drug and alcohol counselor

welcome, my name is peter strong, and i aman online psychotherapist, teacher, and author. my specialty is mindfulnesstherapy, a very interesting and very powerful and quite uniqueapproach to working with all forms of emotional suffering, whether it beanxiety, depression, stress, or addictions, including alcohol addiction. now, i'll give you a little overview of whatmindfulness therapy is and also why do mindfulness therapy online. peopleare using the internet more and more now to seek the help that they arelooking for, for managing emotional problems. using the interface ofskype, it's possible to have one

on one sessions with your therapist or teacher,and it's really just as effective as being in an office with a therapist.the prime advantage of online therapy is mostly convenience. it'seasier to schedule in a busy work day or when you have children to dealwith at home. so convenience is a big factor. secondly, it's easier to getaccess to a therapist, for example, if you're living abroad or if youare living in a rural community where the options are limited, then an onlinetherapist can be your best solution. and, as i say, for many people,it's just so difficult to leave home.

another advantage of online therapy is theanonymity factor. many people who are struggling with emotional problemsand particularly with addictions is that they feel quite embarrassed abouttheir addiction or anxiety or depression. they don't feel they can talkto anyone locally. it's something that they don't necessarily want to sharein a group, either. although group therapy is very useful and definitelyrecommended, because you can meet other people who are sharing the sameproblems that you are facing, so you have a commonality there that can be very,very beneficial. but nevertheless, when it comes to that personalwork where you have to try and

resolve the underlying emotional issues thatyou're struggling with in your addiction, then perhaps the group format isnot quite what you need. you need something more. you need to work witha therapist. now, the style of therapy that i offer, mindfulnesstherapy, is very different than traditional talk therapy. it'snot about talking about your emotions and trying to understand them andanalyze them, and review your childhood and the history, and so on. no,this is quite different. basically, it's about learning how to forma relationship with your underlying core emotions, the emotions thatare driving your addiction.

what is it that makes you go to such extremelengths to get that next hit of alcohol or substance abuse, or what isit that drives you to go out shopping yet again, or to go back to workto do just a bit more work? work addiction is quite a big problem that goesunrecognized. and, of course, another huge area is eating disorders, bingeeating. these are all attempts at trying to fulfill an underlying need, butas you know, that need can never be fully met by seeking an externalsolution. you get a slight moment, a slight hit of happiness, but it'sso fleeting, and then it's gone, and then you're left with that emptinessagain, and your desperate

attempt to try and fill it again. in mindfulness therapy, we work at two levels,really. first of all is managing the compulsive emotion itself, thatterrible need in us, that yearning that drives you to your addictivebehavior. that's one thing, one level, but the other level is, what are theunderlying core emotions that are driving the addiction? that sense of emptiness,sense of guilt, sense of unworthiness, whatever it may be. thatsense of meaninglessness, that deadness inside. this is what i work withusing mindfulness therapy. and mindfulness is simply a very advanced formof awareness, originally taught

by the buddha over 2000 years ago, that allowsyou to really, really develop a relationship, the kind of bond offriendship, with your inner pain, the things that are driving your addiction. you have to learn to make friends with it,because if you don't, you will never heal. if you fight it, you make it worse.if you ignore it, it persists. the only option left is to makefriends with it, and this is different than acceptance. it's not aboutjust saying, oh, there's nothing i can do with it, i have to accept it. no.this is about establishing a real friendship with the thing that you hatemost. it's in that

relationship that the real transformationthat leads to freedom from addiction and freedom and resolution of thatunderlying neediness and pain, that's where it really happens. so that's just a short introduction to thissubject. if you'd like to learn more, please contact me through the website.send an email to me, and let's discuss this further and see if online counseling,online therapy through skype, is appropriate for you. thank you.i look forward to meeting you.