Alcohol Use Therapists in York, Bellingham, WA
You’re successful on paper, but inside, you’re exhausted. Anxiety, burnout, or old trauma patterns keep running the show, no matter how much you achieve. Maybe you’ve tried therapy, medication, or even white-knuckling your way through, but nothing sticks. You’re tired of cycling through perfectionism, addiction, or emotional avoidance just to get by. You want relief, but more than that—you want to feel alive, present, and at peace in your own skin. Our work together focuses on breaking these loops and building a sustainable, self-compassionate way forward.
You’re successful on paper, but inside, you’re exhausted. Anxiety, burnout, or old trauma patterns keep running the show, no matter how much you achieve. Maybe you’ve tried therapy, medication, or even white-knuckling your way through, but nothing sticks. You’re tired of cycling through perfectionism, addiction, or emotional avoidance just to get by. You want relief, but more than that—you want to feel alive, present, and at peace in your own skin. Our work together focuses on breaking these loops and building a sustainable, self-compassionate way forward.
Marlene Bowman Sexton
Marriage & Family Therapist, LMFT
Verified Verified
York, Bellingham, WA 98226
Feeling better about yourself, your life and others around you are all big steps toward getting healthier. Helping patients get past life-disrupting issues and get back on track to living happier, more fulfilling lives.
Feeling better about yourself, your life and others around you are all big steps toward getting healthier. Helping patients get past life-disrupting issues and get back on track to living happier, more fulfilling lives.
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Are there specific medications for alcohol use?
There are oral medications approved to treat alcohol use disorder—such as disulfiram, acamprosate, and naltrexone, which also comes in an injectable form. These medications do help people reduce their drinking as well as avoid the problem of relapse. Naltrexone helps reduce cravings, disulfiram can make a person feel sick when they drink, and acamprosate may help ease symptoms like poor sleep and anxious feelings.
How do alcohol recovery or rehabilitation programs work?
In inpatient programs, individuals live in a facility with other patients in recovery; in outpatient programs,individuals live at home. These facilities are staffed with healthcare professionals including physicians, nurses, psychologists, counselors, and psychotherapists. Staff can also include people who have recovered themselves, serving as mentors and guides. These programs may use abstinence, harm reduction, detoxification, psychotherapy, and other tools for recovery.
How do 12-step programs combined with psychotherapy work?
Members of 12-step programs help each other reach abstinence and work to maintain it. These programs promote complete change in the individual’s emotional, mental, physical, and even spiritual perspectives. Some programs require that new members attend 90 meetings in 90 days. Many people do attend these programs in conjunction with their work in psychotherapy; the combination of therapy along with 12-step can be extremely effective.
How does harm reduction combined with psychotherapy work?
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, harm reduction prevents death, injury, disease, overdose, and substance misuse. People who choose harm reduction for alcohol use reduce the amount of alcohol they intake. It is not abstinence-based like a 12-step program, but combining harm reduction with psychotherapy proves to be effective for many people.