Individual Counselling for Addiction in Vancouver, BC

When You Need Someone Who Truly Understands

Living with addiction feels like being trapped in a cycle you can't break. You might feel ashamed, isolated, and exhausted from hiding your struggles from family and friends. The guilt weighs heavily, guilt about your choices, about hurting people you love, about not being the person you want to be.

Maybe you've tried to quit on your own multiple times, only to find yourself back where you started. Perhaps you're grieving the loss of who you used to be or someone important in your life, and substances have become your way of coping with unbearable pain.

Traditional therapy might feel intimidating or judgmental. You need someone who understands addiction from the inside - someone who won't be shocked by your story or make you feel worse about choices you've already made.

• You feel like you're living a double life, hiding your struggles from everyone
• Shame and guilt consume your thoughts and make everything feel hopeless
• You've tried to quit before but always end up back where you started
• Grief or trauma feels too overwhelming to face without substances
• You want help but fear judgment from professionals who don't understand addiction
  
  

You deserve support from someone who sees your potential for healing, not just your current struggles. Recovery is possible, and you don't have to figure it out alone.

What is Individual Addiction Counselling?

Individual addiction counselling provides one-on-one therapeutic support specifically designed for people struggling with substance use, addiction behaviors, grief, or trauma. This personalized approach allows us to focus entirely on your unique situation, triggers, and recovery goals.

Unlike group therapy or family-based interventions, individual counselling creates a completely private space where you can explore your relationship with substances without fear of judgment or pressure from others. This approach is particularly effective for people who need to process trauma, grief, or shame before involving family members.

Virtual individual counselling offers the same therapeutic benefits as in-person sessions while providing additional privacy and accessibility:

• Complete confidentiality in a judgment-free environment
• Trauma-informed approaches that address underlying pain
• Practical coping strategies for cravings and triggers
• Grief processing for losses that may have contributed to substance use
• Motivational interviewing techniques that respect your autonomy
  

As a licensed Master Practitioner in Clinical Counselling (MPCC) with lived experience of addiction in my own family, I understand both the clinical aspects of addiction and the emotional reality of struggling with substances or behavioural issues.

My background as a frontline paramedic means I've seen addiction at its worst moments, crises, and rock bottom situations, so nothing about your experience will shock or overwhelm me. Having spent five years working in an in-patient treatment setting, I've also seen people recover and rebuild their lives, which gives me genuine hope for every client I work with.

My approach combines evidence-based therapeutic techniques with real-world understanding of how addiction affects thoughts, feelings, and relationships. I don't believe in shame-based treatment or forcing change before you're ready. Instead, I meet you where you are and help you find your own motivation for healing.

Without professional support, addiction typically becomes more entrenched over time. What started as occasional use to cope with stress or trauma often evolves into daily dependency that affects every aspect of life. Shame and isolation increase as consequences mount, making it even harder to reach out for help.

Many people spend years trying to manage addiction alone, using willpower and self-help approaches that work temporarily but don't address underlying triggers or trauma. The cycle of attempt-and-relapse can actually strengthen feelings of hopelessness and personal failure.

With individual counselling support, you gain tools and insights that address not just the surface behaviors, but the deeper reasons you turn to substances. You learn healthy coping strategies for stress, grief, and difficult emotions. Most importantly, you develop a realistic, personalized recovery plan that fits your life and values.

Recovery doesn't mean perfection, it means progress. Individual counselling helps you understand your patterns, identify your triggers, and build the skills needed for lasting change. You can rebuild relationships, regain self-respect, and create the life you actually want instead of just surviving each day.

Attempting to overcome addiction through willpower alone has very low success rates because addiction creates actual changes in brain chemistry and function. Without understanding these changes and developing appropriate coping strategies, most people find themselves trapped in cycles of temporary sobriety followed by relapse and increased shame.

Self-help approaches often fail because they don't address underlying trauma, mental health conditions, or life circumstances that contribute to addictive behaviors. Additionally, isolation and shame can actually strengthen addictive patterns by preventing access to support and accountability.

When individuals work with trained addiction counsellors, recovery becomes a guided process rather than a solo struggle. You gain professional insights into your patterns, evidence-based tools for managing cravings and triggers, and ongoing support during difficult moments.

Individual counselling also helps you develop realistic expectations for recovery and learn to view setbacks as information rather than failures. This therapeutic relationship provides stability and hope during the challenging process of rebuilding your life.