Addiction Therapy in Calgary
Addiction and Compulsive Behaviours
When something that once helped starts to feel harder to control.
Sometimes coping turns into something more.
What may have started as a way to manage stress, numb out, or get through difficult moments can gradually become a pattern that feels harder to step away from, even when you know it’s not helping in the long run.
You might notice:
Feeling stuck in patterns you can’t seem to stop
Using substances or behaviours to cope, escape, or shut things down
Repeating something despite negative consequences
A loss of control or difficulty cutting back
Cycles of relief, followed by guilt, frustration, or shame
Hiding or minimizing certain behaviours
Feeling like something is starting to take up more space in your life
Inability to focus on other things
This can show up in different ways, including:
Alcohol or substance use
Gambling
Porn or compulsive sexual behaviour
Social media, technology use, or AI use
Excessive exercise (or exercise compulsion)
Disordered patterns around food or compulsive eating/restricting
Work, productivity, or achievement-based patterns
Often, the behaviour itself is not the full picture.
It’s connected to how you’re coping, what you’re avoiding, and what’s happening underneath, even if that’s not immediately clear.
Therapy offers a space to understand these patterns more directly.
This might involve:
identifying what triggers the behaviour
understanding the cycle of urge → action → relief → consequence
building alternative ways of coping that actually hold
working through underlying stress, emotions, or experiences
making practical changes that reduce the pull of the behaviour over time
When compulsive behaviour is more anxiety than addiction
For some people, behaviours like porn use, gaming, gambling, or compulsive online activity look like addiction on the surface but function differently underneath. Rather than the behaviour producing pleasure or escape, it's working as a way to manage anxiety, intrusive thoughts, or internal distress. The compulsion isn't really about the behaviour — it's about the regulation it provides.
When that's the case, traditional addiction frameworks often don't fit, and accountability-based approaches don't address the underlying mechanism. The work looks more like the work we do for OCD: identifying the distress driving the behaviour, building tolerance for that distress, and learning to be with discomfort without responding to it through ritual or compulsion.
Compulsive behaviour can also be a sign of unresolved trauma. For some people, the behaviour developed as a way to manage what the nervous system couldn't otherwise process, and it stayed long after the original experiences. When that's the case, the work shifts toward addressing what's underneath, not just changing the behaviour.
Therapists with a special interest in addiction & compulsive behaviours
Below is a brief snapshot of each therapist’s focus. Click on their photo to read more.
Michael Grisonich, Registered Provisional Psychologist
Michael is direct, grounded, and trained in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). ERP helps clients face triggers while resisting compulsions. Alongside the structured behavioural work, Michael draws on psychodynamic approaches to help clients understand the deeper patterns and motivations driving the urge, not to overanalyze, but to make the underlying mechanism easier to recognize and respond to differently.
Jeremy Fonteyne, Registered Provisional Psychologist
Jeremy brings depth, curiosity, and an existential lens to his work. He approaches phone and digital addiction by exploring what the behaviour is replacing — connection, presence, meaning — rather than treating the screen itself as the problem. For trauma-driven compulsions, Jeremy uses Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) to help clients work through specific events and reduce their ongoing impact.
Tim Maxwell, Canadian Certified Counsellor
Tim brings a warm, straightforward, and non-judgmental style with an action-oriented approach to change. He works specifically with behavioural addictions, including pornography, gambling, social media, AI use, gaming, and exercise compulsion. Tim uses EMDR, ACT, and trauma-informed approaches to address the underlying drivers, not just the behaviour.
Jacqueline Gowans, Canadian Certified Counsellor
Jacqueline brings decades of clinical experience to her work with substance addiction, including alcohol and drug use. She is trained in working with complex trauma, and integrates somatic and mindfulness-based approaches with ACT and CBT, addressing both the body's role in addiction and the thought patterns that keep it going. Her work is paced and informed by a deep understanding of what recovery actually requires over time.
You May Also Be Navigating
If you think you may be experiencing something different, you can click below to read more. We also offer a complimentary consultation to answer any questions you have or to help you find the right fit.
How can we help?
At Carbon Psychology, this work is about understanding what’s actually driving the behaviour: what’s triggering it, what it’s helping you avoid, and why it keeps repeating despite the consequences.
That often means looking directly at the patterns: when the urge shows up, what you do with it, and what happens after. From there, the focus shifts to building more control in those moments, interrupting the cycle, and developing ways of coping that don’t rely on the behaviour.
Approaches we draw from:
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for building capacity to be with anxiety without responding through avoidance, ritual, or reassurance-seeking.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) for working with the underlying experiences and emotional drivers that fuel the patterns
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for clarifying what matters and developing tolerance for difficult emotions without acting on them
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for identifying triggers, thought patterns, and the cycles that maintain the behaviour
Trauma-informed care for the experiences and emotional pain that often sit underneath addictive patterns
Somatic and nervous system-based approaches for working with the physical pull of cravings and urges
Start with a Consultation
We offer a complimentary consultation to help you determine whether therapy feels like a right next step.
FAQ
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How do I know if something is becoming an addiction?
If a behaviour feels hard to control, is happening more often than you intend, or is starting to negatively impact your life, it may be moving into addictive or compulsive territory.
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Do I have to completely stop for therapy to help?
Not necessarily. Therapy can help you understand your patterns and build more control, whether your goal is reducing, changing, or stopping the behaviour altogether.
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Why do I keep going back to something I know isn’t helping?
Many addictive behaviours provide short-term relief from stress, anxiety, or difficult emotions. Over time, this creates a cycle where the behaviour is reinforced, even when it causes problems.
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Is addiction only about substances like alcohol or drugs?
No. Addiction can also involve behaviours like gambling, pornography, social media, or work. The common thread is a pattern that feels difficult to control and continues despite consequences.
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Can therapy help with urges and cravings?
Yes. Therapy can help you understand what drives urges, how to respond to them differently, and how to reduce the intensity and frequency over time.
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When should I seek help for addiction or compulsive behaviour?
If you feel stuck, out of control, or like something is taking up more space in your life than you want it to, it's a good time to seek support. You don't need things to feel "severe" to begin.