to an un-nurturing or unstable family environment. You may feel isolated and detached from your family of origin and are full of rage about your early experiences of abandonment. These feelings are managed by the distraction intense relationships provide. However as soon as your relationships end the chronic feelings of pain, emptiness and rage often return and a new relationship is sought out to soothe these intolerable feelings.

You may be able to relate to some of these statements:

I need to be in a relationship or I don’t feel whole.
My partner’s happiness is my responsibility.
I like to feel needed by my partner.
If I am single than I am worthless.
I always seem to attract the wrong kind of partner.

Drug and Alcohol Abuse

Maybe your addiction started out as a solution to numb out painful feelings, or to deal with the anger and resentment you might feel.

However the long-term impact of your substance abuse can be extremely damaging. Perhaps you feel your substance dependence has made your world become very small. All your time and energy revolves around your drug of choice.

Maybe you’ve reached the stage where it is interfering with your relationships, your work is suffering, and physically you don’t feel okay. You have lost respect for yourself and the respect of those around you. You feel worthless and trapped.

You don’t want to keep doing it but you can’t stop. You are being driven by your alcohol or drug dependence and it is destroying your life.

Perhaps you are experiencing the following:

Relationship breakdown
Health problems
Loneliness and isolation
Depression
Anxiety
Suicidal thoughts
Legal problems
Conflict with friends and family
Job loss
Memory blackouts and/or confusion
Shame and embarrassment over things you have done when under the influence
Several failed attempts to control or stop your substance use.

How can I help you with your drug or alcohol addiction?

I offer a respectful, non-judgmental and holistic approach to your treatment. This environment will allow you to process difficult feelings and make changes to detractive patterns of thinking and behaving. Having worked with many recovering addicts I have gained a great deal of experience in treating chemical addictions. I understand the dark place you are in and how to help you move out of it.

My experience has taught me the tools you need to move into recovery. I can help you to stop drinking or using by giving you strategies to overcome cravings and to prevent relapse. We can also work together to get to the bottom of why you started to abuse your substance in the first place. We can address the issues that might be getting in the way of your recovery.

I can help you to rebuild your self-esteem and self-worth so you can move into a place of understanding and eventually peace within yourself. Because I work alongside 12-step programs I can give you access to resources outside me in your community which you need especially in the early stages of your recovery.

Benefits of counselling can include:

Achieving ongoing abstinence from your substance of choice
Developing better self-esteem
Feeling less controlled by negative thought patterns
Overcoming destructive behaviour patterns
Being able to process difficult emotions without resorting to alcohol or drugs to cope
Healing from past trauma or abuse
Experiencing greater intimacy in your relationships
Less conflict with family and friends
Improved physical health
Developing strategies to manage your anxiety and depression
Being able to move forward from the past

My gentle, caring approach is tailored to your individual needs and will help you:

Achieve a healthy relationship with food, exercise and weight.
Manage negative thoughts, emotions and behavior patterns.
Learn how to improve relationships and handle conflict.
Develop better self-esteem, confidence, and physical health.
Overcome anxiety, depression, exhaustion and loneliness.

I'd love to see how I can help support you on your journey to overcoming addiction. Get in touch using the form in the footer and let's get started!

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