Substance Use Service

In addition to our general mental health services, we have clinicians who offer therapy with a specific focus on substance use and concurrent disorders

What Are Substance Use Issues?

We should start by noting that using substances is different than having substance use issues or a formal Substance Use Disorder (SUD). Using is not the same as misusing / abusing.

Some people who use substances will experience significant distress or dysfunction stemming from their use or withdrawal from using, and these are situations in which someone should consider seeking help and may meet the symptom criteria for a SUD

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What Are Substance Use Disorders?

SUDs are a category of psychiatric diagnoses applicable when someone has significant difficulty controlling their substance use and the negative impacts it has on their life.

In broad terms, folx with SUDs may experience difficulties across four symptom clusters:

  • E.g., experiencing cravings, investing considerable time in using or recovering from use, or a persistent desire to cut down

  • These can result from using or recovering from use

  • Knowing that use may be resulting in negative health effects

  • I.e., developing tolerance or experiencing notable withdrawal symptoms when the substance is removed

How Do We Treat Substance Use And Concurrent Mental Health Issues?

Treatment strategies for navigating substance use need to be tailored to the individual (as should all therapies), but this personalized approach can be particularly important in substance use recovery because about half of the folx with a SUD will also have a concurrent (i.e., co-occurring) mental health issue like a depressive or anxiety disorder.

In general, our approach to psychotherapy for substance use will involve:

  1. Identifying a client’s vision for what a meaningful life involves, and whether that meaningful life involves substances. Some clients will choose to pursue total abstinence while others may work towards moderated use through harm reduction strategies.

  2. Encouraging a consultation with a medical doctor / addiction medicine specialist to discuss potential medications to navigate recovery and possibly supervise detoxification. Medical supervision can be particularly important when withdrawing from substances like alcohol and opiates.

  3. Tracking substance use and moods to understand relevant triggers and consequences of use, which will help generate an understanding of the role that substances play in the client’s life.

  4. Enhancing motivation to make and maintain changes to substance use patterns by focusing on long-term goals.

  5. Practicing mindfulness to increase contact with the present moment and acceptance of discomfort.

  6. Developing strategies to manage acute distress and tolerate urges to use (when choosing to minimize or avoid using).

  7. Learning communication strategies to improve meaningful relationships and to discuss using / not using with others.

  8. Reframing unhelpful thinking patterns related to the SUD and concurrent mental health issues.

  9. Potentially incorporating strategic rewards to increase likelihood of adhering to commitments.

What Services Do We Offer?

In addition to our focus on SUDs themselves, most clients presenting for therapy with us will have co-occurring mental health issues. Here are the co-occurring difficulties that we may be able to help you with while working on your SUD:

  • Anxiety (e.g., panic attacks, social anxiety, generalized anxiety and worry, phobias, health anxiety)

  • Depression and Bipolar disorders

  • Life transitions and relationship challenges

  • Behavioural addictions (e.g., problem gambling)

  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder

  • Psychosis

  • Emotion dysregulation

  • Post-traumatic stress

Our Substance Use Team