How Our Understanding of Addiction Is Changing
If you’re here, there’s a good chance something about your relationship with a substance (such as alcohol, stimulants, opioids, marijuana) or addictive behaviour (such as pornography, gambling, gaming, screentime) has started to concern you. This often means you’re recognizing the negative impact, questioning patterns, and maybe even preparing to do something different.
For a long time, addiction has been framed in fairly rigid terms: something you either “have” or you don’t, often tied to identity labels like “I’m an addict” or “I’m an alcoholic.” For many people, frameworks like AA or NA have been life-changing—offering structure, accountability, and a sense of community that can be deeply healing. This kind of support network shouldn’t be understated. For others, this way of approaching substance use has not felt like the right fit for the change they are seeking.
Our broader understanding of addiction is evolving. Increasingly, we’re recognizing that addiction is not one-size-fits-all—and neither is recovery.
Addiction as a Spectrum, Not an Identity
Rather than seeing addiction as a fixed identity, many clinicians now understand it as existing on a spectrum. Substance use and addictive behaviours can range from occasional or situational to more entrenched and disruptive patterns.
This shift matters because it opens up space for curiosity instead of shame.
Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with me?” we begin asking:
What is this behaviour doing for me?
What need is it meeting?
What happens if I don’t have it?
Addictive behaviours often make sense in context. They can offer short-term relief—numbing, soothing, energizing, distracting. Over time, though, they tend to create longer-term consequences that feel harder to manage. That tension—between immediate relief and long-term cost—is often where people begin to feel stuck.
A Harm Reduction Approach
Not everyone wants—or needs—abstinence as a goal.
Harm reduction is an evidence-based approach that meets people where they are. It focuses on reducing the negative impacts of substance use or behaviours, rather than requiring complete elimination.
For some people, that might look like:
Drinking less frequently or in smaller amounts
Creating safer use practices
Building in substance-free days
Shifting patterns around when, where, or why use happens
For others, abstinence is the most supportive and sustainable path—and that’s valid too.
The key is collaboration. We work together to define what change looks like for you, based on your goals, your values, and your life.
A Trauma-Informed Lens
Many people don’t develop addictive patterns randomly. Often, there are underlying experiences—stress, trauma, loss, disconnection—that shape how we cope.
From a trauma-informed perspective, addictive behaviours are not the problem—they are attempts to solve a problem.
They may be helping to:
Regulate overwhelming emotions
Manage anxiety or depression
Cope with past experiences that haven’t been fully processed
Create a sense of control or relief
When we only focus on stopping the behaviour without addressing what’s underneath it, the cycle often continues—or shifts into another form.
A trauma-informed approach emphasizes safety, choice, and understanding. It recognizes that meaningful change comes not just from removing a coping strategy, but from building new ones and addressing the root causes.
Substance Use and Behavioural Addictions
Addiction isn’t limited to substances like alcohol or drugs. Behavioural patterns—such as gambling, gaming, shopping, social media use, or even work—can follow similar cycles.
These behaviours can:
Provide temporary relief or escape
Become increasingly difficult to regulate
Lead to consequences that impact relationships, finances, or wellbeing
The same principles apply: these behaviours are often meeting important needs. Exploring those needs is a key part of change.
Therapeutic Approaches That Support Change
There are a number of evidence-based approaches that can help you better understand and shift your relationship with substances or behaviours:
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
Helps process past experiences that may be contributing to current patterns, particularly when trauma is part of the picture.
CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)
Focuses on identifying and changing thought patterns and behaviours that maintain cycles of use.
ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)
Supports building a different relationship with thoughts and urges, while moving toward what matters most to you.
IFS (Internal Family Systems)
Explores the different “parts” of you—including the part that engages in the behaviour—with curiosity rather than judgment.
These approaches don’t assume there’s something “wrong” with you. Instead, they help you understand how your system has adapted—and how it can shift.
Moving Toward Change
If you’re noticing concern about your substance use or behaviour, that awareness is already meaningful. Change doesn’t happen all at once, and it doesn’t have to.
Whether your goal is to reduce, better understand, or stop altogether, support can help you move through that process in a way that feels more sustainable—and less isolating.
You don’t have to take on a label to begin making changes. And you don’t have to do it alone.
If you’re looking for support with substance use or behavioural addictions, I offer counselling for individuals in Squamish and online across British Columbia. My approach is collaborative, non-judgmental, and grounded in harm reduction and trauma-informed care.
