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Drinking and Substance Use: Where to Start

By Chris Beerman, MSW, LCSW, CADC. Gambling and alcohol therapist, Logan Square, Chicago. Reviewed October 27, 2026.

A drinking problem doesn't always look like one. Your job is fine. Your relationships are mostly intact. And you keep making rules about drinking, then renegotiating them: only on weekends, only two, not before six. Most of the people I see for alcohol are functioning well in most of their life, and something private has become harder to control than they'd like to admit.

I'm an addiction therapist in Chicago's Logan Square, and I see clients in person and by secure video across Illinois and Minnesota. You don't need to call yourself an alcoholic to talk to me, and you don't have to have decided between quitting and cutting back; that's part of what we work out. This page is the front door to everything I've written about alcohol and cannabis: how to tell whether it's a problem, what to change, and how to choose the right level of help. Start with the question below.

Start With the Question

The free alcohol use test is the ten questions of the AUDIT, the screen clinicians use, and takes about three minutes. Your answers are scored in your browser and never sent anywhere, not even to me.

Take the Free Alcohol Use Test

If cannabis is the question, the free cannabis use test is eight questions about the past six months, about two minutes, scored the same way.

The Reading Path

Nine guides, in the order I'd suggest reading them. Each one stands on its own, so skip to whatever fits where you are.

Is This a Problem?

  1. Do I Have a Drinking Problem? How to Tell When Your Life Still Looks Fine. The rules you keep making and renegotiating, and what they mean.
  2. Alcohol and Anxiety: When Drinking to Relax Keeps You Stuck. Why the first drink works so well, and why it stops working.
  3. High-Functioning Addiction in Professionals: When Success Hides the Problem. When doing well at work is the thing keeping you from looking.
  4. Cannabis Use Disorder in 2026: Signs, Withdrawal, Treatment, and What Changed. What it looks like, and why night three is where quit attempts die.

Deciding What to Change

  1. Can You Moderate Your Drinking? A Therapist's Guide to Moderation vs. Quitting. For some people moderation is realistic; for others, trying to control it becomes part of the problem.
  2. How to Stop Binge Drinking on Weekends: A Therapist's Guide. You can go all week without drinking. Why Friday is different, and a plan for those hours.
  3. How to Stop Drinking Without AA: A Therapist's Guide. Not wanting AA is reasonable, but "not AA" isn't a plan yet. Staying safe and handling cravings.

Getting Help

  1. Therapy, IOP, Rehab, or Detox? How to Choose Alcohol Treatment in Chicago. What each level of care is for, and how to tell which one you need.
  2. My Partner Drinks Too Much. What Can I Do? You don't have to prove they have a disorder before addressing how it affects you.

For the practical side, the alcohol resources page is organized by situation: not sure it's a problem, looking for treatment, worried about stopping safely, or wanting a meeting or ongoing support, with the Chicago and Illinois contacts for each.

Every alcohol and substance use post, newest first

If You'd Rather Talk Than Read

Reading helps some people decide. Others need to say it out loud to someone who won't flinch. That's what the free 15-minute consultation is for: tell me what's been happening, ask whatever you want to ask, and we'll figure out whether working together makes sense. You don't need to have decided anything before the call, including whether you're quitting or cutting back.

Schedule a Free 15-Minute Consultation

What therapy looks like, what it costs and which insurance I take is on the alcohol addiction therapy page; cannabis and other drugs are on the substance use therapy page. If someone you love is the one drinking, start with help for partners and families.

If You Need Help Right Now

If you're in a mental health crisis or thinking about suicide, call or text 988.

If someone is having a seizure, is confused or hallucinating after stopping drinking, or can't be woken, call 911.

For free, confidential treatment referral at any hour, call SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Last reviewed October 27, 2026. This page is general information, not medical advice, and it doesn't create a therapist-client relationship. Stopping heavy daily drinking suddenly can be dangerous; talk to a doctor first.