Twice weekly consultations for the first month

This phase of the programme opens with twice weekly sessions with your consultant psychologist over the course of four weeks, a total of eight sessions in all. Having sessions twice weekly provides the treatment intensity necessary at the beginning stages, and goes beyond traditional ‘once a week’ therapy to provide the close support you’ll need during this early and very important stage of treatment.

To make it as easy as possible to fit the consultations into your life, one session each week is conducted in person, the second session over Skype. These are scheduled towards the start and end of each week to ensure that you are supported throughout the whole week, during both work and leisure time.
By the end of the first month you’ll have overcome the initial challenges of treating an addiction, and you’ll be ready to move to a slightly less intense treatment schedule.

Weekly consultations for the next three months

Treatment continues with once weekly face-to-face sessions over the course of twelve weeks. These are generally held on the same day and time each week.

Throughout this phase you’ll continue to work with your consultant psychologist towards your own specific treatment goals agreed during the assessment stage. Your psychologist may also make adjustments to the initial formulation, as you gain more insight into your addiction and yourself as treatment progresses.

While this will be a challenging time, during this three month period we will work towards making significant progress, as you learn and practise the techniques that will help you to overcome your addiction.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) methodology

At City Addictions our psychologists work primarily within a CBT framework, as it’s a proven and clinically recommended methodology for addiction treatment. CBT exploits the link between your thinking, your behaviour and your emotions.

The ‘cognitive’ element of CBT examines your thinking patterns and considers how they can be altered to effect behavioural change. At the same time, the ‘behavioural’ element of CBT explores how your actions and behaviour can be altered, ultimately enhancing your emotional state.

CBT is inherently flexible and can therefore be adapted to your particular addiction and to your individual needs. The work often includes specific assignments for you to complete between consultations.

Our psychologists sometimes also use other therapeutic techniques related to CBT, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Fundamentally, the treatment is tailored to your individual needs, so your psychologist will recommend whatever treatment methodology is most appropriate for your individual situation.

Involvement of family members

Family members and loved ones often play an important role in your recovery process, and involving them can assist with family dynamics and enable them to gain an understanding of the challenges you’re facing. Your psychologist may therefore recommend that a family member joins you for one or more of the sessions. This is entirely at your discretion.