Hypnotherapy and addiction
Addiction is not merely a craving for a substance or a compulsive engagement in a behavior. Addictions, whether substance-related like alcohol or cocaine, or behavioral such as eating, sex, porn, or gambling, can have a huge impact on someone's life. Having worked extensively with individuals facing addiction challenges, I understand the complexities involved. In addition to my private practice, I serve as a group counselor in addiction care at ITMYS in Hilversum, bringing both professional expertise and personal triumph—I've successfully overcome addiction myself.
Taking a glass of wine to relax is effective and enjoyable. However, reaching for a glass of wine just because it’s five o’clock may start to form a habit. Noticing that you can no longer relax without a glass of wine indicates a changing need. Craving wine when you feel tension in your body is the beginning of dependency: interpreting a stress pattern in such a way that it feels like a need for alcohol.
What is an addiction?
Various experts provide very different answers to this question. Some people view addiction as a chronic brain disease, while others see it as a moral failing and weakness (not least because the addicted person often sees it this way). Still, others view it as a learning process that has spiraled out of control. There are also those who see addiction as a reaction to underlying pain and unresolved trauma, essentially a form of self-medication. All these different perspectives highlight one thing: the complexity of addiction.
After years of running a general practice, I've dedicated the past few years to specializing in addressing two prevalent challenges: addictions and anxiety. My professional and personal journey has led me to a profound understanding of these issues, and I am passionate about helping individuals navigate their way to recovery both as a hypnotherapist and also as a group counselor.
Addiction is Not the Problem
This might sound strange, especially because the person with the addiction experiences the addiction as the problem. It’s true that addiction can cause many problems—emotional, psychological, physical, and social. However, as a therapist, I believe that addiction is a reaction to underlying pain and suffering, a learned (and often unconscious) strategy to avoid feeling that pain. Thus, addiction is actually an attempt to solve an underlying problem, such as insecurity, depression, unresolved grief, a negative self-image, or being disconnected from one’s own feelings and emotions.
That’s why a cocaine addiction is not about cocaine, an alcohol addiction is not about alcohol, and a sex addiction is not about sex. We use alcohol to relax, cocaine to feel stronger, and pornography to combat insecurity. At the core, we are trying to soothe, avoid, or fill a void in our lives. And here lies the problem: if we use alcohol to soften the pain inside us, we will never be able to drink enough to make that pain go away. Addiction is an attempt to solve the underlying problem.
Hypnotherapy and addiction
Most people who are addicted have no idea why they use or why they are addicted. With the help of hypnotherapy and EMDR, you can search for underlying causes and unconscious motivations. Essentially, addiction boils down to wanting to feel differently; either wanting to stop feeling something or wanting to feel something that isn’t there. But most people caught in addictive behavior often have no idea why they keep doing what they no longer want to do. In addition to looking at underlying causes, recovery is also action- and solution-oriented. It is important to identify your goals in treatment, where you ultimately want to go, and what you want to achieve so that you can gradually regain more control over your life.
“It’s a sad realization that the addictive behaviors we use
to try to solve problems, actually make them worse.”
The therapist
To me, addiction felt like being trapped in quicksand. No matter how hard I tried to wriggle out, every movement and every attempt to break free only caused me to sink deeper. It was incredibly confusing to find myself sinking further as I struggled to escape. My road to recovery has been invaluable in my work as a therapist and group counselor. It was a confronting and often tough journey, with doubt and uncertainty as constant companions in the early stages. However, it was also an incredibly enriching journey, where I emerged much stronger and better than I ever thought possible.
My approach during sessions is investigative, practical, and solution-oriented. I guide you through the therapeutic and practical process of recovery. Recovery goes deeper than simply doing or not doing something; it is a transformative process in which I, as a therapist, focus on enhancing your own control, insight, and compassion. With therapeutic methods such as hypnotherapy, EMDR, Internal Family System (IFS), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and EFT, you can explore the subconscious motivations and underlying reasons for your addiction. We not only work towards solutions but also strive to understand the unconscious drives behind the addiction.
If you have any inquiries or would like to schedule an appointment, please feel free to reach out.