There are many different ways to approach therapy for addiction / substance use. You may want to quit using all substances or some substances, reduce your use, reduce the harms associated with your use, or make no changes and just discuss the role it’s playing in your life right now. Those are all perfectly okay ways to show up to therapy.
A qualified therapist will work with you to identify your own goals and desires and then figure out together how you can achieve those. With that in mind, we wanted to provide you with some additional information about therapy for addiction and substance use. Moreover, we wanted to point you to some of our San Francisco Bay Area therapists who work with addiction and substance use in other ways.
Helpful Information About Addiction and Substance Use
Here are some of our core articles that might answer questions that you have about addiction and substance use, including the types of therapy approaches that may work well for your specific challenges and goals:
What Is Addiction and How Does Therapy Help?
This page discusses what addiction is including the differences between behavioral addictions and substance addictions. It names the key features of addiction. Then it explores the variety of different treatment approaches for addiction including specific programs (from harm reduction to 12 step, both of which we’ll discuss further below) and broader therapy types that work well for people with addiction concerns. It also provides tips for when you might want to seek therapy for addiction.
What is Substance Abuse and How Does Therapy Help?
Many people use the terms addiction and substance use interchangeably. That’s okay but there are some subtle differences. On this page, we define substance abuse and substance misuse, share some common signs of those, and explain the difference from addiction. Then we discuss how substance abuse might relate to other mental health conditions, benefits of therapy for substance abuse, and some helpful types of therapy.
12 Step Recovery Guide
12 Step Recovery is a very well-known approach to addiction treatment. If you’re familiar with Alcoholics Anonymous, then you have a sense of what 12 step is. This page tells you more about it in depth so that you can determine whether or not it’s right for you. It discusses what the twelve steps are, whether or not this is a religious approach to addiction recovery, and what it means to work with a therapist who understands 12 step approaches.
Harm Reduction Guide
There are different approaches to addiction recovery. Harm reduction is another well-known approach. Whereas 12 step recovery emphasizes abstinence from substances, harm reduction looks to minimizes the dangers of continued use. Neither way is better than another; you can work with your therapist to figure out what’s right for you. This guide goes over the history of harm reduction therapy, its key features, and how it works in combination with other therapy modalities.
Harm reduction is an alternative to 12 step. Here are other 12 step alternatives.
Adult Children of Alcoholics and Addicts
Addiction and substance abuse don’t only affect the person with those challenges. People who grew up in homes with parents who have those issues may have lingering challenges. This page explains what those challenges may be, how that might show up in combination with other mental health issues. Codependency is one issue that is common among adult children of alcoholics and addicts, for example. We explore how therapy can help and what types of therapy might be beneficial.
Learn about mindfulness for addiction recovery.
San Francisco Therapists for Addiction and Substance Abuse
We wanted to point you to some of our associate therapists who have named that they help with addiction and substance abuse.
San Francisco Therapists for 12 Step Recovery
At the time of this posting, we have two therapists who specifically note that they work with people in 12 step recovery. It’s important to realize that 12 step is its own process that you typically do in peer-supported groups. However, a therapist can be a really critical supplement to that work especially if you have additional challenges you’d like to go over in therapy. Those two therapists are:
Russ Sharkey
Russ works with teens as well as adults, individuals as well as couples. In addition to 12 step recovery, some of Russ’s specialties include:
- Adjustment/Transition
- Anxiety and Depression
- Codependency
- Couples and Relationships
- Gender and Sexuality
- Men’s Issues
- Non-Monogamy/Polyamory
- Relationships
- Trauma including PTSD and intergenerational trauma
Russ utilizes a combination of different approaches in therapy including attachment therapy, EMDR, EFT, mindfulness, relational, systems and trauma-informed therapy approaches. Of these, trauma-informed therapy and mindfulness therapy can be particularly helpful for people in 12 step programs.
Lauren Schneider
Lauren also works with teens and adults, individuals and couples and she also works with families. In addition to 12 step recovery, some of Lauren’s specialties include
- Anxiety and Depression
- Family Conflict and Parenting/Parent Coaching
- Food & Body Issues
- Issues of Self Esteem/Self Criticism
- PTSD and Complex Trauma as well as Interngenerational Trauma
- Non-ordinary Experience/Consciousness and Spirituality
- Relationship Issues including Codependency, Infidelity, Divorce and Marital/Pre-Marital Therapy
Lauren uses a combination of different therapy approaches including attachment therapy, gestalt, humanistic, relational, systems, transpersonal and trauma-informed therapy.
San Francisco Therapists for Adult Children of Alcoholics / Addicts
Russ and Lauren both also mention that they work with Adult Children of Alcoholics / Addicts. We also have four other therapists who note this:
Julie Atlantis Beckham
who utilizes a harm reduction approach. Other therapeutic modalities Julie uses include attachment therapy, IFS, relational, somatic and systems therapy. In addition to working with Adult Children of Alcoholics / Addicts, some of her focus areas include
- Adjustment/Transition
- Autism, 2E+ and Developmental Disorders
- Communication and Boundaries
- Gender and Sexuality
- Non-ordinary Experience/Consciousness
- Psychedelic Integration
- Relationships including Non-Monogamy/Polyamory
- Complex Trauma / PTSD
Teri Sachi Swanberg
works with teens and adults, individuals and couples. She highlights Adult Children of Alcoholics/Addicts as a primary focus for her work alongside Boundaries and People Pleasers as well as New Parents. Teri’s therapeutic approaches include: attachment therapy, EFT, gestalt, psychodynamic, somatic experiencing and Tamura Method: Psychoenergetic Touch.
Shelley Rezai
whose treatment approaches include attachment therapy, EMDR, EFT, expressive art therapy, humanistic, mindfulness, relational and trauma-informed therapy. Shelley works with a diverse array of people with specialties that include women, LGBTQ+, artists, marginalized individuals and people of color. She helps with a variety of life challenges including:
- Adjustment/Transition
- Anxiety and Depression
- Codependence
- Complex Trauma / PTSD
- Family of Origin Challenges including Childhood Emotional Neglect
- Grief and Loss
- Growth and Self Discovery
- Individuation Work
- Nervous System Regulation
- Non-ordinary Experience/Consciousness
- Perfectionism and People-pleasing, Self-Esteem
- Relationships including Communication and Boundaries, Divorce, and Marital/Pre-Marital Therapy
- Spirituality
- Trauma including PTSD and C-PTSD
- Women’s Issues including Pregnancy/Prenatal/Postpartum
- Work Issues
Nanyonjo Mukungu
uses a broad array of treatment approaches to assist Adult Children of Alcoholics / Addicts as well as many other individuals facing a range of different issues. Nanyonjo says:
“The tools I use to support the exploration of individual, interpersonal and intergenerational trauma are shaped by abolition that rejects punitive and scarcity mindsets and disability justice which strives to value every body. Additionally, my philosophy as a healer centers the mind-body-spirit connection especially the physical, emotional and spiritual effects of systemic injustice in lived experiences of marginalized communities.”
San Francisco Therapists for Harm Reduction
Julie Beckham uses a harm reduction approach, as do the following California therapists:
Alli Yates
utilizes harm reduction as well as attachment therapy, multicultural counseling, psychodynamic, relational, somatic, trauma-informed and anti-oppressive therapy. Alli works with a diverse array of different people but especially loves “working with queer and trans people, disabled, chronically ill and neurodivergent people, and all those working to heal legacies of suffering.”
Erma Kyriakos
utilizes a harm reduction approach in combination with a variety of other modalities including, but not limited to, CBT, EFT, existential, humanistic, mindfulness, narrative therapy, psychodynamic, somatic and trauma-informed therapy. Erma helps with substance abuse issues as well as a variety of other challenges and says:
“I have a strong interest in how humans relate to and communicate with each other, whether it be in couples, friendships, families, or workplace dynamics. I am interested in working with clients who are curious and engaged in the process fo self-growth, even if resistance is also present.”
Christhmus Presence (Chris Chu)
utilizes harm reduction alongside a variety of other approaches to assist with substance abuse as well as many other challenges. Christhmus says:
“Some guiding pillars include liberation psychology, narrative psychology, trauma-informed therapy, somatic psychology, spirituality, expressive arts, and more. Tools held in support of self-resourcing, clarity, and ancestral connectivity include meditation, EFT Tapping, athletic coaching, EMDR-inspired Brainspotting.”
Meadow Linder
uses harm reduction in combination with attachment therapy, EFT, humanistic, IFS, psychodynamic, relational, somatic, and trauma-informed approaches. Substance abuse is just one of many issues that Meadow works on with clients.
Matthew Feliss
uses a harm reduction approach to assist people dealing with substance abuse. Other approaches Matthew utilizes including attachment, mindfulness, psychodynamic, relational, somatic and trauma-informed therapy. In addition to substance abuse, some of his areas of focus include:
- Anxiety and Depression
- Codependency
- Gender and Sexuality
- Men’s Issues
- Relationship Issues
- Self Esteem/Self Criticism
- Trauma including PTSD, Relational Trauma and Sexual Assault/Abuse
Connor Moss
combines a harm reduction approach with mindfulness, psychodynamic, relational and trauma-informed therapy. Connor says:
“Many of my clients are emotionally intelligent and self aware, but struggle with self criticism, asserting their needs in relationships, and using substances or addictive behaviors to mask their emotions. If you can’t seem to move through periods in your life where patterns of behavior and emotions keep recurring despite your best efforts, then maybe it is time to explore if psychotherapy can help.”
San Francisco Bay Area Therapists for Addiction
Of the above therapists, those that specifically mention that they assist with addiction are Lauren Schneider, Nanyonjo Mukungu, Christhmus Presence, and Alli Yates. Some of our other San Francisco Bay Area associate therapists who list addiction among their focus areas include:
Jessie Stoner
who also specializes “in working with concerns related to health, anxiety, grief and loss, sex and sexuality, spiritual growth and embodied mindfulness.” Jessie’s therapeutic approaches include attachment, buddhist and shamanic spiritual counseling, dance/movement therapy, existential, gestalt, IFS, mindfulness, psychodynamic, relational, somatic, transpersonal and trauma-informed therapy.
Aaron Wilson
who works with teens and adults and whose focus areas also include
- Anti-Racism /Impacts of White Supremacy
- Anxiety and Depression
- Codependency
- Learning Disabilities
- Men’s Issues
- Parenting/Parent Coaching
- Relationships
- Self Esteem/Self Criticism
Aaron’s therapeutic approaches include attachment, CBT, DBT, EFT, Gestalt, mindfulness, psychodynamic, somatic and systems therapy.
San Francisco Bay Area Therapists for Substance Abuse
The therapists above who specifically mention working with substance abuse include Jessie Stoner, Matthew Feliss, Erma Kyriakos, Lauren Schneider, Christhmus Presence, Connor Moss, Nanyonjo Mukungu, and Meadow Linder. Two additional associate therapists who mention substance abuse as a focus area are:
Allie Frank
whose therapeutic approaches include attachment, DBT, EFT, existential, humanistic, mindfulness, narrative therapy and relational therapy. In addition to substance abuse, Allie helps with a wide range of challenges, and says:
“I help clients disentangle unhelpful coping strategies put into place long ago that once served a purpose but may not be helpful anymore. I work with couples and individuals ranging in issues of anxiety, depression, grief/loss, self-esteem, relationships, and parenting.”
Christian Heinitz
who says, “I utilize wisdom from Eastern and Western psychology as well as the body, often incorporating mindfulness, parts work, dreams, and play.” In addition to substance abuse, some of Christian’s focus areas include:
- Anxiety and Depression
- Cultural/Racial/Ethnic Identity Development
- Family of Origin Challenges
- Gender and Sexuality
- Grief and Loss
- Men’s Issues
- Non-ordinary Experience/Consciousness and Psychedelic Integration
- Perfectionism and People-pleasing
- Relationships
- Suicidal Ideas
- Trauma
Chris Doorley
whose additional focus areas include anxiety and depression, creativity, grief and loss, transitions and trauma. Chris’s therapeutic approaches include Awareness practices such as Gestalt, CBT, and ACT, conscious compassion, narrative therapy, Poly-vagal support, somatic support and spiritual counseling.
Do note that other therapists in our therapist directory may also be able to help you with these challenges. You can always contact us for more information or to answer any questions that you might have about trying to find a therapist.