Addiction Guidance
A dedicated space to explore the cycle of addiction.
I warmly invite you to a space where no performance is needed and no shame is required. You might arrive here feeling exhausted by a cycle of seeking relief through behaviors that eventually create more pain and isolation. Whether it is a substance, an activity, or a digital habit, you are welcome here exactly as you are.
We are often experts at identifying our patterns, yet we still feel powerless to change them. In these sessions, we move past just talking about the addiction. We focus on the complexity of your unique system and the logic of how it manages the world around you. By moving beyond standard pathology, we look at the "why" beneath the "what," helping you find more agency in your present.
Understanding the Internal Struggle
A Protective Strategy
This isn't about bad choices or weak willpower. It is a pattern driven by an overwhelming need to escape, soothe, or survive. At its core, it is a deeply human response to pain, disconnection, or unmet emotional needs. It is a relationship - with a substance, an activity, or even a person - that begins as relief but evolves into something that controls you.
The object is not the point. Whether it is drugs, work, food, or social media, what they have in common is the inner experience: the powerful craving and temporary pleasure, followed by consequences and a struggle to stop. What starts as a coping mechanism to numb emotions or gain control eventually becomes a cycle where the relief is fleeting and the costs keep growing.
Addiction in Daily Life
It lives quietly in everyday routines. It’s the high achiever who can’t stop working, the parent needing wine to unwind, or the friend who can’t look away from their phone. These patterns don’t make you weak or broken; they are ways of trying to feel better, to escape stress, or to fill an emptiness just to get through the day.
We all have something. Naming these patterns isn't about shame - it’s about understanding yourself with honesty and kindness. This is more common than we think, and the more we can see it without judgment, the more space we create for something else to happen.
Healing in Connection
The Shift in Perspective
Healing addiction begins when we stop treating the behavior as the enemy. In our work, we don't try to eliminate the parts of you that use substances or compulsions through force or willpower. Instead, we become curious about them. We move away from asking "What is wrong with me?" and begin to ask, "What is this part trying to protect me from?"
No more viewing addiction as a moral failure. We recognize it as a survival mechanism. By seeing these patterns as reactive responses to internal distress, we remove the barrier of shame. This allows us to approach the "craving" not as a threat to be managed, but as a part of you that is overwhelmed and in need of a different kind of support.
How IFS Creates Change
Instead of fighting yourself, IFS invites you to build inner trust. We work to understand the logic of your system - identifying the protective parts that drive the behavior and the vulnerable wounds they are desperately trying to shield. When these protective parts feel heard and understood, they no longer need to rely on extreme behaviors to keep you safe.
As your system becomes more connected and less reactive, you experience a new kind of freedom. This work isn't just about stopping a behavior; it is about unburdening the parts of you that have been carrying pain, allowing your core Self - the calm, wise center - to lead your life again.
Addiction Guidance with IFS
Our sessions provide the practical structure to apply this shift. We move beyond the "talk therapy" of the past and focus on the direct relationship you have with your internal system.
Map your internal system: We identify the specific parts that drive your addictive cycles and understand the exact roles they play in your survival.
De-escalate the conflict: You learn to listen to your "protective" parts with compassion. When these parts stop feeling like they are under attack, the urgency of the addictive behavior naturally begins to soften.
Reclaim your agency: By reconnecting with your core Self, you gain the ability to stay grounded even when cravings or stress arise. You aren't just "quitting" a habit; you are rediscovering your capacity for authentic, self-led living.
A Non-Pathologizing Approach
In this space, there is no more searching for what is "wrong" with you. Even if you feel stuck in a cycle, we recognize that your internal system is doing exactly what it was designed to do: help you survive. We treat your behaviors as logical responses to your internal and external environment.
My goal isn't to "fix" your symptoms, but to help you update your internal map. Instead of carrying shame, we work toward transforming the feeling of being "broken" into an unshakeable sense of internal trust and understanding.
Moving Beyond Talk Therapy
Insight is a powerful start, but real change happens when your body feels safe enough to let go. Our sessions take a bottom-up approach, focusing on:
Internal Family Systems (IFS): Befriending the parts of you that are stuck in protective roles.
Somatics: Growing your capacity to be in your body - making a home of yourself.
Nervous System Attunement: Reconnecting with the wisdom of your nervous system.
Healing is a Political Act
We cannot talk about addiction without talking about the world we live in and a world that pathologizes addiction. Instead of personal failure, we see these challenges as responses to the systems we inhabit. Healing is about reclaiming your agency in a world that often demands we numb ourselves just to get by.
As a non-binary, AuDHD practitioner, I bring my own lived experience to this work—including my own cycles with substances, relationship patterns, and stealing. I use this history to meet you without judgment, creating space to gently resist these forces and work toward a way of living that actually fits you.
What to expect from our work together
I offer a space where you are held in your wholeness, a place where you can take off your masks and stop performing. It is a dedicated space to just be.
We use a framework that sees your system as whole, viewing things like masking and overwhelm as logical protective mechanisms rather than flaws. This is a gentle space where we get to know how you function through curiosity and compassion, moving away from a focus on pathology and fixing.
Our work is an equal, collaborative partnership where I follow your lead. You don’t need to arrive "prepared" or with a specific goal; we start exactly where you are and allow the process to unfold at a pace that feels sustainable for you.
I provide guidance in discovering what your nervous system needs. We work to reconnect you to your body and identify what helps you feel regulated and safe.
You will find a real human in front of you. My lived experience is what allows me to resonate with your process and bring genuine empathy to our space. I am open to sharing my own tools and experiences to support your journey.
The Details
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I believe mental health support should be accessible for everyone, regardless of class or income. For this reason I offer a sliding scale.
Individual Session (60min)
Low income rate: €60
Standard rate: €100
Supporter rate: €120-200Couple’s Session (90min)
Low income: €100
Standard rate: €150
Supporter rate: €180–300I offer a free 30 minute session to get to know each other.
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Sessions are held online via Google Meet.
Curious? Get in touch.
