Support and guidance in substance dependency processes
A space to talk about your use without anybody putting pressure on you. For when you are still not clear about what you want to do with it, and for when the medical treatment is over but there is work left to do inside.
- Before you decide to stop
- After medical treatment
The first 15-minute call to get to know each other is free and with no obligation.
If you are reading this, you are probably at one of these two moments
There are no lectures here and no ultimatums. We support people who have lived through, or are living with, a substance addiction in two very specific situations, and you come in through the same door in both: telling us how you are, not giving an account of yourself.
“I am still using and I do not know whether I want to stop”
Maybe you have been turning it over for a while. There are days when it feels like the use is getting away from you, and days when it seems like no big deal. Maybe you have not told anybody. And the idea of walking into a place where they are going to tell you that you have to stop now, today, puts you off.
Here you can come exactly as you are. In psychology that moment has a name, the pre-contemplation stage, and it is as valid a moment as any other to ask for support. You can come to think, to put in order what you feel, to understand what part the substance plays in your life. The decision to stop, if it comes, is yours. Our work is to support you while you think it through, not to take it for you.
“I finished the treatment, but something is still not right”
Or maybe yours is the opposite: you already stopped. You went through a medical treatment or a detox and you finished it. In theory the hard part is behind you, and yet there is something that does not fit. The distress the substance was covering up is still there, and now it has nowhere to hide.
That part, the deeper emotional aspect of the process, is exactly the part we work on. The use served a purpose: it calmed something, it filled something, it helped you bear something. When the substance comes out of the equation, that something asks for attention. We walk alongside you through that stretch of the road so that what comes next is not just gritting your teeth.
Let us be clear: this is not a medical treatment
We say it up front because it causes confusion. This service is psychological support and guidance. We do not carry out detox programs, we do not prescribe or withdraw medication and we are not an addictive behaviors unit. If, on listening to you, we see that your situation needs medical attention, we will tell you with complete clarity and without judging you; telling you is also a way of taking care of you. In fact, many people combine the two: their medical treatment or follow-up on one side, and this space on the other, to work on what the medical part does not reach.
What we do do is psychotherapy. At PsicoDiversa we understand addiction not as a “vice,” but as a way of managing deep pain. Our model does not start from pathologizing the symptom: it looks with compassion at the wounds that give rise to that suffering. We focus on understanding what purpose the use serves, what void it fills and what kinder ways you can learn to be with yourself, rather than on demanding that you simply “stop.” From there we work on the rest: autonomy, your relationship with the use, and the life you want to have around it.
What the process is like
We start with a first assessment interview. We listen to your case, your moment and your context, and we propose a concrete plan. Every process has its own script: arriving with doubts about the use is not the same as arriving after a medical discharge, and the work adapts to that stage.
The base is usually individual therapy, supported by the models the center works with: EMDR to process traumatic memories, IFS to give a voice to the internal parts caught up in the distress (the ones that push toward the substance and the ones that want something else), and contextual therapies such as ACT, which put the focus on acceptance, commitment and your values: what you want there to be in your life besides immediate relief. In how we work we explain them without jargon.
Depending on the case, the plan can add other pieces. Therapy groups, because dependency usually brings isolation and shame, and hearing people who are going through something similar breaks that silence. Family therapy, when the people around you also need to learn to support without overprotecting. Nothing is added to your process without talking it through with you.
And one more thing, because it weighs a lot here: we go at your pace, with the goals you choose.
Who will support you
Laura Nhate Intchanhe Mendes
You will be supported by Laura Nhate, who runs the practice, in person and online. A specialist in trauma and addictions, she graduated in Psychology from the University of Málaga and specialized in Health Psychology at the International University of La Rioja. She co-founded PsicoDiversa with María Zuleica, also a psychologist.
- EMDR · IFS Training
- AO12783 Membership no.
- ES · EN Languages
How to start
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Free call · 15 min
You tell us what is going on and we explain how we work. Ask whatever you need and decide calmly, with no obligation.
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First sessions
You start therapy with your psychologist: you put what brings you here into words and set clear goals from the outset.
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A process that adapts
We adjust the process to your situation and review it with you as it goes. Everyone moves at their own pace.
Writing to us is not deciding anything
It is only a conversation. Tell us where you are, in your own words, and we will tell you how we could support you. From there you decide, calmly and with no obligation.
The first 15-minute call is free: you tell us where you are, and you decide what to say and when.
You can also call us at 600 21 57 83.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a detox treatment?
No. What we offer is psychological support and guidance, which is not the same as a medical treatment for addiction: we do not carry out detox programs and we do not manage medication. If your situation calls for medical attention, we will tell you clearly from the first conversation. This space can run alongside a medical treatment that is under way, or carry the work on once that treatment is over.
Do I have to have decided to stop before I can start?
No, and this is one of the most important things on this page. We also support people in the pre-contemplation stage, that is, people who have not yet considered stopping or who are not clear about it. You can come to explore what purpose the substance serves in your life without committing to anything more. You set the pace, with no dates involved.
If I already finished the medical treatment, why would I need therapy?
Because stopping and feeling well do not always arrive at the same time. Many people find that, without the use, what the use was covering up comes into view: anxiety, emptiness, old wounds, relationships that hurt. In therapy we work on that emotional ground and build resources of your own to sustain your wellbeing. We cannot promise you a road without stumbles, nobody honest can, but we can promise you will not walk it without support.
Who is going to know that I come here?
Nobody, unless you decide to tell them. Confidentiality is one of the center’s values: what you share in session is protected by professional confidentiality, and the data you send us through the form is stored encrypted. We know how much weight the stigma carries here, and we take it into account in every detail.
What if the person using is a relative and I am the one looking for help?
We can help you too. Living alongside somebody else’s addiction is exhausting, and wanting to save them at all costs ends up trapping the person who tries. We work with families through systemic family therapy: supporting without overprotecting, setting boundaries, taking care of yourself. You can start on your own even if the other person does not want to come.
How much does a session cost?
An individual session costs €70, whether in person or online. You will find the full price list on our services page, and asking commits you to nothing.
Book your first call — free and with no obligation.
In fifteen minutes you tell us where you are, we explain how we could help, and you decide calmly, with no obligation.
You can also call us at 600 21 57 83.
Take the first step
Book a free 15-minute introductory call. We tell you how we can help with what you are going through, and you decide, with no obligation.
Tell us about your situation however it comes out. You do not have to name anything you do not want to name yet: knowing what moment you are at is enough for us to point you in the right direction.
Or if you prefer, book your call on WhatsApp or by phone.