I find it helpful to think of addiction as a symptom, not just a problem. The problems that cause addiction are what I seek to treat.
I find it helpful to think of addictive behavior as compulsive, behavior in which we engage to relieve intolerable discomfort.
If you are engaged in compulsive, out-of-control, addictive behavior, I am eager to understand not just how you act out, but why – what it is in the moment that triggers the irresistible impulse, and what it is in your past that left you unable to tolerate your feelings without acting out.
Together, we will work to understand not just why you can’t stop, but also, what it is that you get out of your addiction.
No one wants to be an addict. Our challenge, together, is to understand your addiction as a coping strategy, and to develop alternative, less destructive coping strategies.
