Long Island
Addictions Therapy
What is
Addiction?
- Do you feel a persistent, intense urge to use a substance or engage in a particular unhealthy behavior?
- Does it feel like your need to use a substance or engage in an unhealthy behavior is consuming all your mental and physical energy?
- Do you need increasingly greater amounts of your substance of choice in order to feel the desired effects?
- Do you continue to pursue your addiction despite its negative consequences?
Addictions are often hard to understand and even harder to control. Addictions can affect you on a chemical level, and in many cases, they can create a psychological dependence as well that makes them self-sustaining.
The longer you struggle with an addiction, the more your mind and body become used to the thought processes, lifestyle, and chemicals involved, and the more your own natural habits (like stress coping) break down without the addictive substance.
We work with all types of addictions, including:
- Illicit and Prescription Drug Addiction
- Alcohol Addiction
- Gambling Addiction
- Food Addiction
- Work Addiction
- Sex and Pornography Addiction, and More
It’s because of these struggles that we at Long Island Psychology offer safe, effective treatments for addiction. As Long Island addictions psychologists, we have worked with many individuals struggling with abuse and dependence, and we want to help you stay free of addiction once and for all.
If you are interested in learning more, please call us at (516) 732-0273. We have offices in Garden City, Rockville Centre, and Roslyn Heights, NY, and we offer remote therapy services that provide addiction treatment for NY state no matter where you may be located.
The Addiction Toolbox
How Do We
Help You?
Sometimes it’s hard to tell you have an addiction until it has already progressed, because you may “feel” like you can stop at any time. Yet that self-control often doesn’t last long, or stress and situations cause you to feel like you need it “just one more time,” and you hop right back into your addiction.
That’s why it’s important to see an addictions therapist. With our addictions counseling service, we will:
- Support you in your efforts to achieve and maintain sobriety
- Challenge and change self-defeating messages, thoughts, and behaviors that sustain your addiction
- Assess the current function of your addiction and replace it with more effective behaviors
- Teach healthy coping skills and equip you with a sense of control over your recovery
- Understand the various social and psychological triggers that can lead to relapse
- Identify your typical patterns of thinking and explore how they impact your addiction
- Improve your ability to tolerate stress, regulate emotions, and navigate interpersonal relationships
- Encourage recognition of your internal and external strengths, resources, and needs
We tailor each approach to you, including not only the type of addiction, but also your personality, experiences, and more.
Treatment
May Include
- A range of insight-oriented and behavioral techniques from modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness/ACT, Psychodynamic Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Contingency Management
- Group sessions with family members and/or other significant players in your life
- The incorporation of complementary activities to help with recovery and stress management (e.g. exercise, yoga, meditation, massage)
- Psychological and/or psychopharmacological treatments (medication) – Both can be used to assist in recovery and management of withdrawal symptoms, however a blend of both is often the ideal approach. We will refer our clients to a qualified psychiatrist for an evaluation if medication is indicated in the course of treatment.
- Recommendations that will vary depending on one’s age, specific addiction, severity of symptoms, readiness for treatment, and influence of other physical, medical, or mental disorders
What Benefits Can Addiction Therapy
Offer You?
Our Long Island therapy services, with offices in Garden City, Roslyn Heights, and Rockville Centre, NY, use empirically validated methodologies that are personalized to you to help you break free of your addiction and learn to cope with stress in the future.
Not only has therapy for addictions proven itself to be an effective way to control addictions – it’s also a great way to:
- Keep Yourself Accountable – Regularly coming to your appointments help ensure accountability, which is an important part of breaking the addiction cycle.
- Start Making Positive Change – Part of our Long Island therapy sessions will be tailored around living a more positive life – one that is focused on your overall wellness, so that you’re not only breaking free of your addiction you are also enjoying your life again.
- Prevent Repercussions – Addictions can affect your work, finances, and more. These can have emotional repercussions that sometimes push people back towards addiction. If there are other issues in your life causing you stress, our psychologists will work with you on those as well.
- Improve Self-Esteem – Addiction can take its toll on your self-esteem and self-confidence. Together, we will work towards improving the way you feel about yourself and your abilities.
- Rebuild Relationships – Finally, if your relationships were hurt by your addiction, we can work with you and your partner on ways to rebuild your bond.
We focus not only on your past, but also on your future, and we will do our best to provide you with actionable strategies you can take home with you to keep your improvements going at home.
YOUR ROLE IN
The Process
- Readiness to own the responsibility for change rather than blaming others
- Willingness to be truthful and honest about your substance use/incidents of relapse
- Openness to exploring unresolved emotions and conflicts from the past
- Openness to including family members or other significant players in the treatment
- Patience, a collaborative spirit, and commitment to the treatment process
Get Started
Contact us today to schedule an appointment or learn more about how Long Island Psychology can help you.
Specific Types of
Addictions
Click below to learn how Long Island Psychology can help.
With offices in Garden City, Roslyn Heights, and Rockville Centre, we are capable of serving all of the Greater Long Island Area, and we are confident that Long Island psychologist Dr. Marc Shulman and his team of therapists will help you start making significant changes to the way that addictions control your life. All you need is to take the first step and start seeking out the help.
If you’re in need of Long Island therapy and want to find out more about our strategies for treatment, contact us today at (516) 732-0273. We can talk about what the process will include, get to know each other, and start making the changes that will keep you free of these harmful addictions once and for all.
Addiction Therapy
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I be working with the same psychologist each session?
Yes. Whether working with Dr. Marc Shulman or Dr. Atara Wertentheil, you will be working consistently with a psychologist that will help you recover unless a need is discussed during a session that would benefit from a different therapist.
Do you accept insurance?
We are not an in-network provider for any insurances, but we may be an “out-of-network” provider on some insurance plans. Please contact your insurance company to see what mental health treatments are covered.
I need help with another type of addiction (smoking, hoarding, etc.). Can you help?
Yes, of course. Please call us, and we’ll talk about what services make the most sense.
I want to keep my addictions a secret from my friends and family. Are you confidential?
Yes, all interactions between us remain confidential, unless we become concerned for your physical safety or the safety of others, in which case we would need to discuss whether disclosure to other sources of help is necessary.
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Contact Long Island Psychology Today
If you have any questions about individual, group, or couples therapy (marriage counseling) or about working with a psychologist/therapist please do not hesitate to call.
With offices in Garden City and Rockville Centre, NY, we’re available for anyone that needs help on Long Island and in Nassau County.
