Addiction counselling in Colchester
The thing that most people find hardest about addiction (and hardest to say out loud) is not the behaviour itself but the gap between knowing and doing. You know the consequences. You know what it is costing. And yet the pull to return to the behaviour is more powerful than the knowledge, and the gap between intention and action has become its own kind of prison.
That gap is not a character failure. It is a psychological phenomenon. One with a history, a function and a logic that can be understood. And understanding it is what makes sustained change possible.
The approach to addiction counselling
Dr Jacquet has specialised in addiction for over 25 years. The approach at the Colchester practice is depth-oriented and individual, drawing on integrative psychotherapy, psychodynamic and Jungian frameworks. It treats addiction not as the primary problem but as a response to one: a highly developed solution to something that has never been adequately addressed. The therapeutic task is to find out what that something is.
Where trauma underlies the addiction (as it frequently does, even when it is not immediately obvious) EMDR may be incorporated into the work. Philippe is an EMDR practitioner with over 20 years of experience.
What is treated
The Colchester practice works with alcohol and drug addiction, gambling, cocaine and stimulant dependency, sex and pornography addiction, compulsive overeating, and other behavioural dependencies. Where addiction co-occurs with depression, anxiety, eating disorders or trauma, those presentations are addressed together as part of the same therapeutic process rather than treated in sequence.
Starting
No referral is needed. An initial consultation in Colchester is the appropriate first step, a private, confidential conversation at your pace, with no obligation to continue beyond it.
Addiction support close to home
For many people in Colchester and the surrounding Essex towns, the alternative to local help is a weekly trip into London, which is often the first thing to be dropped when life tightens. Having senior addiction support in town changes that. The practice sees professionals who commute to the City from Colchester and find that what holds the week together is also quietly coming apart, as well as local residents for whom discretion matters in a town where people know each other. Sessions are private, unhurried and held in a quiet residential street close to the town centre.
Related services in Colchester
- Jungian Analysis in Colchester
- Bereavement Counselling in Colchester
- Eating Disorder Therapy in Colchester
- Sex Addiction Counselling in Colchester
- Stress Counselling in Colchester
- Clinical Supervision in Colchester
- Trauma Counselling in Colchester
See all therapy services in Colchester.
Clients who prefer to be seen in the capital can read about addiction therapy in London.
Outside Essex, or unable to travel weekly? The same specialist work is available as private online therapy anywhere in the UK, usually within the week.
Dr Philippe Jacquet is a UKCP registered psychotherapist, a Jungian analyst and an HCPC registered art psychotherapist, with twenty-five years of clinical practice. His Doctorate of Professional Practice at the University of Essex examined male eating disorders from the perspective of analytical psychology. Registration can be checked on either public register.
How the work is delivered from here
All international sessions are by secure video, in English or French. Online therapy is not a reduced version of consulting room work: it is the format that lets weekly work survive living abroad, travelling, or relocating. Sessions run in United Kingdom hours, which suits most regions, and if your time zone makes none of it workable, say so when you enquire rather than assuming it rules you out.
For clinicians and treatment services
Dr Jacquet supervises clinical teams in private residential addiction treatment and in a private psychiatric hospital. For treatment centres, psychiatric units and group practices looking for external clinical supervision, including in places where no supervisor of this seniority is available locally, team supervision is also delivered by video. For individual practitioners, see clinical supervision.
Common questions
Is addiction counselling in Colchester confidential?
Yes. Confidentiality here is strict. Sessions are private and confidential, and nothing shared is disclosed to any employer, insurer, GP or family member without your consent, save for the narrow legal and safeguarding limits every registered practitioner is bound by, which are explained at the outset. No referral is needed to begin.
What is your approach to addiction counselling?
The approach is depth-oriented and individual, drawing on integrative psychotherapy and psychodynamic and Jungian frameworks. Addiction is treated not as the primary problem but as a highly developed response to one, and the therapeutic task is to understand what that something is. Where trauma underlies the addiction, EMDR may be incorporated.
What kinds of addiction do you treat?
The Colchester practice works with alcohol and drug addiction, gambling, cocaine and stimulant dependency, sex and pornography addiction, compulsive overeating, and other behavioural dependencies. Where addiction co-occurs with depression, anxiety, eating disorders or trauma, those are addressed together as part of the same process.
Do I need a referral to start?
No. No referral is needed. An initial consultation in Colchester is the appropriate first step, a private, confidential conversation at your pace, with no obligation to continue beyond it.
How many sessions will I need?
There is no set number, and it would be wrong to claim to know it in advance. It depends on the severity of the difficulty and on how each person responds to therapy. The work is reviewed together as it develops.