Substance Abuse

KETAMINE THERAPY, PSYCHOTHERAPY & MEDICATION MANAGEMENT FOR TEENS AND ADULTS IN RALEIGH / DURHAM / CHAPEL HILL, NC

EXPERIENCE FREEDOM from SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS

When substances become the solution that creates new problems

Substance Abuse
Ketamine Therapy, Medication Management, and Psychotherapy in Chapel Hill, NC & Durham, NC
Ketamine Therapy, Medication Management, and Psychotherapy in Chapel Hill, NC & Durham, NC

Substance Abuse: More than just a “lack of willpower”

Have you been suffering with any of the following symptoms of substance abuse?

  • Using substances to manage difficult emotions, memories, or situations

  • Finding that you need more of the substance to achieve the same effect

  • Feeling unable to cope with stress or emotions without using

  • Continuing to use despite negative consequences in your relationships, work, or health

  • Feeling shame, guilt, or fear about your substance use but struggling to stop

Substance use disorders affect people differently:

  • Some use daily to manage ongoing emotional pain or avoid withdrawal

  • Others binge periodically, going stretches without using followed by heavy episodes

  • Many use multiple substances, making the pattern more complex

  • Some function well in most areas of life while struggling privately with substance use

  • Others experience significant disruption in relationships, work, or health

YOU’RE NOT ALONE.
You’re struggling.

You deserve to feel like yourself again - there’s another path forward.

Ketamine Therapy, Medication Management, and Psychotherapy in Chapel Hill, NC & Durham, NC

Understanding Substance Use Disorders

Substance use disorders are often misunderstood as simply a matter of poor choices or weak willpower. In reality, they develop when substances become your primary way of coping with pain, trauma, stress, or overwhelming emotions. What often starts as relief or escape gradually becomes something your brain and body depend on to function.

Substance use disorders aren't about moral failing or lack of character. They're about your brain adapting to regular substance use in ways that make stopping feel impossible without support.

When Your Solution Becomes the Problem

Many people begin using substances for understandable reasons—to numb emotional pain, ease social anxiety, cope with trauma, or simply because it feels good. The substance provides relief, at least initially, and your brain learns that this is an effective way to manage difficult experiences.

Over time, what started as a solution gradually becomes a problem itself. You might find that:

  • You're using more frequently or in larger amounts than you intended

  • The substance stops providing the same relief but you continue using anyway

  • Problems arise in your relationships, work, or health, but stopping feels too difficult

  • You spend significant time thinking about, obtaining, or recovering from substance use

This progression isn't a sign of weakness—it's how addiction works, changing brain chemistry in ways that make the substance feel necessary for normal functioning.

Ketamine Therapy, Medication Management, and Psychotherapy in Chapel Hill, NC & Durham, NC

The Exhausting Cycle of Shame & Use

Living with a substance use disorder often involves a painful cycle: using to cope with difficult feelings, then feeling shame or guilt about using, which creates more difficult feelings that drive you to use again. This cycle can feel impossible to break and can create profound isolation.

You might experience:

  • Promising yourself or others that you'll stop, then feeling devastated when you use again

  • Hiding your use from people you care about, creating distance in important relationships

  • Feeling like two different people—the "real you" and the person who uses substances

  • Experiencing physical withdrawal symptoms that make stopping feel unbearable

This cycle isn't evidence that you're a bad person or that recovery is impossible. It's evidence that you need support to break patterns that have become bigger than individual willpower can handle.

You're Not Your Addiction.

Perhaps the most important thing to understand about substance use disorders is that you are not your addiction. Underneath the patterns of use is a person with valid needs, feelings, and dreams. Often, the qualities that made you vulnerable to addiction—sensitivity, creativity, the ability to feel deeply—are also strengths that can support your recovery.

The goal isn't to become a different person, but to find healthier ways to meet the needs that substances were addressing and to rediscover parts of yourself that may have been buried under the weight of addiction.

Recovery involves honoring both your struggles and your inherent worth, learning new ways to cope that don't compromise your health or relationships.

You deserve to feel genuinely good without needing substances, and to have relationships and experiences that aren't shadowed by addiction.

How We Help

Ketamine Therapy, Medication Management, and Psychotherapy in Chapel Hill, NC & Durham, NC

Ketamine-Assisted Therapy

Ketamine therapy for substance abuse disorders offers rapid relief by helping your brain form new neural connections. Many clients describe feeling like they can "breathe again" or access parts of themselves that substances had made unreachable—often within days rather than months. This isn't about eliminating difficult emotions; it's about reclaiming your capacity to feel, connect, and engage with life.

Ketamine Therapy, Medication Management, and Psychotherapy in Chapel Hill, NC & Durham, NC

Traditional Therapy

Sometimes the gentle, steady work of talk therapy is exactly what you need to get relief from substance abuse disorder. We offer evidence-based approaches in a warm, supportive environment where you can explore patterns, build coping skills, and create lasting change at your own pace.

Ketamine Therapy, Medication Management, and Psychotherapy in Chapel Hill, NC & Durham, NC

Medication Management

When thoughtfully chosen and carefully monitored, medication for substance abuse disorder can be one of the most powerful tools for healing. We take time to understand your unique experience and work collaboratively to find what supports your wellness goals.

Ketamine Therapy, Medication Management, and Psychotherapy in Chapel Hill, NC & Durham, NC

Recovery is possible, and you deserve to experience life with clarity, connection, and genuine well-being.

You Might Benefit From Our Approach If:

  • You use substances to cope with difficult emotions, trauma, or stress

  • Your substance use has continued despite negative consequences in your life

  • You've tried to stop or cut back on your own but find it difficult to maintain

  • You feel shame or isolation around your substance use

  • You're experiencing physical or mental health problems related to your use

  • Traditional addiction treatment approaches haven't provided the deeper healing you need

  • You're ready for care that addresses both the addiction and the underlying pain driving it

What Healing Can Look Like

Substance use disorders don't have to define your story. With the right support, you can:

  • Develop healthy coping strategies for stress, emotions, and difficult life circumstances

  • Feel genuine enjoyment and connection without needing substances

  • Rebuild trust in relationships that addiction has affected

  • Experience your emotions fully without being overwhelmed by them

  • Find meaning and purpose that don't revolve around substance use

  • Take care of your physical and mental health in sustainable ways

  • Feel proud of the progress you're making and the person you're becoming

  • Trust yourself to handle life's challenges without relying on substances