Therapy for Addictions
When Substance Use Becomes a Way of Coping
I work with individuals struggling with addiction and problematic substance use from a psychodynamic perspective. Rather than focusing solely on behavior change or abstinence, therapy offers a space to understand the emotional and relational meanings that substances may hold — including how they function as attempts to manage pain, regulate feelings, or cope with earlier experiences.
Addictive patterns often develop in response to what feels overwhelming, unnameable, or difficult to bear alone. In therapy, we explore these patterns with curiosity rather than judgment, paying attention to underlying emotional conflicts, relationships, and histories that continue to shape the present. Some people cope by staying in emotional overdrive—keeping busy or over-productive to avoid difficult feelings—which can sometimes interact with addictive behaviors. As these experiences become better understood, people often find that the grip of addiction begins to loosen, creating room for more choice, agency, and connection.
Therapy/Counseling in Sobriety
Many people come to see me after years of sobriety or recovery, often with the support of a 12-Step program such as Alcoholics Anonymous. They may have done meaningful work in recovery and found the structure and community of these programs invaluable. And yet, despite sustained abstinence, they continue to struggle — with lingering compulsive patterns, depression, anxiety, or a sense that the serenity they were promised remains elusive.
This experience is more common than people often realize. For many, it emerges after several years of sobriety, when the immediate crisis has passed and deeper emotional questions come into focus. While 12-Step programs offer essential tools for maintaining sobriety, they are not designed to address all of the psychological and relational issues that can underlie addictive patterns.
Psychotherapy can be a helpful complement to recovery work. In therapy, we can take time to understand the emotional experiences, relationship dynamics, and unconscious patterns that continue to shape how you relate to yourself and others — including the ways substances, behaviors, or compulsions may have functioned as a form of emotional regulation in the past.
Together, and alongside the support of your recovery community, we work to understand what is getting in the way of fully inhabiting the life you have worked so hard to build. The goal is not only continued sobriety, but a deeper sense of freedom, meaning, and connection.
If you are curious about how therapy might support your recovery, I invite you to reach out so we can talk about whether working together would be a good fit.
Substance Abuse and Addictions Resources:
Substance Abuse and Mental health Services Administration (SAMHSA)