What To Expect From Our North Leeds Addictions Counselling Services

Quitting alcohol or drugs and making the choice to reach out and contact an addiction help service is a massive step for anyone who is suffering from any addictive behaviour.

If you are wanting to stop drinking alcohol or looking for drug addiction help through counselling services, then below is a step by step summary of what to expect from our addiction counsellor in North Leeds.

Decide that you need help with your drug or alcohol use, and contact us, email us at help@startrecovery.co.uk or call us on 0113 328 0211 with a brief message leaving you first name and contact details. We see clients from 8 am to 12 pm, and 1 pm to 5 pm Tuesday and Thursday. Weds 8am to 12pm, and 1pm to 8pm. Fridays are 8 am to 4 pm and Saturdays from 8 am to 1 pm. Please note that evenings and Saturdays do tend to be the busiest times, therefore by choosing daytime slots we can usually guarantee a 2 week availability.

Start Recovery will try to respond within 24 hours and let you know what available time slots we have for an initial consultation. Initial consultations last approximately 30 minutes and are designed around you as an individual to collect as much helpful information as possible in order to help you with your drug or alcohol problem. Initial Consultations are just £39 and can be paid by paypal or by bank transfer. These details will be provided at the time of booking.

The initial consultation will be a chance for you to explain or express how you have come to the conclusion that you want help for your drink problems, substance misuse, gambling problems or any other addictive behaviours. We will assess what stage you are at with your problem, and whether you wish to abstain completely, try to control your behaviours, or if you are just needing some brief intervention or family advice.

After the initial consultation, if both client and Counsellor are happy to proceed with counseling sessions, we will arrange a suitable time to begin treatment. Counselling sessions are £65 for each 50-minute session PAYG or can be purchased upfront for £600 for 12 sessions, or £325 for 6 sessions.

Sessions are designed and tailored to each individual. Typically sessions involve discussing the usual drug, alcohol or addiction topics such as cravings, urges, thoughts, secrecy, shame, guilt, compulsions and other addictive behavioural problems, as well as “going a bit deeper” into trying to find the root of the individual's addiction problems. Typically we use some REBT (Rational Emotive or Emotional Behavioural Therapy) techniques which are similar to CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) but highlight the Emotional connection to our problems, as well as the cognitive side of things. We also use Mindfulness, breathwork, awareness and look at the latest neuroscience developments and information available to us.

Breathing techniques are taken from ancient Kundalini Yoga practices (I am a fully qualified Kundalini Yoga teacher). I am always learning and incorporate the latest evidence based research and information. I look into all the latest information and theories such as the Polyvagal theory and the body’s Central Nervous system and its role in addictions and addictive behaviours. We always keep up to date with all the latest developments in Neurobiology and Neuropsychotherapy so as to best help clients understand this complex relationship between science and mind.

If you are drug or alcohol dependent, and you are looking for a safe drug or alcohol detox, withdrawal programme or rehab, we can advise as to the best clinical support via local services you can put into place.

People often ask how long therapy will take and how many sessions to expect. This is difficult to estimate as all cases and clients are different. There are no set rules here and there are no “you need to take x amount of sessions” requirements at Start Recovery. On average it could be estimated that most clients have somewhere between 10 to 14 sessions, but some people we have been seeing regularly for over 5 years for maintainance, and some people we only see a few times.