Substance Abuse Counseling
Is A Need To Use Dictating Every Aspect Of Your Life?
- Do you feel unable to live a life free of substance use?
- Have your relationships, life goals, or career been compromised by the negative consequences of your addictive tendencies?
- Or are you the parent of an adolescent or teenager who has begun experimenting with substances?
Perhaps you feel entirely out of control when it comes to your use of alcohol or other drugs. You may crave certain substances, feeling a compulsive need to use at a certain time of day or when you’re under stress. And even when you experience setbacks from the physical and mental effects of substance abuse, you’ve likely continued to use anyway.
As a result, you may struggle with ongoing physical symptoms of substance abuse. Maybe you experience “brain fog,” the feeling that you aren’t thinking clearly or quickly, or maybe your use has impacted your memory or thinking patterns. Perhaps you have difficulty creating a consistent sleep cycle.
Because of this, you may run into problems at home, work, or other areas of your everyday life. Maybe your relationships have suffered because you put your need to use before the needs of your partner, friends, or family. Or maybe you are no longer as productive at work as you once were, resulting in financial setbacks and a lack of fulfillment. It’s also possible that you have run into legal trouble as a result of your substance use, and you are now grappling with the fallout from those consequences.
Alternatively, it could be that your adolescent or teenage child has begun to use substances. Perhaps you have noticed a slip in their academic, extracurricular, or social performance as a result. Or maybe you worry that they have fallen into a crowd who experiments with alcohol and other drugs. It could even be that your child has been caught using by authorities, and you are wondering how to provide them with the support they need to stay clean and out of trouble.
Substance abuse can make life very challenging. Beyond addictive tendencies, overuse of substances can result in depression, anxiety, and other obstacles to your mental health. But treatment is possible with substance abuse counseling at The Davis Group.
Substance Abuse And Addiction Are Common In American Culture
Not only is alcohol often glorified among American adults, but substance use in general has now been normalized within the teenage population. In fact, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), the nearly 20 million individuals who struggled with a substance abuse disorder includes a relatively large subset of teenagers age 12 and older¹.
Moreover, the information gathered by the NSDUH is only recent as of 2017. Given the global crises and added stressors of the last few years, we can assume this number has risen. It’s therefore probable that the percentage of adults struggling with alcoholism and illicit drug use—by some estimates, 38 percent of adults—has increased since this data was initially gathered².
Unfortunately, the society we live in wires us toward instant gratification. This means that we seek immediate reward or relief, both during times of distress and celebration. Yet, what this often translates to is either a need to numb or a desire for quick and intense euphoria, which is often found through alcohol and other drug use.
However, the cycle created by a compulsive need to use usually becomes painful, frustrating, and destructive over time. And we may start to develop coping mechanisms and social supports within the context of our substance use, making it even more difficult to stop.
The truth is that stopping substance use is a different experience for everyone—some people may be able to quit with relative ease while others greatly benefit from the structured support of an addiction counselor. But whatever your relationship with alcohol and other drugs may be, you can find a path to recovery through substance abuse counseling.
Substance Abuse Counseling Takes Control Away From Your Addiction And Returns It To You
One part of substance abuse that makes it difficult to seek help is the aspect of shame that many people experience when they feel they no longer have control over their use. It is therefore often difficult to open up about and explore the elements of addiction that have taken over. Yet, therapy offers a chance to heal the wounds that have led to substance abuse so that you can build effective emotional, social, and communication skills.
During your first session with your counselor, we will go over your family history, presenting problems, and any co-occurring disorders—such as depression or anxiety—that will help your clinician understand the effect that addictive behaviors are having on your daily life. From there, your clinician will offer skills for coping as you uncover more of the why behind your need to use.
Utilizing motivational interviewing techniques, you will develop a more thorough understanding of where your substance abuse originated and what you can do to curb it. And with approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), you can learn how to effectively identify and regulate emotions, tolerate distress, and adjust your coping behaviors. In addition, much of substance abuse counseling will center around overcoming the underlying trauma or internalized distress at the core of your addiction.
Our skilled counselors make every effort to create a supportive and empathetic atmosphere where you can learn life-changing skills for overcoming substance abuse and addiction. Not only will they help you to develop a tool kit for coping, but they can also provide helpful resources for preventing substance abuse relapse as well as support to the family members who will be instrumental in your treatment and recovery.
Addiction is a common yet treatable mental health challenge, and together, we can conquer your cravings. With counseling at The Davis Group, you can find the help and resources you need to end your substance abuse once and for all.
Maybe you’re ready for addiction counseling, but you have some concerns…
I’ve been to treatment already — I don’t need substance abuse counseling.
Part of staying clean and sober is getting continued care. Even if you have already gone through an in-patient treatment process, for instance, it’s in your best interest to keep receiving care and guidance as you adjust to life without substances. Moreover, the clinicians at The Davis Group can provide a wide array of resources to reinforce your sobriety and work with your family to create a home environment that will reduce stress and the possibility of relapse.
I’ve tried quitting substances in the past, but it just didn’t work.
Our substance abuse treatment plans are solution-focused and individually tailored to meet the needs of each of our unique clients. In other words, we will create a plan that works for you. And whereas in the past, you may not have been fully ready to commit to sobriety, you can now reflect on what has not worked for you so that we can work together in improving things for the future.
I’m afraid I will relapse and end up feeling like a failure.
Relapse is a very normal part of the substance abuse treatment process, and our clinicians understand that. If you end up using again, you will not be met with judgment or criticism but rather a sense of empathy, understanding, and commitment to adjusting your treatment plan as needed. We are here to support you through every step of this process, including moments of relapse.
¹ https://nsduhweb.rti.org/respweb/homepage.cfm
² https://nsduhweb.rti.org/respweb/homepage.cfm
