Your Hidden Door

08/29/2025

Do you believe Addiction can be cured? I would love to know your opinions.

I believe it can be cured by dealing with the trauma that got you started using. It is really hard to make the decision to face the horrible memories that make living so hard. But, once you do, Recovery is right around the corner.

And the best part is I figured out a way to help you confront the past .... and then move forward toward a new life.

Drhoward1954@gmail.com

03/05/2025

I haven't struggled with addiction but am thankful that i developed an understanding of its causes and the way to achieve recovery. Almost everyone I worked with identified drug and alcohol use as a way to numb their minds to keep from thinking about childhood and/or childhood trauma. Many also suffered symptoms of mental illness, like depression, nightmares, anxiety, and mood swings. Many suffered terribly in life and were homeless. They felt tons of guilt over losing their children to a broken system that labeled them as "unable to parent their children due to their history of drug use.

I helped over 70% of them regain their lives, reunite with their families, use mental health treatment consistently over time, and stay clean.

I developed a way to deal with the root cause of addiction .. the memories of the trauma that led to the initial drug/alcohol use. Once you regain emotional control and self-confidence the path to recovery opens wider. One of my patients said it was like finding a "Hidden Door" out of the memory loop of being victimized. That's why I call my Facebook and Tik Tok pages, YOUR HIDDEN DOOR. Maybe I could help you, too.

12/10/2024

I have successfully helped a lot of people heal from addiction. Most people i work with started and continued using drugs to keep from thinking about bad things that happened to them as kids or teens. I focus on addressing the memories of trauma using a cognitive technique I developed and most of my patients stopped using in 3 to 6 months. Most also need ongoing counseling and other treatment. YOUR HIDDEN DOOR on Tik Tok

08/01/2024

Opioid use is closely tied to experienced trauma. It is not an illness that can just be treated with medication and needs more than groups and programs. It is the path of coping when no other options exist.

My patients, over the past 18 years, tell me they took opioids to keep from thinking about their trauma. Most experienced trauma as a child or adolescent and found that drugs and alcohol helped .. at least at first. Then life took over and addiction was a way of life.

Thank goodness i was able to help over 70% of my patients deal with the memories of past traumatic events. They regained confidence and in most cases, found new lives. What is missing is resources to help support recovery so they don't resort to old habits in order to survive.

Tik Tok: YOUR HIDDEN DOOR

03/05/2023

How is trauma connected to addiction? Why do so many addicts have so much trouble getting clean in traditional treatment? Why are over 70% of people who I work with able to do better in recovery?

The large majority of people addicted to drugs started using ... and continued using ... to keep from thinking about the terrible things that happened to them. Dealing with that memory is the key -- escaping the recurring memory is the main step in successful recovery. One of my patients told me that I helped them find the Hidden Door out of the memory.

Once you find Your Hidden Door you may regain your ability to believe in yourself. You can be the you that you were meant to be.

Isn't it time you let me help you find Your Hidden Door?
www.yourhiddendoor.com

Dr. Howard Eisenberg

Cognitive Treatment for Trauma & Substance Abuse

12/20/2022

What is it like to be part of a miracle? On this holiday of Hanukah we remember the miracle that occurred long ago in ancient Jerusalem when one small jug of oil burned fo 8 days. The people rededicated the Temple in the midst of a miracle of light.

So, where is the miracle of light today? Is it possible that miracles still happen? What if you could be freed of the nightmares? What if the memories of darkness -- past traumatic events that are always swirling in your mind -- could turn to light?

That is the miracle that happens when you find Your Hidden Door. That is today's miracle of light. It could be yours. Yourhiddendoor@gmail.com

05/20/2022

Who is brave enough to face the memories? It takes a lot of strength to face the person who hurt you and a lot of courage to look the memory that has plagued you for so many years. Some people are to scared. Some are hesitant but take the step to regain control over their lives. And some are courageous and are able to look them in the eye, tell them off, give back the pain, and start living.

Which are you?

I figured out how to treat the memories. But you have to do the hard part -- you have to face them. I hope you are brave enough to take the next step. You can't bury the memory -- you might try but it keeps popping up. You can pretend it never happened but the memory returns and repeats over and over and over.

That's what trauma is -- the memory. And it will haunt you until you find Your Hidden Door. This is the way out of the memory loop that plays over and over and over. It is there and I can help you find it. Take the step toward healing. Let me help you find Your Hidden Door.

drhoward@yourhiddendoor.com
www.yourhiddendoor.com

02/21/2022

I believe that the best way to beat addiction is to deal with the trauma that contributed to the initial drug use. A few years ago I asked the directors of large and small mental health companies in the Baltimore area about this issue. They all said that they knew that trauma was one of the biggest reasons people start using drugs. And when I asked them, "What do you do to treat it?" do you want to guess what every one of them said?

"Nothing" That's right, they all said they did nothing because there is no treatment that will work for their patients -- homeless, long-term addicts with underlying mental health issues -- who traditionally don't stay in a program long enough to make a difference.

So, let's be honest. If you are a substance abuse and/or mental health professional working with this population, what are you doing to help them eliminate the negative impact of the memory of their trauma? I know the answer, "Nothing, because there is nothing to do."

Until now. Help them find their hidden door. Let me help you show them the way www.yourhiddendoor.com
drhoward@yourhiddendoor.com

Cognitive Treatment for Trauma & Substance Abuse

01/17/2022

Do you believe in miracles? How about the miracle of discovering how to help victims of trauma find peace? The miracles continue each and every day as I complete the intervention and hold my breath and wait ... as almost always the patient looks at me and says, "I feel lighter." "I feel different." "The pain is gone." I hold my breath because I still have trouble believing that healing from the memories of trauma is real.

One older man came in two weeks after the intervention and said, "I used to think about what happened when I was a kid every day of my life. Since that session, I haven't thought about it once."

And recently, a young lady who said the session wasn't long enough to tell about everything that happened to her, ended by saying, "I never thought I could let my pain go … I gave it back … it's his now." A miracle that can be yours.

The memories of traumatic life events repeat in our minds like a never-ending loop -- until you find your hidden door -- the way out of the loop and back to a full and meaningful life. Isn't it time you found your hidden door?
Howard Eisenberg, PhD LCSWC
Your Hidden Door and HSI Counseling Services
Baltimore, MD 21218
drhoward@yourhiddendoor.com
www.yourhiddendoor.com

12/31/2021

My most memorable clinical moment in healing trauma during 2021 -- Definitely worth sharing:
A 67 year old patient participated in a Cognitive Confrontation exercise during his second session. He experienced serious childhood trauma which haunted him his whole life. During his 5th and final session he said:
"I've thought about what happened to me my whole life. I don't know what happened, but I have thought about it once since our session. I have been sleeping all night for the first time in my life."
This, together with many similar stories, parents keeping their newborns because they are no longer using drugs, and grandparents reuniting with their families -- these are the joys of successful mental health treatment.
Looking forward to 2022.
Howard Eisenberg, PhD LCSWC
drhoward@yourhiddendoor.com
www.yourhiddendoor.com

12/31/2021