Compassionate support for substance use and behavioural addictions
Substance use and behavioural addictions can affect your health, relationships, finances, work, sense of self, and daily routines. You may be using alcohol, drugs, gambling, gaming, pornography, shopping, or another behaviour to cope with stress, trauma, loneliness, anxiety, grief, or difficult emotions. Over time, a coping strategy can begin to feel hard to control, even when it creates consequences you did not want.
Addiction counselling at Monarch Psychology offers a compassionate space to look beneath the patterns causing concern, without shame or judgment. Therapy can help you understand what the addiction has been doing for you, what it has cost you, and what support may help you move forward in a way that feels realistic and meaningful.
Addiction counselling may be helpful if you are:
There is no single path that works for every person. Some people come to therapy after something has recently brought concerns to a head. Others have been aware of the pattern for a long time. You do not need to have quit or be ready to quit to start counselling.
Your therapist will take time to learn about your experiences, strengths, relationships, and current circumstances, then work with you to identify goals that fit your life rather than a rigid, one-size-fits-all plan. Care can include support for substance use as well as behavioural addictions involving gambling, gaming, pornography, or shopping.
Our team draws on more than 60 years of combined clinical experience, with training across CBT, ACT, EMDR, somatic, and other approaches, so your therapist can adapt their approach as your needs evolve. If you’re not sure which therapist is the right fit, we offer a free 15-minute matching consultation with our Directorto help connect you with a clinician suited to your situation.
Depending on your needs, therapy may include:
Sessions can include conversations about current challenges alongside a deeper look at the experiences that may have shaped your coping patterns, using approaches such as CBT, ACT, EMDR, and somatic approaches.
Over time, addiction counselling may support:
Change may include setbacks and adjustments along the way. Progress is reviewed collaboratively, at a pace that fits you.
Addiction counselling is therapy focused on substance use or behavioural addictions such as gambling, gaming, pornography, or shopping. Sessions look at the patterns, emotional needs, and experiences connected to the behaviour, in a confidential and non-judgmental setting.
No. You do not need to have stopped a substance or behaviour, or be certain you want to, to benefit from counselling.
Yes. Addiction counselling is confidential, with a few legal and ethical limits your therapist will explain clearly at the start of therapy.
Family or partner involvement can be part of therapy when it would be helpful, depending on your goals.
Many extended health benefit plans cover counselling when services are provided by a Registered Psychologist or Social Worker. Coverage varies by plan, and our team can provide receipts or information about direct billing where available.
