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Substance Abuse Specialist

The Soho Center for Mental Health Counseling Our Services Substance Abuse

The Soho Center for Mental Health Counseling

Psychotherapy Services located in New York City, NY

If you’re one of the 25 million Americans living with a substance abuse disorder, you can get specialized help from Anthony Freire, MA, LMHC, NCC, CCMHC, Kelley Hershman, LMHC, Kate Engstrom, LCSW, and the rest of the team at the Soho Center For Mental Health Counseling in Greenwich Village of New York City. Substance abuse is a dangerous disease that negatively impacts your health, your emotional well-being, and your relationships with others. If you’re ready to fight your disease, call the practice or schedule an appointment online today.

Substance Abuse Q & A

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What is substance abuse?

Substance abuse disorder is a complex brain disease that causes you to compulsively seek out and use alcohol or drugs despite dangerous and harmful consequences. Substance abuse disorder causes distorted thoughts, behaviors, and body function.

Substance abuse causes symptoms and behaviors including:

  • Feeling a need or urge to use the substance regularly
  • Needing more of the substance to feel the effects
  • Making sure you have a steady supply of the substance or spending money you don’t have on the substance
  • Failing to meet your personal and professional obligations and responsibilities
  • Experiencing withdrawal symptoms

Continued misuse of a substance changes your brain chemistry, making your cravings more intense and difficult to control. Substance abuse also changes the parts of your brain responsible for judgment, decision making, memory, and impulsivity.

What causes substance abuse?

A variety of factors contribute to your risk of developing a substance abuse disorder. Your genetics and family history can give you genetic traits as well as learned behaviors that increase your chances of a substance abuse disorder.

Also, the more you use substances, the more likely you change your brain chemistry, making your cravings stronger and your tolerance higher.

Other risk factors for substance abuse disorders include other mental health conditions, peer pressure, a personal history of neglect, abuse, or trauma, and using drugs at an early stage.

How is substance abuse treated?

The team at the Soho Center For Mental Health Counseling & Clinical Supervision offer customized individual and group therapy sessions to help you resolve any underlying issues that contribute to your substance abuse disorder and teach you strategies and tools to control your cravings and impulses.

The team can also direct you toward medical resources for additional support including medication that can help control your physical cravings and withdrawal symptoms. While medicine isn’t a miracle treatment to resolve your addiction issues, it can provide mental clarity so you can focus your energy on learning how to live with sobriety during your therapy sessions.

Call the Soho Center for Mental Health Counseling & Clinical Supervision or schedule an appointment online today to start your journey toward sobriety.