|
Phoenix Addiction Counselling Services is a specialized practice in downtown Vancouver, BC, that offers confidential counselling to help clients recover from alcoholism, legal and illegal drug addiction, and gambling, computer and smoking addiction. Treatment programs are individually designed for each client.
- Addictions, whether they are Alcohol,
Cocaine, Heroin, Methamphetamine, Marijuana (cannabis, pot, or grass), Prescription
Drugs, Nicotine, Computer/Internet/Online Gambling, are about
trying to satisfy a need that won't and can't be
filled by the compulsive drug or behavior.
- Addictions create terrible stresses
on health, families, relationships, and work.
- One of the most devastating side-effects
is a feeling of hopelessness and helplessness; that the substance or behavior has the power and that you cannot change. This is not true!
- The good news is that you can get the addiction under control. It requires commitment from you, and non-judgmental,
experienced support from a rherapist, but it most definitely can be done. Counselling can be either short or long, depending on many things, such as how much you are using, how long you have used, and underlying reasons for using, ranging from something as uncomplicated as using friends to something as complex as trauma or PTSD.
- Recovery is not only about abstinence
—Alcolics Anonymous uses the term “dry drunk” to describe
those who are not using, but still have not reached a
stage of mental balance. True recovery is to find meaning
and a sense of belonging, to be able to cope with the
joys and sorrows of everyday life, and to have respect
and compassion for yourself.
- Recovery is not a direct, linear journey,
but more often a path with detours (slips or lapses). That is why there is a picture of a winding road at the top of this page. The important thing is to learn
from the detours, and to persist, to keep the belief that things can change for the better.
""Sarah. Thank you for all your insight. I had given up hope that I could ever lick this addiction, and I was ready to keep on using until I died. You gave me the hope and the tools to pull myself up and to fight the power of the drugs. And now, there is a tomorrow."
Underlying issues for addictive behavior
are many, but post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is sometimes the triggering factor. With PTSD, addictive substances are often used to numb the overwhelming feelings and memories.
PTSD is trauma that has not been processed by the mind, and therefore is still causing distress. A good definition of trauma is “Any
event or process that is so overwhelming that it causes
fear, terror, and helplessness, emotional numbing, detachment
and a sense of being disconnected from the world and the
people around you.” It can result from one-time incidents
such as a traffic accident or a robbery, or from long-term abuse or neglect.
You can return to a normal life. I have the training
and the techniques to help you recover.
Phone 604.836.6840 or e-mail me
Sarah L. Topham is a registered
Clinical Counsellor, with fifteen years of experience in
addictions therapy in Vancouver BC.
Our office location is convenient to Downtown Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Coal Harbour, Yaletown, and Kitsilano.
This addiction counselling website was last updated on March 10, 2010
|
