Why Addiction Can “Have a Life of Its Own” | Integrative Psychotherapist Explains

Addiction is rarely just about the substance or behaviour itself.

In this video, Darja Lee, Integrative Psychotherapist at Schoen Clinic Chelsea, shares an integrative, whole-person perspective on addiction recovery — and why support often needs to address both the behaviour in the present and the underlying emotional and relational patterns beneath it.

Darja has over 12 years’ experience supporting adults with a wide range of mental health difficulties, including addiction, trauma, anxiety, depression, compulsive behaviours, relationship challenges, and self-esteem issues. She has worked across multiple settings, including community services, prisons, and private care, and brings a compassionate, evidence-based approach to therapy.

In this conversation, Darja explains why addiction can often begin as a coping mechanism — a way to numb feelings, manage distress, or get through the day — particularly for individuals living with:
• Trauma or developmental trauma
• Anxiety or depression
• ADHD and other forms of neurodivergence
• Emotional distress linked to early experiences or life transitions

However, Darja also highlights a crucial clinical reality: even if addiction begins as a coping strategy, it can eventually become a problem in its own right — with patterns such as compulsivity and denial that need to be addressed directly and separately.

Darja describes how integrative psychotherapy can support recovery by working on multiple levels, including:
• Stabilisation and day-to-day coping
• Skills for cravings, anxiety, low mood, and emotional regulation
• Understanding triggers and patterns of behaviour “in the here and now”
• Exploring deeper underlying issues with a relational, attachment-focused lens
• Supporting long-term change through insight, connection, and self-understanding

Her approach draws on evidence-based techniques such as CBT and Motivational Interviewing, while also creating space for deeper therapeutic work through psychodynamic, attachment-focused, and relational psychotherapy.

This video is for:
• Individuals currently struggling with addiction or compulsive behaviours
• People who feel stuck in cycles of shame, distress, or relapse
• Those managing addiction alongside trauma, anxiety, depression, or ADHD
• Loved ones wanting to understand addiction more clearly
• Professionals interested in integrative, trauma-informed addiction treatment

Darja’s message is grounded in hope — and realism. When someone is in the midst of addiction, it can feel like there are no options and no way forward.

But with the right support, that enclosed space can open up.

Change is possible. A happier life is possible. And taking the first step can be the beginning of something fundamentally different.

🔗 Find out more about Darja Lee
https://www.schoen-clinic.co.uk/speci...
🔗 Outpatient Addiction Treatment Programme (London)
https://www.schoen-clinic.co.uk/addic...

📍 London-based outpatient addiction care
🧠 Integrative psychotherapy for addiction + co-occurring mental health difficulties
🤝 Multidisciplinary, evidence-based, person-centred support

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