Therapy with Dr. Brittany Sievers
Specialized Psychotherapy for Substance Use & Relationships
Thoughtful, depth-oriented individual and couples psychotherapy for substance use, relationship conflict, trauma, and the complexities of change.
A harm reduction approach that makes room for emotional depth, meaningful insight, and behavioral change—without sacrificing one for the other
Virtual Counseling offered in Illinois, Texas, Maryland, New Jersey, Washington D.C. and 30+ PSYPACT states.
Most couples I work with aren’t falling apart on paper.
From the outside, life might look pretty good. You're building careers, raising families, and managing the responsibilities of everyday life. But behind closed doors, you're having the same arguments, struggling to rebuild trust, or wondering why the changes you've promised each other never seem to last.
Maybe you've stopped bringing up the drinking because you already know how the conversation will go. One of you feels criticized or controlled. The other feels dismissed, deceived, or increasingly alone.
You keep talking about what happened, what was promised, and whose behavior needs to change. But instead of understanding each other better, you leave those conversations feeling even further apart.
And sometimes, even when the substance use changes, the distrust, resentment, and disconnection remain.
You've tried talking about it. Maybe you've even tried therapy.
Perhaps substance use treatment focused almost entirely on the drinking or drug use, while couples therapy focused on communication without really addressing the substance use, trauma, or the histories that shaped how you relate to each other.
Neither approach quite captured the whole picture.
My work brings those conversations together.
As a psychologist specializing in substance use, trauma, and couples therapy, I help partners understand what's happening beneath their recurring conflicts—and learn to have conversations that lead to greater clarity, connection, and meaningful change.
We'll address substance use directly without automatically making the person using substances responsible for every relationship problem. We'll examine how each of you responds to hurt, fear, shame, and conflict, including the behaviors that keep you stuck.
I won't shy away from difficult conversations, minimize harmful behavior, or let defensiveness derail the work. But I also won't reduce your relationship to one person's substance use or past mistakes.
You deserve therapy that can hold the complexity of your relationship while helping you change what isn't working.
Specialized Psychotherapy
Couples & Substance Use
When alcohol and drug use complicates trust, intimacy, and communication, even ordinary conversations can become loaded. I help couples address substance use directly, understand the patterns driving conflict, and rebuild connection without overlooking the behaviors that need to change.
Couples & Trauma
Past experiences can shape how we respond to conflict, experience vulnerability, and protect ourselves in relationships. I help couples recognize how trauma and family histories influence their present relationship—and develop new ways of responding to each other.
Individual Substance Use Psychotherapy
Whether you're questioning your substance use, considering change, or struggling with familiar patterns, therapy offers space to explore not only what you're doing, but why. My approach combines harm reduction, emotional insight, and meaningful behavioral change, without requiring abstinence as a condition of treatment.
Dr. Brittany Sievers, PhD
Licensed Clinical Psychologist with over a decade of specialized experience treating substance use and complex trauma
I specialize in psychotherapy for individuals and couples navigating complicated relationships with alcohol and other substances—whether they're questioning their use, struggling to make changes, rebuilding trust, or trying to understand patterns that keep repeating.
I bring more than a decade of specialized experience in substance use treatment, trauma, and relationship dynamics to this work. My background includes developing substance use treatment programs, training other clinicians, and working with individuals and couples whose challenges rarely fit neatly into one diagnosis or treatment approach.
My approach integrates harm reduction, psychodynamic exploration, Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT), motivational interviewing, and cognitive behavioral therapy for substance use disorders. I attend to both the emotional and relational patterns shaping behavior and the practical changes needed to move forward.
I don't believe insight and change have to compete. We can address substance use directly without making it responsible for every relationship problem—or overlooking its impact on trust, connection, and emotional safety.
My practice is intentionally specialized, allowing me to provide thoughtful, individualized psychotherapy that makes room for complexity, accountability, and meaningful change.
You don’t have to have it all figured out before reaching out.
You don’t need to agree on everything, agree that substance use is the issue, or have a clear plan for what needs to change. Helping you make sense of what's happening—and what to do differently—is the work we do together.