Working with Addictions: What Sits Underneath

Working with Addictions: What Sits Underneath

Addiction is rarely just about the behaviour.

Whether it’s:

• substances

• food

• relationships

• or patterns of escape

There is usually something deeper driving it.

What Addiction Is Often Doing

At its core, addiction often functions as a way to:

• regulate emotional discomfort

• avoid or manage pain

• create temporary relief

• or maintain a sense of control

This is why simply trying to stop the behaviour often doesn’t work.

Because the underlying need is still there.

Why We Start with Trauma and Emotional Processing

In my work, we don’t begin with trying to remove the addiction.

We begin with:

👉 what is driving it

This often includes:

• trauma

• unresolved emotional experiences

• or patterns of distress that haven’t fully processed

Until these are addressed, the behaviour tends to persist.

How Brainspotting Supports This Work

Brainspotting allows us to work directly with:

• emotional triggers

• stored experiences

• and the intensity that drives the behaviour

• We connect the behaviour to the consequence - this is often the missing link to addiction recovery work

• We then use expansion brainspotting to activate the new behaviour, and the new consequences of the behaviour

This helps reduce:

• the emotional charge

• the urgency

• and the pull toward the behaviour

Moving Beyond the Behaviour: Identity-Level Work

Once we have done this we may move into BWRT Identity work

This includes:

👉 how you see yourself

👉 how you respond

👉 and how you experience yourself in your life

At this stage, we may use identity-level work (including Level 2 BWRT processes), to support more stable and lasting change.

What This Changes

Over time, people often notice:

• reduced urges

• greater emotional regulation

• and a different relationship with the behaviour

Not through control —but through shift.

Therapy in Johannesburg

If you are looking for therapy in Johannesburg for addiction that works beyond behaviour and addresses the deeper drivers, this approach provides a structured and effective path forward.

👉 Book an Individual Therapy Session