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Addiction and substance abuse
Written by Luisa Kos
Table of contents
Why therapy is essential for addiction recovery
Addiction is not just about substance use—it often stems from deeper emotional pain, trauma, stress, or mental health challenges. Many people turn to substances or addictive behaviours as a way to cope, only to find themselves caught in a cycle that feels impossible to break. Therapy offers a structured and supportive way to understand and address addiction at its core.
Key benefits of therapy for addiction:
- Identifying the root causes – Understanding the emotional, psychological, and environmental factors that contribute to substance use.
- Developing healthier coping strategies – Replacing addictive behaviours with sustainable, positive coping mechanisms.
- Managing triggers and cravings – Learning how to recognise and handle situations that increase the risk of relapse.
- Rebuilding relationships and restoring trust – Addressing the impact of addiction on family, friendships, and work.
- Addressing co-occurring mental health issues – Many people with addiction also experience anxiety, depression, PTSD, or other mental health conditions that need attention.
- Creating a sustainable plan for long-term recovery – Recovery is an ongoing process, and therapy helps build a personalised strategy for maintaining progress.
Addiction recovery is not about willpower alone—it’s about having the right support system, tools, and guidance to make lasting changes.
Understanding different types of addiction
Addiction is not limited to substances like alcohol or drugs. Many individuals struggle with compulsive behaviours that can negatively impact their lives. Therapy can help with:
- Alcohol addiction – Understanding dependency, withdrawal, and strategies for moderation or sobriety.
- Drug addiction – Addressing both prescription and recreational drug misuse and its underlying causes.
- Gambling addiction – Overcoming compulsive gambling and financial consequences.
- Sex and love addiction – Managing unhealthy relationship patterns, compulsive behaviours, and self-worth issues.
- Internet and social media addiction – Reducing excessive screen time and dependency on digital platforms.
- Food addiction and emotional eating – Developing a healthier relationship with food and body image.
Regardless of the type of addiction, therapy provides a structured path towards regaining control and improving overall well-being.
Therapists who understand addiction
Seeking therapy for addiction can feel daunting, but finding a professional who truly understands your experience can make all the difference. Our directory features therapists with expertise in addiction treatment, using a variety of evidence-based approaches, including:
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) – Identifying negative thought patterns and developing healthier behaviours.
- Motivational Interviewing (MI) – Strengthening your motivation and commitment to change.
- Trauma-informed therapy – Addressing past experiences that may contribute to substance use.
- Mindfulness & stress reduction – Learning techniques to manage cravings, stress, and emotional distress.
- 12-step facilitation – Exploring structured recovery programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous if they align with your needs.
- Harm reduction therapy – Supporting individuals who are not ready for complete abstinence but want to reduce harmful behaviours.
Our therapists take a compassionate, non-shaming approach, focusing on empowerment and progress rather than blame or guilt.
A Supportive and non-judgmental space
Many people struggling with addiction fear being judged, misunderstood, or labelled. The therapists in our directory provide a confidential and understanding space where you can talk openly about your challenges.
Whether you’re in the early stages of recognising a problem, actively working towards recovery, or maintaining sobriety, therapy can be a powerful tool for lasting change.
Does therapy work for addiction?
Therapy has been shown to be highly effective in treating addiction, especially when combined with other forms of support such as medical care, peer support groups, and lifestyle changes. Many people find that therapy helps them:
- Gain deeper self-awareness about their addiction
- Replace harmful habits with healthier alternatives
- Improve emotional regulation and stress management
- Build confidence in their ability to maintain recovery
No matter how long you have been struggling, it is never too late to seek help.
My identify shifted when I got into recovery. That’s who I am now, and it actually gives me greater pleasure to have that identity than to be a musician or anything else. It gives me a spiritual anchor.
Find a specialist
Recovery looks different for everyone, and finding the right therapist can be a crucial step in your journey. Our directory allows you to search for addiction specialists based on location, therapy style, and specific areas of expertise. Whether you’re looking for in-person sessions or online support, you can find a therapist who aligns with your needs.
Start your search today and take the first step towards a healthier, more fulfilling life.
Therapists who can help with addiction and substance abuse
Steve Burchell
30+ years experience offering therapy, supervision, training etc. Currently focused on trauma, and somatic integration. Working on several psychedelic assisted therapy trials.
Marie Seary
I am a UKCP-registered Psychotherapeutic Counsellor and Clinical Hypnotherapist with over 30 years’ experience of working with people across a range of settings. My training is integrative and includes Transpersonal Counselling, Hypnotherapy, NLP, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), Matrix Re-imprinting, meditation and energy-based approaches. This allows me to draw from different ways of working depending on what feels most helpful for each person. Alongside my formal training, my work has been shaped by a long-standing interest in the connection between emotional wellbeing, the body, and deeper inner processes. I continue to develop my practice through ongoing learning, personal therapy, and reflective practice.
Robert Flaherty
Every persons journey is different and l like to give you the space to tell yours, collaboratively we then work together to achieve your goals, my approach is about giving you the space to talk in a non judgemental environment. I work with a very open mind and have clients from many different industries, nationalities, and age groups.
Asselle Seitmagzimova
I offer a warm, holistic approach to therapy for sensitive, deep-feeling people who want to understand themselves more compassionately and heal at the root. Using Internal Family Systems (IFS), embodiment, and compassionate enquiry, I help clients gently explore the underlying patterns, wounds, and protective parts that may be keeping them stuck, overwhelmed, disconnected, or self-critical. I’m especially drawn to working with people who have spent much of their lives feeling misunderstood, emotionally alone, or responsible for holding everything together.
Roland Oliver
BACP-Accredited and UKCP-registered Mindfulness-based Core Process Psychotherapist based in Clapham Common, London SW4. He holds an MA in Mindfulness-based Core Process Psychotherapy from the Karuna Institute in Devon, and has been in practice for over 14 years, including two years working with the NHS Counselling Service. His work draws on both psychodynamic and mindfulness-based approaches, with a particular focus on developmental trauma — including emotional neglect, childhood experiences of unsafety, and the lasting impact of difficult early relationships. He is a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and the Association of Core Process Psychotherapy (ACPP), and offers therapy on a flexible, ability-to-pay basis.
Patricia Almohalla Alvarez
I am a registered Counselling Psychologist and an EMDR Europe Accredited Practitioner, with a mainly humanistic approach informed by Gestalt therapy, CBT, ACT, CFT, and mindfulness. I have several years’ experience working with trauma, including PTSD and complex trauma, and offer sessions in both English and Spanish, online and face to face. My work is warm, compassionate, and tailored to each client’s needs.
Arran Thomas
I find seeking therapy usually starts with seeds of hope. Hope for things to change, to become ‘unstuck’, to have understanding, to find peace. As a qualified counsellor I offer a compassionate, supportive space to cultivate these seeds of hope so that you can grow to overcome the issues you face and move forward to a more positive place. – My Approach – Everyone has an inherent wisdom within themselves towards healing and transformation through the struggles or difficulties of life. My role is to facilitate this journey, give it a nudge in the right direction. When we initially meet, I will apply gentle curiosity to explore what brings you to therapy and together we can have a look at what you might want to gain from the process. My aim is for you to feel seen, heard and warmly accepted. I value the 3 A’s as a rough guide for what can emerge from the issues you choose to bring: – Awareness through exploring thoughts, feelings, behaviours, patterns and responses to stress. You will come to recognise how these have been shaped by life experiences. – Acceptance expands from awareness, of different parts of yourself, your story, your identity, your past, the present, the other people in your life. – Accountability strengthens with acceptance and awareness, an increasing sense of empowerment, choice and freedom in how you want to move forward and live your life with resilience. Whether it is anxiety, relationship difficulties, depression, low self-esteem, grief, trauma, abuse, addiction or feelings of shame, anger, overwhelm, confusion and loneliness, you don’t have to struggle alone with these issues.
Clark Crewe
I am a UKCP-registered psychotherapist based in Chelsea, Central London, working with adults navigating anxiety, stress, shame, and relationship difficulties. I work with people from all backgrounds, with a particular understanding of those in creative, professional, and high-responsibility roles. Many of the people I see appear to be coping on the outside, while finding things more difficult internally. Alongside my psychotherapy practice, I continue to hold senior roles within Film and Television, including at a BAFTA award-winning production company. This gives me a current, lived understanding of high-pressure environments, the weight of responsibility, and the complexity of human relationships under pressure. My clinical training includes an MSc (Distinction) in Humanistic Psychotherapy, with experience across NHS crisis services, higher education, and specialist counselling settings. These roles have developed my ability to work with a range of presentations while maintaining a grounded, thoughtful, and ethically contained space.
Siobhan Maguire-Swartz
Whatever your reasons for seeking therapy, I am here to listen and support you. I will focus on you with care, compassion, empathy and a non-shaming approach. I work in an integrated way combining different techniques and approaches from a range of styles to best suit clients as we get to know each other. I tailor my approach to best suit your hopes and goals and (most importantly) to stay alongside you in your process. Counselling and Therapy is an organic, evolving, mutual, process where client and therapist collaborate in relationship to support growth. I adapt my style as the work progresses to help achieve your aims. Therapy can be difficult, it’s not a quick fix and it can be painful to look back at traumatic experiences, memories, or current difficulties. That is why I will go at your pace, paying close attention to your needs, staying in constant dialogue, pausing or slowing down when needed. It is important you feel secure within the confidential setting, to explore your issues, so that the work can help to safely heal and transform. I trained in the Humanistic style, meaning I integrate a range of psychotherapeutic theories including: Gestalt Therapy, Transactional Analysis, Person-Centred Therapy and Relational techniques. Having worked with my body as a dance artist for nearly 20 years, I am able to offer a more embodied, somatic-based approach if requested.
Lesley Aitcheson
Experienced psychodynamic psychotherapist who offers a confidential, non-judgemental space where clients can explore whatever is troubling them. She works with a wide range of difficulties, including relationship issues, anxiety, depression and trauma, supporting both practical coping and deeper self-understanding. Her approach focuses on how unconscious patterns influence present experiences, helping clients make sense of thoughts and feelings that may be difficult to access alone. Therapy begins with an assessment session, followed by an agreed course of work that remains responsive to each person’s needs, with the aim of supporting meaningful, lasting change.