My dedicated work in addiction treatment includes ten plus years as clinician, clinical supervisor and director of adult residential and outpatient drug and alcohol treatment programs.
With a background in humanistic person-centered psychology I have a deep belief that our core nature is directed toward the highest good if treated non-judgmentally with empathy and respect. Behaviors that do not serve us can be healed in an environment of acceptance and compassion.
Healing then is about empathy, respect, compassion and specific treatment strategies that empower people to find solutions that are uniquely right for them. While the role of the therapist is active, engaged and strategic, the solutions come from the client rather than the counselor.
In treating behavioral and substance addictions I use both Motivational Interviewing and the Feeling State Addiction Protocol:
Motivational Interviewing
These practices are also the foundation of Motivational Interviewing a research based treatment approach for working with behaviors in which part of us wants to change and part of us wants to hold on to the behavior. I both practice and train other therapists in this modality.
The Feeling State Addiction Protocol (FSAP)
FSAP is a modification of the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) protocol and is highly effective in the resolution of behavioral addictions (such as gambling, shopping and sex) and substance addictions (such as food, sugar, smoking, drinking and drugs).
“The Feeling-State Theory of Behavioral and Substance Addictions postulates that addictions (both behavioral and substance) are created when positive feelings become rigidly linked with specific object or behavior. This linkage between feeling and behavior is called a feeling-state…” Robert Miller, 2013