Substance Use

Do you or a loved one have concerns about substance use, overuse, or addiction (e.g., alcohol, recreational drugs, prescription medications and/or steroids)?

Overview

Do any of these substance use-related experiences apply to you or your loved one?

  • Using a substance in larger amounts or over a longer period of time than intended
  • Unsuccessful attempts or longstanding wishes to cut down, control or stop substance use
  • Spending too much time consuming or recovering from use of a substance
  • Having uncontrollable cravings or strong desires to use a substance
  • Experiencing difficulties at work, school or home due to substance use
  • Continued substance use despite problems in couple and family relationships (e.g., conflict, emotional distancing or withdrawal), and/or despite consequences on psychological and/or physical health
  • Using a substance in increasingly risky or dangerous ways
  • Previous quantities used no longer provide the desired effect (i.e., increasing substance tolerance)
  • Experiencing negative physical and/or psychological consequences during or after using the substance (e.g., depression, anxiety, shame and guilt, hallucinations, traumatic experiences, physical withdrawal)

Help Is Available

If you said yes to any of the above, you or your loved one might consider meeting with one of the highly trained mental health professionals in the Substance Use Treatment Service at CFIR. Our mental health professionals can support you in addressing your or your loved ones’ concerns related to substance use.

Help is available right now for you and your loved ones. We also offer video-based appointments to fit our clients’ needs.

How do we help you or your loved one with substance-related difficulties?

We will:

  • Provide a confidential, compassionate and caring therapeutic relationship in a private office setting to help you address your most distressing thoughts, emotional reactions, behaviours and relationship difficulties associated with substance use
  • Offer a comprehensive, individually-tailored assessment of substance use and co-occurring psychological, emotional and relationship difficulties to help develop a personalized treatment plan
  • Collaboratively set treatment goals that address your needs and concerns
  • Provide you with the option of pursuing harm-reduction or abstinence-based treatment goals
  • Use relevant scientific, evidence-based treatments to help you meet your goals, including: Cognitive-Behavioural, Ego State, Mindfulness, Motivational Enhancement, Psychodynamic-Mentalization-Attachment-based and Systemic approaches
  • Offer short, medium and long-term treatment options for adolescents, individual adults, couples or families seeking support to address substance use issues
  • Provide recommendations to other health care professionals if needed (e.g., family physician)

We help you or your loved ones to address substance use-related difficulties by supporting you to:

  • Clarify ambivalent thoughts and feelings about changing substance use
  • Enhance motivation and readiness to change substance use patterns
  • Make decisions related to substance use goals, including harm reduction or abstinence-based goals
  • Increase awareness and insight into the multiple reasons and functions of substance use
  • Enhance skills and strategies to manage, stop or minimize the negative impact of substance use
  • Identify and build social supports involving safe and collaborative couple partners, family members, friends and health care professionals
  • Address psychological and mental health concerns that frequently co-occur with substance use (e.g., attachment, identity, self-esteem, depression, anxiety, trauma, personality difficulties, psychosis)
  • Understand and change the self and relationship issues related to initiating and maintaining substance use and over-use
  • Access and explore emotions and needs underlying substance use
  • Develop a more positive and resilient sense of self
  • Strengthen your couple and family relationships
  • Communicate more effectively with partners or family members about relationship issues

Find A Therapist

We have many mental health therapists at each of our locations who offer this service. Please select a location below to see a list: