Addiction recovery is often framed as a battle of willpower. But it’s really a journey—one that involves healing your whole self: body, mind, heart, and spirit. If you’re reading this, you’re already taking a courageous step toward something more meaningful. That alone is big.
I’m Sara Sanford, LCSW, and I’ve had the honor of walking alongside individuals, couples, and veterans through addiction, complex trauma, and substance use recovery. I believe therapy isn’t just about sobriety—it’s about finding balance, rebuilding trust with yourself, and learning that you are worth the work.
Understanding Addiction as a Whole-Person Experience
Addiction (whether to alcohol, drugs, or other substances) isn’t simply “bad choices.” It’s often a deep response to pain, trauma, loneliness, or stress. Brains and bodies adapt in survival mode—so what started as relief eventually turns into an emotional and physical hold.
Addiction recovery therapy is about meeting your whole experience with care and curiosity. It helps you:
- Uncover the roots—trauma, shame, stress—that fuel substance use
- Rebuild safe coping skills so you don’t rely on numbing to get through pain
- Repair fractured parts of your life—relationships, identity, self-worth
- Learn how to live with joy and freedom again
And if you’re a veteran who’s seen the weight of service or loss, therapy becomes a place to find new meaning, connection, and healing (Veteran Support & Substance Abuse).
The Role of Therapy in Recovery
Drug or alcohol use is only one part of the experience. Therapy helps with much more:
1. Trauma Healing
A lot of addiction is in response to emotional pain—current or past. Through approaches like Trauma-Informed Therapy or Complex Trauma PTSD work we relearn safety and trust—starting inside.
2. Behavioral Change and Mindset
With CBT, we identify triggers, challenge thought distortions (“I can’t cope without this”), and build new, life-aligned options.
3. Values and Purpose
Through ACT, we reconnect with what matters to you—values like integrity, connection, creativity—and find ways to act on them even when cravings arise.
4. Mind–Body Integration
Recovery often requires relearning how to reconnect with your body. Techniques from Mindfulness Therapy or Holistic Healing bring bodily wisdom into emotional awareness—with safety and agency.
5. Support System Mapping
Recovery isn’t about walking away from everything—it’s about building a new circle. Care Coordination helps connect your therapist, doctor, peer support, family, and community.
What Therapy Looks Like With Me
Sessions are tailored to your rhythm and goals:
- Check-in and grounding – recalibrate your nervous system
- Exploration and reflection – share your experience without judgment
- Tools and next steps – build or reinforce practical, daily coping skills
- Integration check-in – next session, we tune into progress and recalibrate
When needed, family or couples sessions offer relational repair—what began in silos or shame turns into shared healing.
Building Relapse-Resilience
Recovery isn’t about perfection—it’s about getting stronger each time you fall. Therapy helps you:
- Identify early warning signs before a slide becomes a fall
- Repair relationships when you stumble
- Cultivate accountability and compassion simultaneously
- Practice self-care rituals that ground you in self-trust
That means fewer false starts and deeper trust in your ability to hold your story with courage.
Support Options Available
Therapy for addiction recovery is most effective when combined with appropriate resources. Here’s what I offer at Sara Sanford Therapy:
- Individual Therapy tailored to substance use recovery
- Veteran Support & Substance Abuse for service-connected trauma and substance struggles
- Care Coordination to ensure therapists, doctors, sponsors, and loved ones are working in sync
- Therapy Intensives when you need a shorter, focused healing breakthrough
- Group Therapy and recovery circles to heal in community
Online or in-person—whatever supports your consistency, comfort, and accountability.
Why Therapy Makes a Difference
Clients often say:
“I thought I had to do this alone—therapy became the first place I felt safe asking for help.”
“Instead of fighting urges, I got curious and learned what they were trying to communicate.”
“Repairing relationships with my family was the real gift. Sobriety was just step one.”
That’s the power of therapy. It’s not just stopping use—it’s starting life again.
Getting Started With Addiction-Focused Therapy
If you’re considering this work, here’s how to begin:
- Explore my services page to find the best-fit modality
- Read my blog posts:
- Check FAQs to understand logistics (FAQs)
- See pricing and sliding scale options (Pricing)
- Finally, contact me for a free consultation—no pressure, just a conversation
You’re Worth the Investment
Recovery takes courage, time, and resources. Seeking therapy isn’t a last resort—it’s resourceful and brave. It shows you value your life, relationships, and potential.
You don’t have to walk this road alone. I’m here to walk beside you—to help translate crisis into healing, pain into story, and confusion into purpose.
If this feels possible, I’d be honored to support you on the path ahead.Warmly,
Sara