DK-1-Therapy – ATO Digital Boost

Therapy

My work is specialised in but not limited to these four areas :

Addiction Recovery

I help address the addiction(s), either to assist the client reduce using (harm reduction) or to stop entirely. There are tools for addiction recovery, often pertinent to specific addictions, to assist the client to reduce or halt the using process.Once again, feeling connected is key. Adjacent to therapy, specifically at the beginning of recovery, coaching on all aspects of living sober. Addressing the root causes of addiction often entails focusing on childhood relationships that led to a lack of relational attachment and bonding. As the renowned addiction expert, Dr. Gabor Maté famously said: “Don’t ask why the addiction, but why the pain?”. For addiction, whichever one it is (there can be several at once), is but a symptom. I work with:

Alcohol Use Disorder
Substance Use Disorders (such as cannabis and cocaine addictions)
Process addictions (Including Sex addiction, Love addiction, Eating disorders)
Facilitation with appropriate treatment centers, sober transport, etc. as appropriate
12-step
Crisis intervention
Work with individuals with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) in remission/former addicts on life issues

Trauma Reduction and Healing

Psychotherapy is an excellent tool to overcome the complex issue of trauma, such as early childhood developmental trauma, sexual abuse or war trauma. Clients can be unaware of trauma they are carrying. Trauma is often unconscious, stored in the body, dysregulating the nervous system, and having grave physical, emotional and/or psychological impacts on the individual. When clients are ready, I assist them in gently integrating their experiences, particularly those stemming from early childhood. Timing is crucial, and I tailor my approach to address imminent issues while often also working on trauma reduction to alleviate the associated symptoms. Once the trauma is reduced and processed, the client experiences what it is like to live with light. That is the strength of the pain associated with trauma and the weight alleviated when the work is processed. The process itself is explained prior to the work and it includes techniques from Gestalt therapy and Psychodynamic psychotherapy.

Relationship Therapy

Guiding clients in understanding and improving their relationships with themselves and others. Whether working with individuals, couples, adolescents, or families, I provide (or coordinate) crisis interventions when needed, offer support, and teach healthier communication dynamics.

Family Dynamics

This work is frequently useful when one family member has an addiction. Clients with addiction issues may be scapegoated by family members even when they enter recovery. An awareness may transpire within the family that communication dynamics could be improved. The family may open up, enough to listen to a me as a therapist giving psychoeducation around the condition of addiction, its impact on the family and new healthier ways to communicate. The family practice new ways of communicating within the session that I mediate, ensuring everyone is in a safe space. Family recovery has begun, improving the chances of long-term recovery for the client in recovery.

As an integrative therapist, I combine different elements from different types of therapy and I create a create bespoke therapy for each client. Definitions of the therapies I employ are available here. They are directly extracted from the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)’s 2023 publication “Types of therapy, An A-Z of therapeutic approaches”, which compiles definitions of the different types of therapies available.

I also use Post Induction Therapy (PIT), developed over 30 years ago by Pia Mellody of The Meadows Treatment Center, Wickenburg, AZ. PIT contains techniques such as:

Sarah Bridge defines the model here.

Co-existing conditions I work with include: ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, Eating Disorders and Self-harm.

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