SUBSTANCE USE & ADDICTION THERAPY | ONLINE | LOS ANGELES COUNTY & VENTURA COUNTY
Change from constantly beating yourself up about your drinking or using to new possibilities.
Struggling with an addiction to drugs or alcohol?
Alcohol and drug addiction is a common struggle that many people face at some point in life.
People start using drugs or drinking for a variety of different reasons, but when it comes to recovery, traditional treatment programs only offer one path for recovery: total abstinence. This approach works very well for some, but others need a path that can empower them to manage their addiction or substance abuse differently.
As addiction specialists with a background and training in substance abuse, we’ve seen how the insistence on total abstinence as a starting point for recovery can be harmful and shaming for some.
It’s not uncommon for people to be told they’re not working at their recovery hard enough or that they haven’t hit bottom yet—which can lead to bouncing in and out of expensive treatment programs and centers and sober living houses in search of help.
Meanwhile, their struggle only intensifies:
They keep thinking that something must be wrong with them and that the path of recovery that works for everyone else isn’t working for them.
They feel deeply discouraged about ever reaching their goals of using drugs or alcohol.
They feel turned off by the spiritual components of traditional treatment approaches and are unsure of where to turn.
They aren’t sure of what else to do and might be thinking about giving up entirely on recovery.
Harm Reduction: A Healing Alternative
Harm reduction is a way to help people change their substance use without demanding immediate and lifelong abstinence. It uses many creative strategies to keep people safe while they figure out how to develop a healthier relationship with drugs, such as prescription drugs, relapse prevention techniques, and what their goals are. For some people, that means abstinence; for others, that means moderate or safer use.
Harm reduction takes a health perspective, rather than a moral or legal perspective, on drug use.
That means that you can be safe to explore your drinking or using habits in a judgment-free and supportive environment.
Harm reduction views drug misuse as a habit that has gotten out of hand, and it is often a signal of other co-occurring problems. Not everyone who uses substances develops a problem, but for those who do consider it a problem, we can (almost always) trace their issue back to some kind of trauma, mental health issues, or even abuse. Trauma leaves lasting scars—the kind you can’t see outwardly. Past trauma (that we don’t know how to navigate) can leave us more vulnerable to the soothing effects that substances have.
Why Harm Reduction Works
A harm reduction approach is holistic—meaning, we facilitate harm reduction to address an individual’s substance abuse as well as the issues that lie behind it.
People who are dependent on substances may not want or be able to quit, or they may continue to relapse into substance use. Harm reduction as a substance abuse treatment is nonjudgmental, compassionate, and pragmatic—it starts where the person is and stays with the person through the entire process of change.
Harm reduction creates opportunities for people to lead healthier lives and develop coping skills rather than turn to drugs or alcohol. There is evidence behind all of the principles and practices of harm reduction.
It can work because it:
Establishes safety—anyone can incur harm, regardless of whether his or her substance use rises to the level of moderate or severe misuse
Educates everyone about drugs and safer ways to use
Explores each person’s unique relationship with drugs and understands that drug use is as complicated as the person using
Is realistic about change and encourages small realistic steps that can actually be achieved
Respects autonomy—when people have choices, they are more motivated
Helps people take care of themselves while they keep using—to keep them alive and healthy while they are working on change
DRUG ADDICTION & ALCOHOL RECOVERY:
The Answer Is Connection
Addiction often has its roots in unresolved pain resulting from emotional, physical, or sexual trauma. The pain is worsened by shame because people often blame themselves for the emotional wounds that still fester inside them.
As emotional intimacy involves feeling free to be oneself in the presence of another, substance users often find it difficult to intimately connect with someone else. Instead, the substance user learns to deal with unresolved pain by using, which actually makes their mental health issue, such as depression, anxiety, and shame, even worse.
A person struggling with substance use often has pressing problems that may be just as difficult as their use—so it’s important to find alternative ways of managing both the addiction and the emotions that underlie the substance use.
Our team has substance abuse treatment training that enables us to do the “depth work” of the emotional transformation that can occur. We’re devoted to helping our clients understand themselves and finally be their true selves with other people.
The time to get help is now.
Drug and alcohol counseling can be difficult to start, usually because you might be afraid of judgment or are wondering if harm reduction is the right approach. We applaud your courage in seeking the support you need. No matter what your circumstances may be, no matter how desperate your situation, change is possible.