UNDERSTANDING SUBSTANCE USE IN ADULTHOOD

Substance use can become a way to manage stress, sleep, pain, social anxiety, or trauma—until it isn’t working anymore. We help you identify patterns, triggers, and goals (abstinence, moderation, or harm reduction), then build a plan that protects your nervous system, relationships, and future self.

• Common experiences: using more than intended, tolerance, morning-after anxiety, secrecy, conflict, or work/health impacts.
• Why it sticks: short-term relief reinforces the habit loop; stress, loneliness, and sleep problems keep the loop going.
• Hope: with skills, social support, and right-sized steps, the loop can be replaced with sustainable routines and connection.

WHAT IS ADDICTION? (PSYCHOEDUCATION)

• Habit loop: trigger → urge → use → relief → guilt/stress → stronger trigger. We interrupt at multiple points.
• Dopamine & cues: brains learn to expect reward; we reduce cue exposure and add healthy rewards.
• Harm reduction: safety-first steps (frequency, quantity, routes, environments) while building motivation for deeper change.
• Co-occurring: anxiety, depression, trauma, ADHD, sleep problems—treating these improves outcomes.
• Recovery stance: skills + community + structure; lapses are data for learning, not failure.

THERAPY OPTIONS AT ASTUTE

Motivational Interviewing (MI)

Clarify goals, resolve ambivalence, and build a change plan you actually want.

CBT / Relapse Prevention

Trigger mapping, urge surfing, coping skills, and high-risk situation planning.

Harm Reduction & Moderation Management

Set limits, switch contexts, track data, and stack healthy rewards and routines.

Trauma-Informed Care

Address underlying anxiety, grief, or trauma with paced, consent-centered work.

Couples/Family Involvement (optional)

Transparency & repair plans, boundary scripts, and rebuilding trust over time.

RECOVERY SUPPORTS & COORDINATION

• Collaboration with primary care/psychiatry; medication-assisted treatment referrals when appropriate
• Connections to groups (12-step, SMART Recovery, Refuge Recovery) if desired
• Sleep reset, nutrition, and movement planning to stabilize mood and energy
• Work/education accommodation documentation as appropriate

WHAT TO EXPECT

1. Map: clarify use patterns, triggers, supports, and your goals.
2. Plan: build a harm-reduction or abstinence roadmap with concrete tools and accountability.
3. Practice: in-session skills reps + real-life experiments; track urges and wins.
4. Maintain: relapse-prevention, early warning signs, and a support network that fits you.

WHY CHOOSE ASTUTE

• Adult-focused (18+), nonjudgmental, trauma-informed care
• Evidence-based therapy with practical, measurable steps
• Integrated mind–body options onsite to support recovery
• In-person (Lakeview, Chicago) and telehealth for Illinois adults