Working with addiction

The word "addiction" is derived from a Latin term for "enslaved by" or "bound to". Anyone who has struggled to overcome an addiction - or has tried to help someone else to do so - understands why.

The harms of addiction can range from mild (e.g., feeling anxious, hungover, being late for work, short of money) to severe (e.g., homelessness, disease, imprisonment), and can have an impact on most areas of our lives. For most people in addiction, as the dependence increases, so too do the physical or psychological consequences of stopping. Perhaps by understanding that an addiction is not a search for pleasure, but an attempt to cope with the unbearable, I believe that a person may find a way to manage their feelings more healthily. 

I have experience in working with substance misuse, alcoholism, gambling, shopping, sex, and food addiction. I offer help for those who are in addiction themselves, and to those who know, or care for someone who is.

Working with trauma, and PTSD

A trauma occurs when a person experiences high levels of stress, without the ability to escape or move through the stress response. This means that the threat response stays frozen in the person. If the threat is severe, repetitive or ongoing, then this could lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and often this arises when the person does not go through the realisation that the threat has passed. Together we can explore your responses to trauma, by creating a safe therapeutic experience, where trust and understanding are at the forefront. I can help you to normalise some of the distress which is felt, and support you in learning effective coping strategies.

Working with attachment trauma

With an understanding of the relationship between trauma and attachment, I believe that our ability to come through a threat response is grounded in our early attachment relationships, and how the person learnt to manage stress as a baby/child. I believe that a strong need for independence, autonomy, and control in relationships, can be common signs of attachment trauma. Difficulty feeling closeness with others, and avoiding relationships that require closeness, or a strong need for closeness, to a point where it might drive other's away, may also be signs of attachment trauma. Working with me, you will be able to unpack some of these feelings, and better understand your triggers, and behaviours. You may begin to feel as though you are on the right path, when you feel safe in your own body, practice boundary setting, trust in your intuition, respond rather than react, and your behaviour becomes consistent with your beliefs and values.