Addiction and Substance Abuse Counseling near Bakersfield, CA

Biography: Hello and welcome! I am Laura Cutler, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT). For more than 20 years, I have been working with adults, children, youth, families, and communities in the field of psychotherapy and child welfare in a variety of settings, including private practice, the foster care system, and hospital setting. It has been said that one of the most courageous things a human being can do is to enter therapy. The inner world of thoughts, feelings, and body sensations can often feel overwhelming. Whether you are struggling with anxiety, depression, anger, current or post-traumatic experiences, relationship problems, grief and loss, or any other human experience for which you need support, healing, individualized strategies, and encouragement, you have come to the right place. My own journey began with anxiety and depression as a young child, which continued into adulthood. As a child and adolescent, I lived in a private hell of anxiety and a deep sadness that I could not understand. Learning about proper nutrition and meditation helped significantly. But it was not until I entered therapy in my mid-30's that I began to see how my childhood experiences and current ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving, were shaping me, dictating the degree to which I could explore and enjoy my own life. During my first session, I experienced a thrill of hope beyond description, a glimmering of what may be possible in my quest for total freedom to live, love, create, and make my contribution to the world in this lifetime. I loved the therapeutic experience so much that I went back to school to become a therapist. My therapeutic style is warm, supportive, solution-focused, and based on Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, which teaches us to notice and question our negative thoughts and perceptions of self and other in order to come to a more balanced view. I also incorporate "body-focused" therapies, having been trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and the Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM. Research has shown that trauma lives in the body, not just the mind, and that sometimes talk therapy alone is not enough to resolve our deepest emotional wounds. Also included in my therapeutic approach is psycho-education, or a teaching element, to provide you with new knowledge and to support skill building. I grew up in a house filled with books and two parents that revered learning. So, naturally, being in a state of continuous learning is something that I value greatly and trust will benefit your therapeutic process. As I continue to learn, too, I will happily share my discoveries when pertinent to your own journey in psychotherapy. Our work together will rest upon several core principles: 1. We come into the world with a brain that is hard wired to adapt. Effective therapy seeks to enhance and strengthen the adaptive information processing mechanism and adaptive memory networks that already exist in your brain and help to calm your nervous system. These adaptive mechanisms support our work in therapy to honor, reprocess, and integrate your traumatic memories into your experience, so that you can live more fully in the present moment. 2. All feelings, negative thoughts, and body sensations are valuable and serve as our constant teachers. 3. When we get good at slowing down, noticing and questioning our thoughts and assumptions, magical changes can begin to happen. 4. Focusing on our existing personal strengths and seeking to build upon them is the most effective way to move forward in our lives. Past regrets and traumas are to be honored and learned from, but we need not live there. 5. Good therapy does not need to take years. When we develop a treatment plan together, based on a comprehensive assessment, your insights and needs, and with my clinical input, significant progress can be made in weeks or months. 6. The skills you will learn in therapy with me can serve you for the rest of your life. You will become your own therapist and even share your experiences with others to encourage and support those who are still suffering. 7. Therapy alone is never enough. We must give attention to our nutrition, exercise, work life, need for creative expression, sexuality, and play. Spiritual practices, such as a faith tradition, yoga, meditation, and other spiritual tools, are also extremely helpful in reconnecting you with your truest self - which is always unfolding! But even with all of the insight and knowledge in the world, I have seen and personally experienced that, ultimately, it is relationship that heals - relationship first and foremost with ourself and then others. It is deep listening that heals. It is kindness, patience, giving up the need to be right, being curious, being gentle with ourself, seeking to love and understand ourself and others, that heals. I invite you to experience the therapeutic space with me and see what is possible. Know that there is no such thing as failure or "getting it wrong" with me - only new discoveries about what works and what feels right to you, moment by moment. You have the capacity to grow and change. And, you don't have to do it alone! With new knowledge and skills - with a new way of simply being - we can come to know a new freedom and a new happiness. Our unnecessary suffering begins to melt away...

Biography: Are you going through a challenging period in your life? Do you struggle with anxiety, relationship issues, addiction, creative blocks, or insecurities? Do you wonder if there is more to life and how to find lasting peace and happiness, or just balance in your life? I like to work with my clients through a mind, body, spirit approach and believe in health and holistic wellness. I am a certified kundalini yoga instructor and sound healer, as well as a licensed therapist. I am licensed in California with 18 years of professional work experience. I have experience in helping clients with stress and anxiety, coping with addictions, relationship issues, & motivation, self esteem, and confidence. I believe that you are the expert of your story and that you have many strengths that will assist you in overcoming things that challenge you. Taking the first step to sign up for therapy can take courage and I am proud of you for getting started!

Biography: My name is Beth Kotkin. I am a Licensed Marriage and Family therapist in New York and California with more than 30 years experience. I spent half of my career in the San Francisco Bay area, working with families impacted by alcohol and drug issues, as well as trauma survivors and those with depression. I also specialize in inner child work and those who struggle with codependency and family of origin issues. I trained with John Bradshaw and designed and directed one of his programs in the Bay Area. I moved back to my home town of NYC in 2009 and have been working with clients in both New York and California since then. I would describe my approach as warm, empathic and collaborative. I will listen to your needs in a nonjudgemental atmosphere, and tailor my approach to meet what works for you individually. I utilize a motivational approach with an emphasis on finding mutually agreed-upon goals and solutions. I am focused on providing counseling to individuals and families who are touched by alcohol, drug or other addictive problems. I also specialize in treatment for abuse and trauma survivors. I have experience with adults in a supportive strength-based trauma-informed approach. My specialties include depression, grief, anxiety, drug and alcohol abuse and recovery, codependency, survivors of abuse and trauma, and healing the inner child.