Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counseling near Houston, The Woodlands, League City & Midland, TX
Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counseling
Have you been struggling with an addictive behavior that is causing your life to be unmanageable? Are you afraid of where this behavior will take you if you don’t get help? Are you willing to take the time needed to help you reclaim your life? Do you wish you could discover a sense of hope for the future, gain control over your choices and heal from the inside out? Counseling can be a beneficial factor when dealing with substance and or alcohol abuse to restore hope.
If You are Not Sure You Need Help - Here are Some Warning Signs:
- Are you finding it difficult to stop a compulsive behavior, such as shopping, gambling, overeating or sex?
- Has something that started as an occasional indulgence become a habit?
- Do you find it hard to get through the day without alcohol or substances?
- Have you been steadily increasing your dosage of a prescription medication?
- Do you feel you are constantly craving alcohol or the substance, and increasingly feeling out-of-control? Where it feels as if it’s taking over your life?
- Are you finding yourself lying or covering up your behaviors to not worry loved ones?
- Have you lost interest in things that used to bring you joy? Such as the new norm is being in your head, focusing primarily on alcohol or the substance.
Signs that You Are Addicted:
- Anxious
- Irritability and/or restlessness
- Depressed
- Cognitive delays
- Dishonesty
- Overactive or underactive
- Change in appetite
- Weight loss
- Decrease in proper hygiene
- Missing work, school and/or family commitments
- Change in sleep
- Isolating
- Defensive
- Confused Easily
- Blaming
- Minimization
- Suicidal ideation
- Physical Dependence
” Addiction is a symptom of multiple deep problems; such as, trauma”
Causes of Addiction:
- Trauma
- Loss of someone or something
- Loss of job/career
- Promotion
- Major life change
- Untreated mental health issues (such as anxiety, depression)
- Natural disaster (such as earthquake, tornado, pandemic)
- Weight gain/self esteem
- Increased stress
- Boredom
Addiction can happen to anyone, no matter who you are, it’s difficult to break out of an engrained pattern on your own. Thankfully, there is hope. With the support of a licensed professional you can take back your life, find a new, healthy way of living, feel balanced and empowered and most of all, feel hope again.
Facts about Alcoholism
Globally, alcohol consumption is the seventh leading risk factor for both death and the burden of disease and injury. In short, except for tobacco, alcohol accounts for a higher burden of disease than any other drug. Substance and/or alcohol abuse is a genetic disposition which is learned from others, or a habit, which if addiction develops, manifests itself as a chronic debilitating disease. In 2010 about 5% of people (230 million) used an illicit substance. Of these 27 million have high-risk drug use otherwise known as recurrent drug use causing harm to their health, psychological problems, or social problems that put them at risk of those dangers. In 2015 substance use disorders resulted in 307,400 deaths, up from 165,000 deaths in 1990. Of these, the highest numbers are from alcohol use disorders at 137,500, opioid use disorders at 122,100 deaths, amphetamine use disorders at 12,200 deaths, and cocaine use disorders at 11,100
Benefits of Addiction Therapy:
- Increased confidence
- Discovery of self worth
- Gain of coping skills and tools for daily living
- Connection (opposite of addiction) in return builds trust
- Healing of cognitive delays
- Brings forth transparency
- Reveals areas of damage that need to be addressed to begin healing work (such as symptoms, trauma and triggers)
Alcoholic and Substance Abuse Treatment:
Addiction treatment includes medication for some, not all individuals, along with talk therapy, behavioral marital therapy, and family therapy. Often, the individual addicted holds a lot of shame about who they are, some of this shame can stem from being brought up in a shame-based family system, and trauma, feeling unloved. Also, due to the high frequency of dual diagnoses; such as depression, anxiety, or PTSD, that will be treated as well.
Because addiction impacts the couple and the family system. The family unit will be a part of addiction treatment. In couples therapy, learning to be emotionally honest with each other, and have a deeper connection. This will also involve setting healthy boundaries with each other and rebuilding trust. Depending on the ages of the children involved in the family unit, there will be age-appropriate family interventions to increase emotional honesty, healthy family roles, and healthy true intimacy.
There are multiple therapy research-based therapy modalities to treat addiction. The most used by our compassionate therapists are Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Dialectical behavioral therapy, (DBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and Family System therapy. Each therapy modality has its own goal and purpose either individually or as a unit.
In children and adolescents, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and family therapy currently have the most research evidence for the treatment of substance abuse problems. These treatments can be administered in a variety of different formats, each of which has varying levels of research support. Motivational interviewing can also be effective in treating substance use disorder in adolescents.
Counseling in congruence with a support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous is one of the most widely known self-help organizations in which members support each other not to use alcohol. Social skills are significantly impaired in people suffering from alcoholism due to the neurotoxic effects of alcohol on the brain, especially the prefrontal cortex area of the brain. It has been suggested that support groups increase social skills and benefits can be efficacious.
Our therapists, support and assist clients to connect with their authentic selves and learn to love, not hate, themselves. Also, behaviors will be evaluated that are not currently working for them. We utilize multiple therapy modalities based on the client’s personality and problem. The therapy modalities are all research-based and are showing success based on the particular problems and the client.
Benefits of Having Family Involved
Family members experience stress and fear when someone that they care about is abusing alcohol or substances. Loved ones play an important role in addiction recovery, but supporting an addict is difficult. It requires patience, tough love and hope. When the family comes together to support one another it increases your chances of maintaining long term abstinence from alcohol and/or substances. Benefits include
- Rebuilding of trust and respect
- Gain of coping skills and tools for better communication and problem solving
- Overall feeling of each others acceptance and hope within your triad
- Opportunity to create safety and healing within your triad
- Unity, strength and resilience
- Decrease in unhealthy behaviors and family dynamics
Our greatest desire at Therapy for Families is to help each individual feel comfortable and hopeful about their therapy process. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns. We also offer a free consultation to help assess how therapy can benefit you and help you to feel peace and happiness again.