Substance Use & Harm Reduction

People come to therapy around substance use for all kinds of reasons. Some are concerned about how much they're using and want to cut back. Some are questioning whether their use is becoming a problem. Some have tried to change before and want support this time. Some are managing mental health concerns alongside substance use and want to address both.

Substance use often serves a function — managing stress, numbing difficult emotions, coping with anxiety or depression, or simply being part of a social world. Understanding that function is part of the work, not a reason to feel judged.

You don't need to have a diagnosis, hit a low point, or be ready to stop entirely to benefit from therapy. Wherever you are in your thinking about substance use, there's room to explore it.

Therapy at Aeros Mental Health around substance use is collaborative and non-judgmental. We work with your goals, not a predetermined outcome. That might mean exploring your relationship with substances and what role they play in your life, developing strategies to reduce use or associated harms, addressing the mental health concerns that often co-occur with substance use, or working toward abstinence if that's what you want.

Motivational interviewing is a central part of this work — it's an approach that meets you where you are, respects ambivalence, and supports you in clarifying your own values and goals rather than telling you what to do.

Please note that Aeros Mental Health provides outpatient individual therapy. We are not a detoxification program, a residential treatment facility, or a higher-level substance use treatment provider. If a higher level of care is needed, we'll help you find appropriate resources.