ACT Drug and Alcohol group (Not 12 Step)

You don’t have to arrive knowing exactly what you want to change about drugs or alcohol. You may be concerned about your use, questioning its place in your life, or looking for support as you work toward a goal. My Substance Use Group offers men and women a compassionate, collaborative space to explore those concerns. Together, we can better understand your patterns, identify what matters to you, and practice responding to thoughts, emotions, and urges with greater awareness and flexibility.

Drugs or alcohol may offer relief from stress, anxiety, loneliness, or physical pain. They may bring pleasure, connection, excitement, or a temporary break from responsibilities. Understanding those experiences matters. We can explore what substances provide and what you may be seeking when you use them. This can help us recognize needs that deserve attention and consider additional ways to meet them. Each person’s relationship with substances has its own history, context, and meaning.

We can also look honestly at the costs of your current patterns. You may have concerns about relationships, work, health, finances, or how you spend your time. Perhaps your use feels increasingly automatic, or you find yourself making choices that conflict with your intentions. We can discuss these experiences with curiosity and compassion. Exploring both the benefits and consequences of a pattern can help you develop a clearer understanding of what you want to keep, change, or examine more closely.

My approach draws on motivational interviewing, which makes room for mixed feelings about change. Part of you may want a different relationship with drugs or alcohol, while another part appreciates the comfort or familiarity they provide. We can explore both sides without pressure. You bring knowledge of your own life, and I bring questions, perspective, and support for reflection. Together, we can identify your reasons for change, understand your concerns, and consider what a personally meaningful direction might look like.

Your starting point may involve exploration, harm reduction, reduced use, or abstinence. We can discuss these possibilities in the context of your needs, circumstances, and goals. You may already have a clear direction, or you may need time to understand what feels important. We can revisit your goals as you learn more about yourself. I value helping you approach decisions thoughtfully and recognize how your choices connect with the life you want to build.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, also informs my approach. We practice noticing thoughts, emotions, urges, and physical sensations while exploring how to respond with greater flexibility. An uncomfortable feeling can become something you recognize and make room for as you consider your next action. We can look at how the search for immediate relief fits with your longer-term priorities. The aim is to create more space for choices that reflect what matters to you, even when difficult experiences are present.

We can explore the situations surrounding substance use, including what tends to happen before, during, and afterward. You might notice connections with particular emotions, interactions, routines, or environments. Recognizing those patterns can help us identify moments where a different response might be possible. We can consider practical steps that fit your circumstances and discuss what you learn from trying them. Your experiences offer information we can use to adjust our focus and make the work relevant to everyday life.

Change can involve uncertainty, and your understanding may develop over time. We can talk about what feels manageable, what gets in the way, and where you want support. When something proves difficult, we can explore it together and consider what to adjust. Small steps can offer opportunities to learn about your needs and practice responding differently.

Self-compassion is central to this process. Looking closely at substance use can bring up regret, shame, frustration, or disappointment. We can practice responding to those feelings with greater kindness while taking your concerns and responsibilities seriously. I value honest feedback and a direct outside perspective, offered with respect. Together, we can notice when harsh judgments make reflection harder and explore a more helpful way to understand what happened. The goal is to support awareness, accountability, and thoughtful action.

Your values help give the work direction. We may explore how you want to show up in relationships, what you want your time to include, and which parts of life deserve more attention. Values might involve connection, honesty, health, stability, creativity, or other priorities you identify. We can consider small actions that express those priorities and discuss the difficulties that arise along the way. These conversations help connect your goals with choices you can recognize and practice in daily life.

The group setting offers opportunities to hear other perspectives, reflect on your own experience, and find language for concerns that have been difficult to explain. You may recognize parts of your experience in another person’s story or consider an approach you had not thought about before. Each participant brings different circumstances, strengths, and needs. Respectful listening, personal boundaries, and care for one another’s privacy are important to this work. We aim to approach differences with curiosity and compassion.

Substance use may also intersect with trauma, anxiety, depression, loneliness, or unmet needs. We can explore whether these experiences play a role for you and consider how they connect with current patterns. I’m interested in understanding the person behind the behavior and helping you identify what deserves attention. My practice is not based on a 12-step model. I respect 12-step support when it is meaningful to you, and we can discuss how the supports you choose fit with your goals.

The group package costs $350 and includes eight group sessions and two individual sessions. The individual sessions offer an opportunity to discuss your concerns and goals in a one-to-one setting alongside the group work. If you are considering participating, call or text 520-239-6623 for a free consultation. We can talk about what brings you in, what you hope might change, and whether the group fits your needs. Our conversation can begin with your questions and the experiences you want to understand.