Marriage and Family Therapist, M.A., Associate Marriage and Family Therapist
It's hard to admit when we have a problem. The truth is addiction isn't really about the substance, it's about what's going on beneath the surface. In therapy, I create a supportive, nonjudgmental environment where we can discover what is really going on so we can face it, transcend it, and transform in the process.
Is your addiction a symptom of some deeper pain, or the sole obstacle to a life otherwise pleasantly lived? Using harm reduction informed, evidence based cognitive, narrative, and motivational approaches, we can identify and map out your relationship with your substance use/abuse/misuse, or behavior, the role it plays in maintaining the status quo, and what it would look like to remove it entirely.
As an individual in long-term recovery, I intimately understand the challenges of getting and staying sober from alcohol and other substances. Loss of friends and your social circle, persistent feelings of isolation, and finding new means of coping with difficult situations/emotions/stress are just a few of the issues I tackle with clients in recovery. I am uniquely equipped to help both newly sober individuals as well as those in long-term recovery.
Many individuals can experience symptoms associated with painful and traumatic circumstances. Anxiety, fear, and hopelessness are a few emotions that can linger after traumatic events. Some of these emotions can fuel addictive behavior. I can help guide you through the process of healing.
All our providers have a subspecialty in addiction. In fact, some of have or are currently managing residential drug treatment programs and intensive outpatient programs in addition to their work at COPE Psychological Center. Dr. Rubin Khoddam, in particular, has been certified in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Substance Use Disorders.
Severe life stressors like addiction due to drug & alcohol abuse & trauma have the potential to completely unravel the lives of human beings. As such, people who have been through traumatic or stressful experiences require healing in order to lead happier and more functional lives. It is such people that I help who also suffer from the disease of addiction. My clients include children, adults, and the families of addicted individuals. I also guide them towards healthier perceptions of themselves as well as their experiences. I also help them repair and strengthen their relationships so they a) have a support system to fall back on, and b) are able to better realize themselves within the context of their relationships. If cognitive therapy of substance abuse doesn't work I can use feeling-state addiction protocol in order to remove all positive associations to the addiction.