Addiction Treatment & De-Addiction Counselling

Addiction — whether to alcohol, drugs, or behaviours like gaming, internet use, or gambling — rarely happens in isolation. It affects relationships, careers, physical health, and self-worth, often leaving both the individual and their family feeling stuck in a cycle that seems impossible to break. Recovery is possible, but it requires the right clinical support, not just willpower.

At Mind Detox Centre, addiction counselling is led by Dr. Rabya Umman, who holds specialized, internationally recognized training in addiction treatment from the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, U.S. Department of State, and gained extensive clinical experience treating substance use disorders during her tenure at AIIMS. Her doctoral research also focused specifically on internet addiction among students — giving her a rare depth of expertise across both substance and behavioural addictions.

Common Challenges in Addiction

• Alcohol and drug dependence — physical and psychological reliance that feels impossible to control alone
• Behavioural addictions — excessive use of the internet, gaming, social media, or gambling that disrupts daily life
• Relapse cycles — repeated attempts to quit followed by returning to the substance or behaviour
• Denial and minimization — difficulty acknowledging the extent of the problem, to oneself or to family
• Damaged relationships — trust broken with family, partners, or friends due to addictive behaviour
• Co-occurring mental health issues — anxiety, depression, or trauma that often exist alongside addiction
• Family enabling patterns — well-meaning family members inadvertently supporting the addiction cycle
• Withdrawal-related fear — anxiety about the physical or emotional discomfort of stopping

What Causes Addiction?

• Neurobiological factors — repeated substance use or compulsive behaviour changes brain reward pathways, making the behaviour progressively harder to control through willpower alone
• Underlying emotional pain — using substances or behaviours to numb anxiety, trauma, grief, or chronic stress
• Family history and environment — a family history of addiction, or growing up in an environment where substance use was normalized
• Social and peer influence — particularly significant during adolescence and young adulthood
• Poor emotional regulation skills — turning to a substance or behaviour instead of healthier coping mechanisms
• Digital environment factors — for behavioural addictions like internet and gaming addiction, design features specifically built to be compulsive

How Dr. Rabya Umman Helps You

• Internationally recognized addiction training from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, giving her exposure to globally recognized, evidence-based addiction treatment frameworks.

• AIIMS clinical experience treating substance use disorders directly, including complex cases involving co-occurring mental health conditions.

• Specialized expertise in behavioural addiction, particularly internet and technology addiction — an area her own doctoral research focused on, which is increasingly common but often under-recognized compared to substance addiction.

• A structured, non-judgmental treatment approach, recognizing addiction as a treatable condition rather than a moral failing — helping reduce the shame that often prevents people from seeking help.

• Family involvement where appropriate, helping loved ones understand addiction, avoid enabling patterns, and support recovery in a healthy way.

• Relapse prevention planning, not just initial treatment

  building the specific coping skills and triggers-awareness needed for sustained recovery.

Benefits of Addiction Counselling

• Provides a structured path to reducing or stopping substance use or compulsive behaviour
• Addresses the underlying emotional pain that often drives addiction, not just the surface behaviour
• Builds practical coping strategies to manage cravings and high-risk situations
• Reduces relapse risk through personalized relapse-prevention planning
• Helps repair trust and communication with family members affected by the addiction
• Treats co-occurring anxiety, depression, or trauma alongside the addiction itself
• Offers a confidential, judgment-free space to be honest about struggles without fear of stigma

What is Addiction Therapy?

Addiction therapy is psychological treatment that helps people stop or reduce alcohol, tobacco, drug, gaming, betting or mobile use, treat the reasons behind the addiction, and stay in recovery. Addiction is a specialist area of Dr. Rabya Umman's clinical work.

How it works

1. Screening and diagnosis with WHO tools (ASSIST, AUDIT)
2. Motivational Interviewing to strengthen your own reasons to change
3. CBT for addiction to manage cravings, triggers and high-risk situations
4. Family therapy to rebuild trust and stop enabling
5. Relapse prevention planning and recovery follow-up
6. Coordination with physicians for medical detox and medicines when needed

How it is effective for mental health disorders

• Alcohol and drug use disorders: Motivational Interviewing and CBT are among the most effective psychological treatments and reduce drinking, drug use and relapse.
• Behavioural addictions (gaming, gambling): CBT reduces time spent and loss of control.
• Co-existing anxiety, depression and trauma: treating them together improves recovery.
• Families: family-involved approaches improve treatment engagement and wellbeing of family members.

Our addiction treatment process

1. Safe & confidential first contact — Reach us by phone, WhatsApp or in person. Everything you share is private; families can also call first to seek guidance on how to approach a loved one.
2. A welcoming first consultation — A calm, respectful space with unhurried time. We listen to your story without judgement.
3. Understanding the problem — A detailed history: what, how much and how often you use; when it started; its effect on health, work, money and family.
4. Finding the root cause — We explore the triggers and the reasons underneath: stress, loneliness, trauma, peer pressure, family conflict, anxiety, depression or ADHD.
5. Screening — Standard WHO screening tools: ASSIST (Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test) and AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test), plus mood and anxiety screening.
6. Psychological testing — Where needed, standardised tests of personality, mood, memory and attention to understand the whole person and detect any alcohol-related memory effects.
7. Clear diagnosis & explanation — We explain the findings in simple language to you (and your family, with your consent): the type and severity of addiction and any co-existing condition.
8. Personalised treatment plan — A written plan with goals, therapies, session frequency and, when needed, referral to a de-addiction physician or psychiatrist for safe medical detox and anti-craving medicines.
9. Therapy — Motivational Interviewing to strengthen your own reasons to change; Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) to manage cravings, triggers and high-risk situations; stress management, emotional-regulation and life-skills training.
10. Family therapy — Sessions with spouse, parents or children to rebuild trust, improve communication, set healthy boundaries and stop enabling — and to support family members' own wellbeing.
11. Relapse prevention — A personal relapse-prevention plan: early warning signs, craving-coping skills, a support network and a clear action plan if a slip happens.
12. Recovery follow-up — Regular follow-up sessions at planned intervals (for example weekly, then monthly) for at least a year, with booster sessions during high-risk times such as festivals, weddings or stressful life events.

What we treat

• Alcohol addiction
• Tobacco, gutkha and nicotine dependence
• Cannabis (ganja, charas, bhang) addiction
• Opioid, sleeping pill and painkiller misuse
• Gaming, online betting, gambling and mobile / social media addiction
• Co-existing anxiety, depression, trauma and relationship problems

Understanding addiction

Addiction is a treatable brain condition, not a character flaw. It can involve substances such as alcohol, tobacco and drugs, or behaviours such as gambling, gaming and endless scrolling.