Treating Addiction

Many of the people  have sought treatment with me  after having  found that abstinence only treatment did not work for them for a wide variety of reasons. These people needed something different and Harm Reduction is an excellent alternative to traditional abstinence only treatment. Harm Reduction is a set of strategies and philosophies aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with substance use. Harm Reduction also emphasizes the belief in and respect for the rights of people who use substances. 

Harm Reduction employs a spectrum of strategies from safer use, to managed use, to abstinence to meet substance users where they are at, while addressing conditions of use along with the use itself. The basic principle that underlies Harm Reduction is the acceptance that people will use substances. When we can accept this, we can focus on making their substance use safer, rather than working to force them into abstinence.

Treatment may involve connecting you with a psychiatrist for medication assisted therapy (MAT) such as Naltrexone/Vivitrol or Buprenorphine, a Sober Coach or Case Manager, and/or family resources.

We may work to determine what your ideal use pattern would be and develop Ideal Use Plans to moderate your substance use in a safe way. Treatment will also involve a lot of education and coping skills to help address triggers that lead to problematic use.

Harm Reduction may involve abstinence from specific substances, while you explore a changed relationship with others. You may seek out support from specific groups that are traditionally abstinence only like AA/NA or other groups like SMART and Dharma.

If you continue to use some substances, we may need to build a plan around communicating this decision with people in your life and learning to navigate those relationships in assertive and direct ways. We may also need to examine the grief that comes with a changed relationship with substances in order to make peace with and further solidify your choices.

Abstinence treatment may begin with incrementally reducing how much and how often you are using until we can fully eliminate the substance use. It also may involve techniques of harm reduction at the onset, such as a referral to a psychiatrist for medication assisted therapy, with the goal of tapering off of this intervention. You will learn coping skills to help manage difficult emotions that trigger urges including learning how to ride the wave of an urge. 

If you would like to engage with a fellowship program, we can work to identify which would best suit you and your goals. There are many options available that can broaden your social support network including AA/NA, SMART Recovery, and Dharma Recovery. 

Abstinence treatment is also inherently a grieving process. For so many, their substance of choice was the most consistent “support” they have had and so losing that can be difficult and bring up a lot of confusing emotions. Our work would open up space to build understanding and to process the feelings related to this loss.

Regardless of what direction you take in treatment, I work to always meet you where you are at. This means setting goals for treatment and your life that are yours, not your family’s, partner’s, friend’s, society’s, or mine. We will embrace small, incremental changes and celebrate those wins. We will always collaborate on your care and the decisions made within it. I will work to empower you to make decisions aligned with your goals and values and approach you and our work from a place of non-judgment and compassion.