Treatment for Issues with Alcohol with Psychologists in Oslo

We are here to support you.

Are you drinking too much alcohol, or are you unsure? Would you like to discuss this with a psychologist? Do you and your loved ones have different views on alcohol?

Psykologvirke offers a high level of competence in the treatment of alcohol problems ranging in degrees of severity.

From alcohol abuse and the dependence associated with alcoholism, to drinking a little too much on a daily basis or in social settings.

You get to come straight to the experienced psychologist Oslo downtown. You can read more about how we understand and work with alcohol problems in this short article.

If you have already decided to contact a psychologist to explore your relationship to alcohol you can schedule an appointment here.  Family members and friends who are impacted by a loved one’s drinking are also welcome to contact us.

Psychology and alcohol - from alcoholism to drinking too much in social situations

Sometimes you have an obvious problem and need help to acknowledge this and overcome it. Some people have developed a serious alcohol addiction and have to stop completely, at least for a period.

For most people, their issues with alcohol are much more nuanced. Maybe there are just a few unfortunate incidents that only occur once in a while.

Or perhaps you have developed a bad habit of a little daily drinking that ends up limiting your life and/or creating friction in relationships.

Maybe it isn’t the dependency on alcohol itself that is so problematic but rather that you use alcohol to regulate various emotional states or that you simply have developed a bad habit.

Perhaps your life situation has changed so that drinking patterns that were previously unproblematic now need to be revised?

Therapy with a Psychologist - abstinence, alcoholism and everything in between

In therapy that focuses on alcohol use, whether we are dealing with true alcoholism involving dependency and abuse, or a little too much daily drinking or social drinking, we begin with addressing how you are experiencing problems here and now.

Our psychology staff work with concrete examples from everyday life where your relationship to alcohol has proved problematic.

We will work actively to understand the triggering and maintaining mechanisms, not least those that we are unable to notice ourselves.

Treatment of alcohol dependence – psychological approaches

Therapeutic work with alcohol issues involves addressing both the inner dynamics of the drinking patterns as well as the function drinking has in the regulation of emotional states.

We work both with strategies and tools for behavioral changes, to "resist" and reduce or cut down on alcohol consumption, but also find new ways to get some of the benefits that alcohol provides.

We always try to look for, and possibly heal, core problems in the psyche and/or everyday life that may lead to increased alcohol consumption.

Addressing alcoholism/alcohol issues with a psychologist in Oslo

Is it possible that you are regularly repressing some feelings and needs? Feelings and needs that can manifest themselves suddenly once you start drinking?

Could the suppression of these feelings and needs itself create an underlying tension in the body that alcohol can relieve?

Or can repression contribute to unhappiness so you need a pick-me-up?

Do you only drink too much in certain situations or around people that seem to trigger something within yourself? Is social anxiety a variable that we can take the edges off of?

Is your life simply too stressful? Is your drinking part of generally avoidant attempts to cope with various life issues?

These and similar factors play out to varying degrees and we are not always equally aware of all of them.

Alcohol – how can treatment with a psychologist help?

Through the work of investigating, mobilizing and addressing these issues, relevant links to the past often emerge, and we then also work in depth with these, even though the main focus is on your everyday life here and now.

We actively work to mobilize and build your tolerance for the conscious and not least unconscious the emotional difficulties that sometimes underlie alcohol problems.

Becoming aware of the various unconscious conflict points in the psyche can make processing possible - rather than leaving internal situations unbalanced and unresolved.

Thus, you can resolve eventual remnants from your past that have gotten “stuck”, become aware of your patterns and achieve lasting change going forward.

We seek to combine a depth psychological perspective with a distinctly active working method, where we neither dig into the past for the sake of digging, nor merely scratch the surface. 

You can read more concerning our conceptualization of how most emotional issues develop and how therapy can help.

Psychologists and alcohol - what is the expected treatment length?

The extent to which the work helps you depends largely on the collaboration we manage to establish. Gaining a shared understanding of the mechanisms that lead to your difficulties, and agreeing on constructive approaches, is a natural goal at the start. 

You will quickly find out if therapy to address alcohol issues is something for you.

Working with alcohol problems is rarely a quick fix. But how long we need depends very much on how deep the problems run, the structures in your psyche, and how well we are able to establish cooperation.

Sometimes just a handful of sessions can help. We will be able to give an evaluation of the expected treatment length within the first few sessions and will attempt to outline what is needed to help with your particular issues with alcohol.

If you are still uncertain if your challenges with alcohol require psychological assistance, taking this reputable online test may help point you in the right direction.

We wish you the best with the important project you are embarking upon. We would be more than happy to contribute to the work you want to do. .