Addiction Specialist in Huddersfield
If you were asked to describe an 'addict', most people would describe someone who is at the extreme end of the stereotype. Maybe they describe someone who has lost their job, their relationships and may even describe someone who breaks the law to feed their addiction. These are true descriptions but most of my clients are none of the above. They are people who have noticed that the odd glass of wine or odd bet isn’t enough and are becoming increasingly dependent on something which is starting to negatively impact their everyday lives.
Deciding you want to seek help is not the same as labelling yourself ‘an addict’. Assigning a label often has negative connotations and can be seen as a way of pigeonholing people. I see the person and help them to resolve their problems, not give them a label
As a recovering addict myself, I specialise in helping clients to take back the control they often feel they have lost. Let’s make something clear, NOBODY is beyond help, and you can turn your life around no matter how problematic your addiction has become. Using a variety of therapies and coaching techniques, together we will get to the root cause of your problematic behaviour, understand the negative thoughts or feelings associated with this and reframe these to create healthier habits.
It is not always about completely stopping, many of my clients want to be able to still enjoy having a drink etc, just on their terms. So that is what we work with. Let me put it this way, if a person has issues with food, they don't stop eating, so the same can apply to your relationship with alcohol or drugs. I help clients to self manage and control it, And yes that can happen.
I am always at the end of the phone to help and support clients anyway I can, offering 24/7 telephone SOS support so I can help clients in-between sessions, when they need it most.
There is no definitive definition of what addiction is, there are no simple boxes to tick that will say addict or not addict.
However, when speaking with a client for the first time, I have a few questions that I always ask to help me to understand where they are in terms of being aware of their actions and behaviours and the impact these may be having in their life. If you can honestly answer yes to any of these then it could be time to seek help.
During the session, you will be put into a relaxed and suggestive state of mind. In this state, you’ll be able to access thoughts, feelings and memories that are buried deep into your subconscious. We can establish why you turn to addiction. Working together, we can identify and then put a plan in place to avoid triggers (whether they’re people, places or things). We’ll look at how to cope with cravings. You’ll begin to understand that getting a “fix” from your substance of choice provides only temporary relief.
Each therapist is different as is every client. I have experienced addiction and successful long term recovery first hand. So I know how it feels to be locked in the cycle of addiction, but more importantly for my clients, I also know how it feels to break free and to live a happy, addiction-free life. You can read more about my personal experience with addiction on the My Story page.
The therapy is person-centred, and because I have experienced addiction I always have my phone on 24/7 so my clients can contact me if they are tempted to relapse or need to reach out for support. Recovering from any kind of addiction is a difficult and sometimes lengthy process. There might be relapses. There will be tears. There will be setbacks and difficulties.
Hypnotherapy along with the other therapies that I work with such as NLP, EFT and Auriculotherapy provides a long-term solution to your addiction problem. We’ll work together to change your mindset; eliminating fear and weakness, and replacing them with confidence, hope and happiness.
Addiction doesn’t form overnight, so, unfortunately, neither does recovery. Experience shows that we can make significant progress together in an average of eight weeks. Across this timescale the therapy program entails:
*Auriculotherapy is a form of the ancient Chinese medicine of acupuncture that involves stimulating various points of the ear. There are 300 points on the ear that represent the various organs, muscles and skeleton parts and as part of the session can be an additional boost to hypnotherapy
For some clients, they may only require a couple of sessions, they have acted early before the addiction has really taken hold.
I know how difficult it can be to break the cycle of addiction. As mentioned, I always have my phone on to take calls from hypnotherapy clients who are suffering from addiction. This can be the difference between relapsing and staying on track.
Smoking (including Cannabis) is treated differently from other addictions, to understand more about our ‘Stop Smoking’ program please check out the Smoking page.
I would say that admitting that they have a problem is the start of the recovery journey (even if it's to themselves) and there needs to be ownership of their addiction before any real work can be done. I have seen people come because their family member is ‘making them’ or has given them an ultimatum and they don’t tend to commit fully to treatment. I have seen people come who don’t fully admit they have a problem, but then, through therapy realise that they have.
We also understand the difficulties that friends and family face when a loved one is in the grips of addiction. If I’m working with the addict, it would be a conflict of interest to work with the family or friends of that individual. However, I would highly recommend
The Vesta Approach a specialised support service for families of addicts.
Copyright © 0 - 2024 Thomas McGowan Therapy, all rights reserved.
Website by Markadept | Report a fault with this website.