By Donna Groves, MA, LMFT — EMDR and CBT therapist specializing in trauma, CPTSD, and addiction recovery
Addiction rarely starts because someone is “weak” or lacking willpower. More often, it begins as a way to cope. Alcohol or drugs may temporarily numb anxiety, trauma, loneliness, emotional pain, stress, or difficult memories. Over time, what once felt like relief can begin to feel impossible to control.
You may look functional from the outside while privately struggling with cravings, shame, secrecy, or the fear that things are getting worse. Maybe you have tried to stop before and found yourself returning to the same patterns. That cycle can feel exhausting and isolating.
Recovery involves more than simply stopping substance use. Lasting change often means understanding the emotional pain, relationship patterns, stress, or trauma beneath the addiction. In therapy, we will work together to help you build healthier coping strategies, strengthen emotional resilience, and create a more stable and fulfilling life moving forward.
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Addiction often begins as a way to cope
Many people struggling with addiction are not simply chasing a high. Often, alcohol or substances become a way to manage emotional pain that feels overwhelming or difficult to escape. Drinking or using may temporarily quiet anxiety, numb trauma, soften loneliness, reduce emotional intensity, or create relief from stress and self-criticism.
Over time, the brain and nervous system can begin relying on those substances to cope. What may have started as occasional relief can gradually become a pattern that feels harder and harder to stop, even when there are real consequences.
This is one reason shame alone cannot create lasting recovery. If the underlying emotional pain remains unaddressed, the urge to escape it often remains as well. Therapy can help you better understand the role addiction has been playing in your life while developing healthier and more sustainable ways to cope.
You do not have to hit rock bottom to need help
Many people struggling with addiction are still managing to go to work, care for their families, maintain relationships, and appear “fine” on the outside. You may tell yourself that things are not bad enough yet to ask for help because you are still functioning in daily life.
At the same time, you may privately feel exhausted by the mental and emotional energy it takes to keep everything together. You may find yourself thinking about drinking or using more often than you want to, hiding the extent of your substance use, feeling ashamed afterward, or worrying about what could happen if things continue this way.
You do not have to wait until your life completely falls apart before seeking support. Therapy can help you understand unhealthy patterns earlier, before the consequences become even more painful or difficult to reverse.
Trauma and addiction are often connected
There is often a deeper story underneath addiction. Many people who struggle with alcohol or substance use have experienced trauma, difficult relationships, emotional neglect, anxiety, depression, or long periods of emotional stress that left them feeling overwhelmed or disconnected.
Substances can sometimes become a way to numb emotional pain or create temporary relief from difficult internal experiences. Unfortunately, that relief is usually short-lived, and the cycle often leads to even more shame, emotional instability, and disconnection over time.
Therapy can help you begin understanding those deeper patterns with compassion rather than self-judgment. As underlying emotional wounds are addressed, many people find it becomes easier to develop healthier coping strategies and create more meaningful, lasting change.
Recovery is about more than stopping substance use
Lasting recovery often involves much more than simply removing substances. Many people find that once alcohol or drugs are no longer numbing emotional pain, difficult feelings can rise to the surface more intensely. Therapy creates space to better understand those emotions while building healthier ways to navigate them.
In our work together, therapy may focus on:
- Recognizing unhealthy coping patterns
- Managing cravings and relapse triggers
- Processing trauma and painful life experiences
- Improving communication and relationships
- Reducing shame and self-criticism
- Learning healthier emotional coping skills
- Building emotional resilience and stability
- Reconnecting with yourself and your goals
Recovery is about helping you move toward a life that feels more grounded, meaningful, and emotionally sustainable over time.
My approach to addiction therapy
Addiction recovery is not a one-size-fits-all process. Every person brings their own emotional history, life experiences, coping patterns, and challenges into therapy. Because of this, I take an individualized approach that is tailored to your specific needs and goals.
My work is grounded in compassion, emotional insight, and trauma-informed care. I help clients explore the deeper emotional patterns connected to addiction while developing healthier ways to manage stress, relationships, anxiety, and painful emotions. Depending on your needs, therapy may also include work around trauma, attachment patterns, self-esteem, and emotional regulation.
I believe healing happens more effectively in an environment where you feel supported rather than judged. My goal is to help you better understand yourself, strengthen your ability to cope, and move toward a healthier and more connected life.
Are you concerned about your relationship with alcohol?
You do not have to fit a stereotype or reach a crisis point to question your relationship with alcohol. Sometimes the signs are quieter. You may rely on drinking to relax, numb emotions, cope with stress, or get through difficult situations while privately wondering if the pattern is becoming unhealthy.
If part of you has been questioning your drinking, it is worth paying attention to that feeling. Early awareness and support can make a meaningful difference before patterns become even harder to change.
Take the alcohol abuse self-assessment to better understand your current relationship with alcohol.
Recovery and healing are possible
Healing from addiction is not about becoming a completely different person. It is about understanding yourself more deeply, developing healthier ways to cope, and creating a life that feels more stable, connected, and emotionally sustainable.
Whether you are struggling with alcohol use, substance use, relapse, or the emotional pain connected to addiction, therapy can provide support, insight, and a path forward. Recovery is possible, even if you have felt stuck for a long time.
Donna Groves, MA, LMFT, provides addiction therapy in Los Angeles and online throughout California. If you are ready to take the next step, reach out to schedule a complimentary consultation.
Questions about addiction therapy
No. Many people begin therapy while they are still struggling with alcohol or substance use. Therapy can help you better understand your patterns, triggers, emotional struggles, and readiness for change without judgment or pressure. If a higher level of care or detox support is needed, we can discuss that together.
Yes. Relapse does not mean you have failed or that recovery is impossible. Many people experience setbacks during recovery. Therapy can help you understand what contributed to the relapse, strengthen coping strategies, and continue moving forward with greater self-awareness and support.
For many people, there is a strong connection between addiction and unresolved emotional pain or trauma. Alcohol or substances may become a way to cope with anxiety, painful memories, emotional overwhelm, shame, or difficult life experiences. Addressing those underlying issues can be an important part of recovery.
You do not need to hit rock bottom to seek support. If alcohol or substance use is affecting your emotional well-being, relationships, work, or sense of control, therapy may be helpful. Many people begin therapy because they are concerned about patterns that are gradually becoming more difficult to manage.
No. I work with individuals struggling with a variety of substance use and addiction concerns, including alcohol, drugs, and compulsive coping behaviors that may be connected to emotional pain, trauma, anxiety, or stress.
My approach to addiction therapy is personalized, trauma-informed, and focused on helping you understand the deeper emotional patterns connected to substance use. I integrate several therapeutic approaches based on your individual needs and experiences.
These may include EMDR therapy to help process trauma and painful experiences, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to identify and shift unhealthy thought patterns, and Internal Family Systems (IFS) to explore different emotional “parts” that may be connected to coping, protection, shame, or self-criticism. I also incorporate Jungian depth psychology, including exploration of unconscious patterns and emotional themes that may contribute to feeling stuck.
The goal of therapy is not simply behavior change, but deeper healing, self-understanding, and more sustainable emotional well-being.
Yes. I provide addiction therapy both in-person in Los Angeles and online throughout California. Reach out today to schedule your free consultation.
By Donna Groves, MA, LMFT
She specializes in trauma, CPTSD, addiction, and anxiety, integrating evidence-based and depth-oriented therapies to support lasting emotional and relational change.