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International Therapy Space

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International Therapy Space

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Expert support for individuals, couples, and families navigating life’s complexities.

We specialise in addiction, trauma, relationships, and personal transformation, offering a space for deep exploration and meaningful change.

17/09/2026

We aren't necessarily born knowing how to manage difficult emotions. 🌱
Nobody hands us a manual for what to do with anxiety, anger, shame, grief, overwhelm or fear.
We learn how to cope.
Sometimes we learn healthy ways of regulating emotions.
Sometimes we develop coping behaviours that help us get through difficult moments but become unhelpful over time.
This can be particularly relevant in addiction and recovery.
If alcohol, drugs, food, work, screens or other behaviours have become ways of managing difficult feelings, simply being told to “cope better” isn't very helpful.
Emotional regulation can be learned and practised.
It can involve learning to:
• Notice what you're feeling
• Recognise what triggers you
• Pause before automatically reacting
• Stay with an emotion without immediately escaping it
• Use grounding and calming strategies
• Ask for support
• Find healthier ways to meet emotional needs
It doesn't mean you'll never feel overwhelmed.
It means gradually becoming more able to recognise what is happening and choose how you respond.
And like any skill, it takes practice.
You don't have to already know how to cope differently. You can learn.
Online Individual Therapy for Addiction, Trauma & Emotional Wellbeing | UK & International

16/09/2026

Understanding the Addiction Cycle

Addictive behaviours can sometimes become increasingly automatic.

A common pattern can look like:

Stress → Emotion → Behaviour → Temporary Relief → Consequences → More Stress

The behaviour may provide short-term relief from anxiety, overwhelm, loneliness, anger or other difficult emotions.

But the consequences can then create additional stress, guilt, shame or conflict which then increases the urge to return to the behaviour for relief.

Understanding this cycle is an important part of addiction therapy and recovery.

Rather than viewing addiction simply as a question of willpower, it can be helpful to explore what happens before the behaviour, what need it is meeting and what alternative responses might be possible.

Recovery can involve learning to recognise triggers, regulate difficult emotions, interrupt automatic patterns and develop healthier ways of coping.

At International Therapy Space, we provide online addiction therapy and recovery coaching for people in London and across the UK.

Changing the cycle starts with understanding the pattern.

https://internationaltherapyspace.com/individual-support

15/09/2026

Stopping a behaviour can leave a difficult gap. 🌱

When a behaviour has been helping you cope, simply stopping it doesn't always make the underlying feelings disappear.

The anxiety may still be there.

The loneliness.

The stress.

The boredom.

The overwhelm.

The difficult emotions you've been trying not to feel.

That's why recovery isn't only about stopping a behaviour.

It's also about learning what to do instead.

Finding healthier ways to regulate emotions.

Learning how to tolerate discomfort without immediately needing to escape it.

Creating routines that support you.

Moving your body.

Connecting with other people.

Resting.

Journalling.

Talking to someone.

Learning grounding techniques.

Asking for support when things feel difficult.

There isn't one replacement that works for everyone.

The important question is:

“What can help me meet this need in a healthier way?”

Because when we remove an old coping strategy without developing new ones, the gap can feel overwhelming.

Recovery is about gradually filling that gap with skills, connection, support and choices that help you build a life you don't need to escape from.

https://internationaltherapyspace.com/group-support

14/09/2026

What are you reaching for?

When we're struggling with difficult emotions, we can find ourselves reaching for something that helps us feel different.

Alcohol.
Drugs.
Food.
Work.
Screens.
Exercise.
Relationships.
Shopping.
Or other behaviours that help us escape, soothe, distract or feel more in control.

These behaviours can sometimes become ways of regulating emotions that feel difficult to manage.

And over time, something that once helped us cope can become a pattern that is difficult to change.

So the question isn't simply:

“How do I stop doing this?”

It can also be:

“What am I needing?”

Am I overwhelmed?
Lonely?
Anxious?
Numb?
Exhausted?
Looking for comfort?
Trying to escape something I don't know how to sit with?

Understanding the need underneath a behaviour doesn't mean excusing it.

It gives us somewhere to start.

Because when we understand what we're reaching for, we can begin to explore other ways of meeting that need.

This is an important part of therapy and recovery: not simply taking away a coping behaviour, but developing healthier ways to regulate emotions, manage triggers and care for ourselves.

Sometimes the behaviour is the part we can see. The need underneath it may be where the real work begins.

https://internationaltherapyspace.com/individual-support

12/09/2026

What if progress wasn't measured by perfection?
What if, instead, you noticed:
Awareness.
“I've noticed this pattern before I acted on it.”
Pause.
“I stopped and gave myself a moment.”
Response.
“I handled this differently than I normally would.”
Support.
“I recognised I couldn't manage this alone and reached out.”
Repair.
“I made a mistake, took responsibility and tried again.”
Progress doesn't always mean getting everything right.
Sometimes it means noticing sooner.
Recovering more quickly.
Making one different choice.
Being more honest with yourself.
Or responding to yourself with a little more compassion when things don't go to plan.
Perfection can make change feel like an all-or-nothing process.
A kinder approach allows room for learning.
Because real change isn't about never slipping back into an old pattern.
It's about becoming more aware of what is happening and gradually developing new ways to respond.
Maybe progress isn't perfection.
Maybe progress is awareness, choice and response.
Online Group Therapy & Recovery Groups | Addiction, Trauma & Emotional Wellbeing

11/09/2026

Sometimes we expect change to look obvious.

A big breakthrough.
A completely different routine.
A moment when everything suddenly falls into place.

But real change can be much quieter.

Sometimes progress is:

Pausing before reacting.

Asking for help instead of coping alone.

Setting a boundary you would normally avoid.

Sitting with an uncomfortable feeling rather than immediately escaping it.

Making a different choice, even when the old one feels more familiar.

These moments might not feel significant at the time.

But they are often where insight begins to become behaviour.

You may understand why you respond in a certain way, but change happens when you gradually begin to respond differently.

That takes practice.

It takes repetition.

And sometimes, it takes support.

So don't overlook the small changes.

They may be evidence that something important is already shifting.

Progress doesn't have to be dramatic to be meaningful.

https://internationaltherapyspace.com/group-support

10/09/2026

There are days when you feel ready to change.

You feel determined.
You feel hopeful.
You feel motivated.

And then there are days when you don't.

You feel tired.
Overwhelmed.
Uncertain.
Or simply don't feel like doing the things you know are good for you.

That's normal.

If recovery depended on feeling motivated every day, it would be incredibly difficult to sustain.

This is where structure, support and consistency become important.

Having a routine can help when motivation is low.

Having someone to check in with can make it easier to stay accountable.

Having a plan for difficult moments means you don't have to make every decision when you're already overwhelmed.

And continuing with small actions even when they don't feel particularly inspiring helps create new patterns over time.

Recovery isn't about feeling motivated all the time.

It's about building enough support and structure that you can keep moving forward even when motivation isn't there.

You don't have to feel ready every day.

Sometimes, you simply need the next small step.

https://internationaltherapyspace.com/individual-support

09/09/2026

Small, Sustainable Changes Can Create Lasting Change

When something in our lives isn't working, it's easy to believe we need to completely reinvent ourselves.

But sustainable change rarely happens overnight.

Whether you're working through addiction, burnout, anxiety, stress or unhealthy coping patterns, starting with small and realistic changes can often feel more manageable.

It might be:

• Creating a healthier daily routine
• Taking time to rest
• Setting one boundary
• Pausing before responding to a trigger
• Developing a healthier coping strategy
• Asking for support

Small actions may not feel significant at first, but repeated over time they can help create new habits and patterns.

Recovery isn't about becoming a different person overnight.

It's about gradually building a life that supports your wellbeing.

At International Therapy Space, online therapy and recovery coaching can provide support while you develop practical, sustainable changes that fit your life.

You don't have to change everything. Start with one thing you can realistically do.

https://internationaltherapyspace.com/individual-support

08/09/2026

Why can healthy change feel so uncomfortable?

Sometimes we know a pattern isn't helping us anymore.

We understand what we'd like to change.

And yet, when we start doing things differently, it can feel surprisingly difficult.

That's because familiar doesn't always mean healthy and our nervous system can still experience familiar as safer.

A coping behaviour may have developed because it helped us manage stress, difficult emotions or overwhelming experiences.

Even when we no longer need it in the same way, our mind and body may still automatically reach for what they know.

So when we begin to:

• Set a boundary
• Say no
• Rest instead of staying busy
• Feel an emotion rather than avoid it
• Change an unhealthy habit
• Respond differently to a trigger

…it can initially feel uncomfortable.

That discomfort doesn't necessarily mean you're making the wrong choice.

Sometimes, it means you're learning something new.

Healthy change often involves giving yourself enough time, support and repetition for a new pattern to become familiar.

You don't have to force change.

You can learn to approach it with curiosity, patience and self-compassion.

Unfamiliar doesn't always mean unsafe. Sometimes, it's simply new.

https://internationaltherapyspace.com/group-support

07/09/2026

Knowing isn’t always enough.
You can understand why you do something and still find yourself doing it.
You can know your triggers.
Understand where a pattern came from.
Recognise that a behaviour isn't helping you anymore.
And still struggle to change it.
That doesn't mean you're failing.
There is often a gap between insight and behaviour.
Understanding yourself is an important part of therapy and recovery but insight doesn't automatically give us the skills, support or emotional capacity to respond differently when we're stressed, overwhelmed or triggered.
Change often happens through practice.
Learning new ways to respond.
Building tolerance for difficult emotions.
Creating different routines.
Having support when old patterns feel easier.
This is one reason recovery is rarely about simply knowing better.
It's about gradually learning to do things differently, too.
And you don't have to bridge that gap alone.
Online Individual Therapy for Addiction, Trauma & Emotional Wellbeing | UK & International

Address

London

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 4pm
Tuesday	9am - 4pm
Wednesday	9am - 4pm
Thursday	9am - 4pm
Friday	9am - 4pm

Telephone

+447793031237

Website

https://www.internationaltherapyspace.com/

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Contact The Practice

Send a message to International Therapy Space:

Acorn Andrology
Enfield
London Trusted Therapy Harley Street
Pinero House, 115A Harley Street