Addictive Behavior as the Problem – Janina Fisher

It’s no secret that many therapists consider the field of addictions treatment to be dangerous foreign territory with its own special language and methods. But increasingly, therapists and substance abuse professionals alike have begun to recognize the connection between addictive behavior and traumatic life experience. In this workshop we’ll present an approach to addictive behavior that:

• Focuses on the interactive relationship between the underlying trauma symptoms and the impulse to “use” to regulate unbearable feelings and sensations
• Provides a meaning-making component that lessens shame and offers inspiration to live a “life beyond trauma”
• Integrates Sensorimotor Psychotherapy techniques that teach clients how to regulate their nervous systems, decrease anxiety, tolerate sadness and loneliness, and ground themselves both physically and emotionally
• Engages the client’s right brain through drawing, diagramming, movement and gesture, as well as utilizing traditional cognitive interventions