services

Substance Use Counselling

If alcohol or substance use has begun to feel overwhelming, isolating, or difficult to manage, you’re not alone. We provide compassionate, evidence-informed counselling to help you understand your patterns and move toward healthier ways of coping.

Sessions are available in-person in Kemptville and virtually across Ontario.

In-Person in Kemptville

Virtual Across Ontario

Registered Psychotherapists

Confidential & Non-Judgmental

Does This Sound Familiar?​

  • You’ve tried to cut back but struggle to maintain change.
  • Substance use is affecting your relationships or work.
  • You rely on alcohol or substances to manage stress, anxiety, or trauma.
  • You feel stuck between wanting change and fearing what change might mean.
  • Shame or secrecy has started to take a toll.

Request An Appointment

Filling out this form does not confirm your appointment. Please wait for us to contact you for confirmation.

Who This Is For

We work with young adults and adults navigating concerns related to:

  • Alcohol use
  • Cannabis use
  • Prescription medication misuse
  • Other substance-related patterns
  • Concurrent anxiety, depression, or trauma

Whether you are questioning your use, seeking moderation, or pursuing recovery, support is available at your pace.

How We Can Help

Substance use often develops as a coping strategy. It may help reduce stress or emotional pain in the short term, even if it creates longer-term consequences.

Our clinicians integrate trauma-informed, evidence-based approaches including CBT, narrative therapy, and nervous system-informed strategies.

In counselling, we help you:

  • Identify triggers and patterns
  • Reduce shame and self-criticism
  • Strengthen emotional regulation
  • Build practical coping tools
  • Create sustainable, values-aligned change
Meet Our Counsellors

What You Can Expect

Your first session focuses on understanding what has brought you here and clarifying your goals. There is no pressure to commit to a specific path or timeline.

Together, we will determine what approach feels supportive and realistic for you.

Request an Appointment

What You Can Expect

Your first session focuses on understanding what has brought you here and clarifying your goals. There is no pressure to commit to a specific path or timeline.

Together, we will determine what approach feels supportive and realistic for you.

Local Support

We provide substance use counselling in Kemptville and support individuals throughout North Grenville and surrounding communities. Virtual sessions are available across Ontario.

You may also wish to explore related services such as Trauma Counselling or Anxiety & Stress Counselling if those concerns are connected.

Session Fees

sessions (50 minutes): $140 – $200 per session, depending on the clinician. sliding scale spots available.

Please confirm coverage with your extended health care provider. Services are provided by Registered Psychotherapists.

FAQs

Substance use counselling provides a confidential space to explore your relationship with alcohol or other substances. Together, we look at patterns, triggers, and underlying stressors that may be contributing to use. The goal is not judgment, but understanding and practical support for change that feels sustainable.

Yes. Counselling is confidential and protected under professional privacy standards and Ontario legislation. Information is only shared in specific legal situations, such as risk of serious harm or court order. We are happy to review confidentiality in more detail during your first session.

No. You do not need to stop using before beginning counselling. Therapy can support you wherever you are in the process, whether you are questioning your use, wanting to reduce, working toward abstinence, or navigating recovery.

The length of counselling varies from person to person. Some individuals seek short-term support focused on specific goals, while others benefit from longer-term therapy. We will regularly review your progress and adjust the plan based on your needs.

I hate to sound wishy-washy but it depends. Your goal might be something like, “I want to be happy” and that could take quite a while. But we can also take a look at how you know you’ll be happy and you might start noticing some of those things in a short amount of time. Maybe you have a very clear and specific goal. We can break it into small, manageable, do-able steps and you can make progress from week to week. Some people are like a seed, where you plant the seed and it has to decay before it can sprout and grow, so you might experience what we could call a front end load, where you need to put some time in. But then, seemingly all of a sudden, something happens. Reaching your goal is a very individual thing. It also depends on how open and ready you are to notice what is happening now and look at paths for change. Habitual patterns once served a good purpose, and they can also keep us from moving forward. Realizing how these patterns once kept you safe, as well as how they are now keeping you way from the life you want to lead is part of the process. You may also want to spend time with your fear of letting go of habitual patterns, since the part of you that is afraid may feel stronger than your wish to let go. It makes sense that part of you wants to let go and part of you doesn’t. Those habits originally had a good reason for being here. It can take time to see their good reason, or the needs they were intended to meet, and discover fresh ways to meet those needs.

Relapse is not failure. It is often part of the learning process when making behavioural changes. If this happens, we use it as an opportunity to better understand triggers and strengthen coping strategies, rather than as a setback.