I had the opportunity recently to provide a guest lecture at Tarry Ahuja’s third-year Addictions course which is part of the undergraduate Psychology Degree program at Carleton University. The course is also part of the CUTV program allowing it to reach 600 students via television broadcasting. As a Carleton University Alum, it was great to be back on campus in one of my favourite classrooms, the Southam Hall Theatre B – one of the largest classrooms on the Carleton University campus!

The lecture I presented discussed what addictions counselling in Ottawa involves. It outlined the steps that typically occur in psychotherapy for addictions counselling. The objective was to provide real world insight for students who, at the undergraduate level, focus mostly on theory as opposed to the practical elements of counselling.

I developed a list of local community resources that I would like to share with you in case you or someone you know is faced with an addiction and could benefit from some of the support that exists in Ottawa:

Group Support:
Rideauwood Addiction and Family Services – Adult Addictions Program: www.rideauwood.org 613-724-4881 (Government Funded Programming) – this is a well rounded program that walks individuals through all of the steps of addictions recovery, it involves individual counselling, group meetings and also support for spouses and families.

Alchoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous – hundreds of local support meetings in every area of the city.

Dave Smith Youth Treatement Centre, www.davesmithcentre.org – provides addictions support for teens and their families.

The White Stone Project, http://facingsexaddiction.com – Individual counselling with a focus on sexual addictions.

Michael Machan Psychotherapy, 613-857-1496 – a great individual therapist located in the east end of Ottawa who works with both men and women facing addictions issues.

Mental Health Helpline 1-866-531-2600, Website: www.mentalhealthhelpline.ca

The Ottawa Addictions Access and Referral Services 1-800-565-8603