Psychotherapy · Biddeford, Maine
More than talking. Therapy that rewires.
Psychotherapy is the clinical backbone of addiction treatment, structured, evidence-based work with a licensed clinician that changes how you think, feel, and respond. At Portland Treatment, it's woven through every program we run.
Licensed clinicians · MaineCare accepted · Answered 24/7
Accredited & Licensed
LegitScript Certified
Joint Commission Accredited
Maine DHHS Licensed
Psychology Today Verified
What psychotherapy actually is
It's not venting. It's treatment.
A lot of people picture therapy as lying on a couch while someone nods and asks how that made you feel. Real psychotherapy for addiction looks nothing like that. It's active, structured, and goal-driven, a clinician applying methods that have been tested in decades of research on substance use disorders.
Addiction rewires the brain's reward system and the thought patterns around it. Psychotherapy is how you rewire them back: identifying the beliefs that justify use, the emotions you've been numbing, and the situations that reliably end in relapse, then building responses that don't.
That's why "talking to friends" isn't a substitute. Your friends love you, but they aren't trained to spot trauma responses, treat co-occurring depression, or catch the rationalizations that precede a slip. Our clinicians are.
Medically reviewed
Benjamin Crocker, MD
Psychiatrist · Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Tufts University School of Medicine · MD, The Ohio State University · Residency & fellowship training at the University of Michigan and LAC+USC Medical Center
Last reviewed August 2026. Read our editorial standards & clinical review process
Our therapeutic approaches
Different tools for different people
There's no single therapy that works for everyone. Your clinician draws from several evidence-based approaches and tailors the mix to you, and it can change as you do.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Maps the thought → feeling → use chain and gives you tools to interrupt it. One of the most researched therapies in addiction treatment.
Learn more about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) →Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Builds distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal skills, especially powerful when emotions have felt unmanageable.
Learn more about Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) →Motivational Interviewing
A collaborative style that strengthens your own reasons for change, no lectures, no confrontation, just clarity about what you actually want.
Trauma-informed therapy
Paced, safety-first work for the painful experiences underneath substance use, delivered by clinicians trained in trauma care.
Relapse prevention
Concrete planning for high-risk situations: recognizing warning signs early and having a response ready before you need it.
Family-involved therapy
Because addiction affects the whole household, some approaches bring loved ones into the work of rebuilding trust and communication.
Learn more about Family-involved therapy →Why it matters
Detox clears the body. Therapy changes the life.
Anyone who has white-knuckled a sober week knows willpower alone doesn't hold. The research agrees: structured psychotherapy is one of the strongest predictors of sustained recovery, and its effects continue growing after treatment ends, clinicians call it the "sleeper effect."
At Portland Treatment, psychotherapy isn't a once-a-week afterthought. In our PHP you do therapeutic work daily; in IOP, several times a week; in outpatient, on a rhythm that keeps you anchored. Individual sessions go deep, group sessions remind you you're not alone, and the skills transfer to your actual life in Southern Maine, your job, your family, your Friday nights.
Insurance
In-network with almost every plan.
Portland Treatment is in-network with Anthem, UMR/UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Harvard Pilgrim, Martin's Point, TRICARE and MaineCare, Cigna is our only out-of-network plan. In-network means contracted rates, lower coinsurance and no balance bill. We verify your benefits free, in minutes, with no obligation.
Free, confidential, no obligation
Or read the coverage guide for your plan, Anthem rehab coverage, Cigna rehab coverage, MaineCare rehab coverage and other accepted insurance plans.
Questions
Psychotherapy, answered
What's the difference between psychotherapy and counseling?+
The terms overlap heavily. Psychotherapy generally refers to structured, evidence-based treatment of underlying patterns and conditions; counseling often describes shorter-term, problem-focused support. At Portland Treatment you get both, deep therapeutic work plus practical day-to-day guidance.
Will psychotherapy help if I've been in therapy before and relapsed?+
Very likely yes. Timing, the therapeutic relationship, the specific approach, and treating mental health alongside addiction all matter. Many of our clients 'failed' therapy before, in settings that weren't built for addiction. This one is.
Is psychotherapy confidential?+
Yes. Substance use treatment carries extra federal confidentiality protections (42 CFR Part 2) on top of standard privacy law. What you share stays protected, with narrow legal exceptions for safety.
Do you accept MaineCare for therapy?+
Yes. We're in-network with MaineCare and nearly every major insurance plan in Maine except Cigna, and therapy within our programs is covered as part of treatment. Verify benefits free with no obligation at 855-449-7674.
Where are sessions held?+
At our outpatient center in Biddeford, Maine, serving Portland, Saco, Old Orchard Beach, South Portland, Scarborough, Westbrook, Kennebunk, Sanford, and the surrounding Southern Maine communities.
Keep exploring
Related care at Portland Treatment
Levels of care
- Partial hospitalization program (PHP) in Biddeford
Our most structured day treatment, five days a week, home each night.
- Intensive outpatient program (IOP) in Southern Maine
Nine-plus clinical hours a week with day and evening tracks.
- Virtual IOP for anywhere in Maine
The same IOP curriculum by secure telehealth, statewide.
- Outpatient program (OP) for ongoing recovery
One to two sessions a week that fit around work and family.
How we treat
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
Practical tools for the thoughts that drive use and relapse.
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
Distress tolerance and emotion regulation skills that hold up.
- Individual therapy in Biddeford
One-on-one counseling with the same clinician each week.
- Group therapy sessions
Small clinician-led groups with people in the same fight.
Where we serve
- Addiction treatment in Biddeford, Maine
Our home clinic, in the mill district off Route 111.
- Addiction treatment for Portland, Maine
A 20-minute drive down I-95 from the Portland peninsula.
- Addiction treatment for Saco, Maine
Minutes across the river from our Biddeford clinic.
- All Southern Maine areas we serve
Every city and town within driving distance of Biddeford.
Talking about it is treatment. Here's proof.
Real therapy, with real clinicians, close to home.
855-449-7674Answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Free and confidential.