I often see clients with addiction - drugs, alcohol, gambling and so on. Whilst addiction can be hard to get over, and most addicts will go through on average seven attempts to break the cycle, it is quite possible to fully recover.

Addictions often require a lot of change. I help clients to manage that change, and begin to make a better life for themselves. It is a big step to take, a scary step sometimes.

One of the most important elements of recovery from addiction is dealing with the often large stores of emotion. Sometimes people use addiction to cover up pain from earlier in their lives, so I try to help clients identify that pain and then manage it. In addition, there is often a lot of loss connected with stopping an addiction - the friends, the lifestyle, the feeling "good", which needs help.

There are a lot of good organisations out there that help with addiction - Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous and so on, who are effective in helping people through their problems. However, sometimes that 12 Step approach does not sit well with everyone, and a different approach is required. I offer one to one counselling to help clients with the emotional and sometimes practical elements of stopping.

If you have an addiction problem and would like to discuss it with me, please email me in confidence using the form on the contact page.

For family members, please note that in order to help someone with an addiction problem, they need to be ready to do so. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to talk about possible assistance for a family member.