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Substance Use Counselling and Help With Habits
Drinking that grew quietly. Tobacco you keep meaning to leave. A phone or a betting app that has started costing you. You can talk about it here without being judged or labelled.
Trijog’s psychologists and counsellors work with adults on habits that have become hard to control, and with the families living around them. You set the goal, whether that is stopping, cutting down, or simply understanding the pattern first. Sessions are one to one, in Mumbai or online.
- Private, one to one
- In person at our Mumbai centres, or online
- We work alongside your doctor
What We Help With
Pick what feels closest to your situation. Not sure which one? That is fine, we can work it out in the first conversation.
Drinking more than you meant to
Evenings that go further than planned, or a daily drink that has become hard to skip.
Most people who come here are not in a crisis. They have noticed that one drink has quietly become three, or that a day without it feels rough. We start where you are: what the drinking does for you, when it happens, and what it is costing. One safety point comes first. If you drink daily or heavily, please talk to a doctor before you stop, because stopping suddenly can be medically unsafe. Counselling here works alongside medical care, never instead of it.
- You planned two and it became six, more than once
- You need a drink to unwind, to sleep, or to face a social evening
- Mornings feel shaky, or the day feels off until you have had one
- Someone at home has said something about it and you brushed it aside
Understanding your own pattern, handling pressure to drink at work and at family events, cutting down or stopping safely with medical support, and getting through the risky hours.
Tobacco, gutkha and vaping
Cigarettes, beedis, gutkha, khaini, paan masala, or a vape you keep going back to.
More than one in four adults in India use tobacco in some form, and smokeless forms are more common than smoking (Global Adult Tobacco Survey India, 2016 to 2017). Gutkha, khaini and paan masala are often the hardest to leave, because they are tied into work breaks, long drives and company. Attempts that did not last are the norm here, not a flaw in you. Sessions map your cues, plan the first hard fortnight, and work with a doctor if a medical option would help.
- The first one is in your hand before you are properly awake
- You have stopped before, sometimes for months, and come back to it
- You keep a packet hidden, or buy from a shop where nobody knows you
- A doctor has mentioned your mouth, gums, chest or blood pressure
Spotting your triggers, planning the first two weeks, handling cravings and slips without giving the whole thing up, and coordinating with your doctor.
Cannabis and other substances
Ganja, charas, party drugs, tablets taken without a doctor, or something you would rather not say out loud yet.
Some people come because use has crept up. Others come because someone insisted they should. Both are fine. We do not need a confession, and we do not hand out labels. What helps is an honest look at what the substance does for you, what it is taking, and what change you actually want, which may be stopping, cutting down, or reducing the risk while you decide. Where your body has got used to a daily dose, a doctor needs to be involved from the start, and your therapist will say so plainly.
- It started on weekends and is now most days
- You have cut down before and drifted back within weeks
- You are spending more than you would want to say out loud
- Sleep, memory, motivation or mood are not what they were
A plain look at your pattern, help with cravings and high risk situations, a plan for setbacks, and a medical opinion where your body is involved.
Phone, screens and gaming
Hours that disappear into scrolling, short videos or games, with sleep paying the bill.
Screens are not the enemy, and hours on their own tell you very little. What matters is the loop: the phone becomes the fastest way to handle boredom, loneliness, stress or a day you would rather not think about, and then sleep, work and people get pushed out to the edges. The aim is not a dramatic detox. It is getting the choice back, by protecting sleep first, making the pull weaker, and rebuilding the things that used to be more satisfying than the feed.
- You pick up the phone to check one thing and an hour has gone
- You are in bed by midnight and still on the screen at two
- You scroll or play to get away from a mood, and feel worse afterwards
- People at home have stopped asking you to put it down
Sleep first, then cutting the cues that pull you back in, then rebuilding an offline routine. Any low mood, worry or focus difficulty sitting underneath gets looked at as well.
Betting and gaming apps that take money
Fantasy sport, online cards, trading style apps, and chasing back what you lost.
These apps are built to keep you playing: fast payments, near misses, live sport, and small top ups that do not feel like real money. Losses get chased, and the secrecy usually grows faster than the debt. Earlier help tends to make this one easier, because money, secrecy and family trust move together. Sessions cover the urge itself, the money side, and what you decide to tell the people at home. If the money has reached a point where you are thinking about not being here, please use the emergency numbers at the bottom of this page.
- You go back in to win back what you lost
- Money is moving between apps, cards or friends and you have lost track
- You have borrowed or sold something and not told anyone
- The app is the first thing you open and the last thing you close
Putting distance between you and the money, handling the urge and the chasing, deciding what to tell your family, and a plan for the days when it gets loud.
When someone you love is using
For a wife, husband, parent, adult child or sibling living with someone else's drinking or use.
You do not have to wait for them to be ready. In Indian families it is usually the family that notices first, pays for care, covers at work and absorbs the fights, and that carries a real cost. Working with the family member who is willing is an approach in its own right. It gives you support, changes what you respond to and what you stop rescuing, and often makes treatment easier for them to walk into later. If there is violence, threats, or money being taken from you, safety comes first and your therapist will say so directly.
- You are checking bottles, pockets, messages or accounts
- You cover for them at work or in front of relatives
- Arguments about it end the same way every time
- Children at home have started to notice
Support for you, not only for them. Boundaries that do not mean cutting them off, safety planning where it is needed, and ways to keep the door to treatment open.
Also Here For You
People often come to us for these too:
Sleep That Has Gone Off Track
Late nights, shifts and screens that have pushed your body clock around.
Talk to us
Low Mood Or Worry Underneath
Many people are using something to manage a low mood problem or a worrying problem. Both get looked at together.
Talk to us
Debt, Work Or Legal Trouble
The practical mess that often comes with it. Your therapist can help you think it through and decide what to deal with first.
Talk to us
Why This Kind Of Support Helps
No Labels, No Lectures
We talk about what you do and what it costs you, not about what you supposedly are. Shame has never helped anybody stop.
Beside Medical Care, Not Instead Of It
When your body is involved, a doctor belongs in the picture. We will tell you when that matters, and work with them.
Your Goal Sets The Plan
Stopping, cutting down, or taking a clear look first. Being unsure is a normal starting point, and it is workable.
No Crisis Needed
You can come while things still feel small, or hard to put into words.
How It Works
Reach out
An honest first look
Agree the goal and the safety plan
Build the plan and keep reviewing
What A First Session Is Like
Nothing dramatic happens in the first session. Your therapist asks what you use, how often, what it helps with, what it has cost, and whether your body reacts when you go without. You will not be asked to promise to stop. If stopping could be risky for you, that is sorted out with a doctor before anything else is planned.
Psychologists And Counsellors
For talking therapy, one to one, in person or online.
A Psychiatrist, If Needed
For a medical opinion when medicine is worth discussing.
Family, If You Want
Joint sessions with the people close to you, only if you choose.
For A family member or partner
If someone at home is drinking or using, you are living with it too. Here is what tends to help. If there is violence, or you feel unsafe at home, that comes first, before any plan about their use.
- Talk when they are sober and the house is calm. Very little said during intoxication is remembered well.
- Shame, threats and long speeches have a poor record. Saying calmly what you will and will not do, and then doing it, works better.
- Stopping the rescuing, such as paying the debt or making the excuse at work, is often more useful than more watching.
- Come on your own if they will not come. Working with one willing family member is a recognised approach, and it supports you as well.
If you need help right now
- If you are thinking of ending your life or harming yourself, or you feel unsafe at home, call 112 or go to the nearest hospital emergency. If someone has taken too much of something and cannot be woken, that is also 112.
- For free support at any time of day, call the government's Tele-MANAS helpline on 14416 or 1-800 891 4416.
- Trijog is not an emergency service. Separately, if you drink daily or heavily and have stopped suddenly, signs such as shaking, sweating, vomiting, confusion or a fit need medical care the same day, so use these numbers or go to a hospital.
If any of these is happening, please do not wait for an appointment. Call 112 or go to the nearest hospital emergency. Tele-MANAS is free and open any time on 14416 or 1-800 891 4416.
Try A Free Self-Check
A short set of questions about mood and stress, free to take, and not a diagnosis. It will not tell you what to do about a habit, but it is a useful thing to bring to a first session.
Mood Check
Stress And Worry Check
Frequently Asked Questions
No. You decide the goal. Some people stop, some cut down, and some begin by keeping an honest record for two weeks. Your therapist will tell you if your health or your safety makes stopping the safer aim, and why, but the choice stays yours.
It can be. If you drink daily or heavily, or your body reacts when you go without, please see a doctor before you cut down or stop, because stopping suddenly can be medically unsafe. Counselling works alongside that medical care. Please do not plan a sudden stop at home by yourself.
Not by us, unless you want them involved. What you share stays between you and your therapist, with a few exceptions such as a serious risk to someone’s safety, or where the law requires it. Your therapist will explain these in the first session.
The evidence on that is mixed and it is not a settled question. In India, e-cigarettes are banned under the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act, 2019, so it is not an option a clinician here can suggest. A doctor can talk you through the medical options that are available in India.
That is expected, and it is part of the work rather than a failure. A slip shows you and your therapist exactly which situation the plan did not cover. What makes a slip worse is hiding it, so the plan includes what to do, and who to tell, in the first day afterwards.
Yes, and it is a sensible thing to do. Working with the family member who is willing is an established approach. It gives you support, it changes what happens at home, and it often makes it easier for the person using to accept help later.
Visit Our Centres
Meet your therapist in person at one of our three Mumbai centres, or join online from home.
Powai
406, 4th Floor, B-Wing, Powai Plaza, opp. Nirvana Park, Hiranandani Gardens, Powai, Mumbai 400076
Phone: 1800 202 7180
Time: Mon to Sat, 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Directions & Google reviews
Bandra
Office No. G6, Bandra Nicholas C.H.S Ltd, Sherlyn Rajan Road, Rizvi Complex, Bandra West, Mumbai 400050
Phone: 1800 202 7180
Time: Mon to Sat, 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Directions & Google reviews
Prabhadevi
Dr. Palep's Polyclinic, Manoj Co-Operative Hsg Society, Shankar Ghanekar Marg, opp. Rachana Sansad College of Architecture, Prabhadevi, Mumbai 400025
Phone: 1800 202 7180
Time: Mon to Sat, 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Directions & Google reviews
Start With One Conversation
You do not need the right words ready. Tell us what has been going on, and we will take it from there.
If you are thinking of ending your life or harming yourself, or you feel unsafe right now, call 112 or go to the nearest hospital emergency. For free support any time, call the government’s Tele-MANAS helpline on 14416 or 1-800 891 4416. Trijog is not an emergency service. Outside India, call your local emergency number.
Educational content, not therapy or a diagnosis. A Trijog therapist can help with what is yours specifically.