Take Control of Your Drinking Before it Takes Control of You!
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Our Locations
New York City Office
330 West 58th Street
Suite 207
New York, NY 10019
(212) 944-8444

New Jersey Office
1000 Herrontown Road
Princeton, NJ 08540
(609) 497-0433

Our Treatment Approach

We Address Both the Behavioral & Psychological Aspects of Problem Drinking

A unique feature of our approach is its integrative focus on both the behavioral and psychological aspects of problem drinking.  As professional psychotherapists, we are able to address not only the drinking behavior itself, but also the emotional and psychological issues that contribute to the development and maintenance of harmful drinking patterns, recognizing that alcohol often serves as “self-medication” for anxiety, depression, and other emotional issues. Since drinking never resolves these problems and eventually only makes them worse, learning better ways to manage stress and negative moods is an essential part our treatment approach.

Four-Phase Approach

Treatment here is generally divided into four phases, although this varies considerably based on each client’s individual needs and rate of progress.

  • Phase One is designed to enhance your motivation and readiness to change your drinking behavior. We will work with you to assess the pros and cons of your drinking and to develop a detailed action plan that includes specific drinking limits and strategies to help you modify your drinking behavior. For many, but not all clients, this means starting with a temporary period of not drinking at all for at least 2 to 4 weeks – a strategy that has been shown to increase the chances of succeeding at moderation. Some of the benefits of starting with abstinence include learning how to: (a) break your habitual drinking pattern; (b) establish an alcohol-free baseline; (c) experience life without alcohol; and, (d) pinpoint your drinking triggers. It also helps to set the stage for trying moderation.
  • Phase Two is designed to help you learn and practice a toolbox of cognitive and ehavioral self-control control skills. This includes not only keeping an accurate log of your alcohol consumption, but also learning how to avoid or safely manage “high risk” situations most likely to trigger overdrinking. It also includes finding healthy alternatives to drinking to help improve your mood and prevent boredom.
  • Phase Three is designed to help you learn how to maintain moderation and avoid falling back into a pattern of harmful drinking. We will also help you learn how to respond appropriately to slips and relapses, should they occur, the goal being to help you get back on track as soon as possible and prevent relapses from happening again.
  • Phase Four is designed to address other issues in your life that may have contributed to the development of your harmful drinking pattern in the first place, and/or been part of the negative fallout from your drinking. These issues may include, for example: (a) problems managing anxiety, depression, or other negative feeling states; (b) communication problems and other relationship conflicts; (c) self-criticism, guilt, and lack of self-acceptance; (d) problems with anger management and assertiveness; and, (e) job or career crises – just to name a few. Whatever these issues might be, as professional psychotherapists, we are fully trained and capable of helping you to deal with these emotional and/or psychological issues.

 

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