What We Treat
Evidence-based, individualized treatment for substance use and recovery from licensed clinicians, in person in San Pedro or online.
Addiction changes the brain's reward, motivation, and stress systems, which is why willpower alone rarely settles it. Substances hijack the same circuits that drive ordinary motivation, so the pull to use can feel stronger than the desire to stop. This is not a moral failing. It is a treatable condition, and outpatient therapy gives you tools to interrupt the cycle while you build a life that competes with it.
Substance use rarely stands alone. It often sits alongside a mental health condition that feeds it, and treating both together is what makes recovery last. Each area below has a page that explains how we approach it.
Low mood and hopelessness that using can briefly cover but ultimately deepens.
Worry and tension that substances can quiet in the moment, then intensify over time.
Painful experiences that often sit underneath substance use, treated as part of the same work.
A nervous system stuck on high alert after trauma, a common companion to addiction.
Trauma from prolonged or repeated harm, which frequently overlaps with substance use.
Mood swings that can drive using, and that need treatment in their own right.
Recovery does not end when a program does. For most people, the work that keeps them well is ongoing, outpatient, and personal. Coastwise supports substance use and recovery as therapy: regular sessions with a licensed clinician, and care for the mental health conditions that travel with addiction.
One-on-one sessions for substance use, cravings, relapse prevention, and the life underneath the using.
Treatment for the depression, anxiety, trauma, or PTSD that so often sits alongside substance use.
Clinicians who hold addiction counseling certification alongside their clinical license, so substance use is treated by someone who focuses on it.
Family therapy for the people affected by a loved one's use, so the whole system can heal together.
Depression and anxiety, trauma, and PTSD are common companions to substance use, so our clinicians treat both together rather than separately, drawing on the approach that fits what you are carrying.
Cognitive behavioral therapy for the thinking and habits that drive use, cravings, and relapse.
A structured approach for processing the trauma that often sits underneath substance use.
Skills for tolerating distress and regulating emotion when the urge to use is strongest.
Builds willingness to sit with cravings and difficult feelings without acting on them, and anchors recovery to what you actually value.
| Approach | Best suited for | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| CBT | Cravings, relapse, and the habits around using | Reworks the thoughts and behaviors that keep the cycle going. |
| EMDR | Trauma sitting underneath the substance use | Processes the memories that keep old pain active and driving use. |
| DBT | Intense urges and hard-to-regulate emotion | Builds distress-tolerance and emotion-regulation skills for the hardest moments. |
| ACT | Cravings, avoidance, and staying connected to what matters | Builds acceptance of difficult internal experience while committing to valued action |
| Motivational Interviewing | Ambivalence about changing use | Builds your own motivation to change rather than arguing you into it. |
Substance use here is treated by clinicians who focus on it, several of whom hold addiction counseling certification alongside their clinical license. That means the person you sit with understands early recovery, relapse, and the mental health conditions underneath the using, rather than treating addiction as something outside their scope. Meet the team or reach out and we will match you with the right clinician.
Starting therapy should feel clear, not overwhelming. Here is how it works at Coastwise.
We start with a short, private conversation to understand what is going on and what you want from recovery.
We pair you with a licensed clinician who treats substance use and any conditions that sit alongside it, not whoever happens to be free.
Your clinician builds an outpatient plan with you, built around your life, so progress feels steady and sustainable.
Alcohol, opioids, stimulants, cannabis, prescription medications, and other substances, as well as the gray areas where use has started to cost you something. We also work with people in stable recovery who want ongoing support, and with safety-sensitive professionals whose careers depend on staying well.
See us in San Pedro or work with a clinician securely online anywhere in California. If you are a provider looking to refer a client into outpatient or step-down care, see For Professionals.
Yes. Substance use is treated here as therapy. We provide outpatient individual therapy, and dual-diagnosis care for co-occurring mental health conditions. What changed is the framing, from levels of care to ongoing outpatient support built around your life.
Dual diagnosis means a substance use issue occurring alongside a mental health condition such as depression, anxiety, trauma, or PTSD. The two usually feed each other, so we treat them together rather than separately. Many people first reach out about one and discover the other is part of the picture.
Substance use is treated by licensed clinicians who focus on it, several of whom hold addiction counseling certification alongside their clinical license. You work with one therapist over time rather than rotating through a program, and that therapist also treats the depression, anxiety, or trauma underneath the using.
Yes. Outpatient substance use therapy works well over secure video, and we see clients in person in San Pedro and virtually across California.
We work with insurance, and many clients use their benefits toward therapy with us. Call (424) 536-3002 to learn how your insurance can help cover the cost of therapy.
How the two approaches differ, and which one tends to fit where in recovery.
How processing the trauma underneath substance use supports lasting recovery.
Why treating a co-occurring mental health condition alongside substance use matters.
Call us for a free, confidential consultation and we will match you to a clinician who treats substance use and recovery.
Call (424) 536-3002 Get Started