Substance Use Therapy

Real Support for Early Recovery

Let's be honest—early sobriety is rough.

If you're trying to stop drinking or using, or you've recently quit and feel like your emotions are running the show, you're not imagining it.

Early recovery can feel like someone turned up the volume on life.

Everything's louder. Your anxiety. Your shame. Your cravings. Your relationships. Even boredom can hit like a brick wall.

It's disorienting. And at times, exhausting. But also? Completely normal.

If you're here, you're likely trying to stay sober or considering getting there.

Perhaps you've undergone detox or rehab, or maybe not.

Maybe you've tried cutting back before, and it didn't stick.

Or maybe you're just quietly questioning your relationship with substances and wondering, Do I really need help?

At Real Therapists Group, we offer substance use therapy that's grounded, honest, and nonjudgmental. We know recovery is messy, uncomfortable, and absolutely worth it.

The Truth About Early Recovery

People often talk about how amazing life becomes after achieving sobriety. The clarity. The energy. The sense of freedom. All true.

But what most people don't talk about?

How weird it feels to sit with feelings you used to numb.
How awkward it is to relearn socializing without a drink in your hand.
How some friendships don't survive sobriety.
How "normal life" suddenly feels… not so normal.

I (Jason) was at an AA meeting once, and one of the participants in early recovery said, "It's like I'm walking around with a target on my front and my back."

Early recovery is often full of contradictions. You're proud and also panicked. Relieved but restless. You might find yourself thinking, Wait, wasn't this supposed to feel better by now?

Therapy helps you ride those waves without getting pulled under.

It's OK to Need Help

Jason and Jude of Real Therapists Group are sober and in recovery. We attribute that to the support we got from others.

Needing support for substance use doesn't mean you're broken.

It means you're human, and you've found a coping strategy that, for a while, worked.

Substances often start as a solution:

To quiet racing thoughts
To numb emotional pain
To feel something other than emptiness
To feel confident, connected, or in control
To survive trauma or manage stress

But over time, what once helped you cope can become the thing causing harm.

That's not weakness.

That's a pattern.

And patterns can be changed—with support, honesty, and practice.

What Substance Use Therapy Looks Like

In substance use therapy, we work on:

Understanding what's underneath the substance use
We get curious about what you've been trying to manage—grief, trauma, anxiety, loneliness—and how substances became part of the picture.
Developing real coping skills
More than "take a walk" or "drink water." Fundamental tools that help you navigate triggers, cravings, tough conversations, and shame spirals.
Building a recovery plan that fits you
Therapy doesn't replace 12-step programs or community support, but it can be the glue that holds your recovery together. Whether you're working a program, going solo, or somewhere in between, we help you stay grounded and focused.
Healing relationships—with others and yourself
Addiction can wreak havoc on your sense of self-worth. Therapy is a place to start repairing that, to learn self-compassion, and to stop defining yourself by your worst moments.