Not as a last resort — as a first principle.
Online, structured, month-to-month addiction counselling. No ultimatums. No shame. No requirement to have hit rock bottom before you deserve support.
Written by Elza Berk, Founder & registered counsellor · ASCHP WCW/271 · 20+ years’ clinical experience · Updated 28 September 2026
What does harm reduction actually mean?
Traditional addiction treatment often works on one model: stop completely, or you’ve failed. Harm reduction says something different. Any positive change is progress. Meeting someone where they are — rather than where we think they should be — is how real healing begins.
It is a globally recognised, evidence-based approach, endorsed by the WHO, UNAIDS and UNODC. It doesn’t require you to stop, or to make abstinence your starting point or your goal. It asks: how do we reduce the harm, the risk and the damage, while building the life and support that make real change possible?
Whether you want to stop entirely, use more safely, or simply understand your relationship with substances better — you are welcome here, exactly as you are.
It works across the whole spectrum of addictive behaviour
- Alcohol
- Cannabis
- Prescription medication
- Cocaine & stimulants
- Heroin & opioids
- Methamphetamine (tik)
- Eating disorders
- Gambling
- Sex & pornography
- Shopping & spending
- Technology & social media
- Work addiction
- Codependency
If yours isn’t listed, it doesn’t matter. If it’s hurting you or the people around you, we can work with it.
What if abstinence is what I want?
Then we work alongside you towards it — with realistic milestones that honour where you are today. Like depression or anxiety, there may be a recurrence of symptoms along the way. That is not failure. When it happens, we don’t step back — we lean in, and try to understand together why.
Your privacy is absolute
We never share information with employers, medical aids, family or anyone else without your explicit written consent — except where there is an immediate risk to life, as required by law. Your story belongs to you.
“I spent over 20 years working inside South Africa’s leading rehabilitation clinics. I’ve sat across from people who had tried everything — and been told they weren’t trying hard enough. When the reality was they were trying with everything they had. And addiction was never a choice — yet they were judged as though it was.
I know what it feels like to carry addiction. I have been sober for over 26 years — and yet, being conscious, being awake, is unbelievably hard.
As a society we have decided that addiction is not the same as depression or anxiety. Yet it is. It is a struggle with mental health — a desperate attempt to find a way to live inside yourself when living inside yourself feels unbearably uncomfortable.
No one should ever be shamed for relapse. We don’t shame people for a return of depression, anxiety or trauma symptoms. So we look at a recurrence of symptoms and try to understand why it happened. We try to understand you — knowing, always, that you know yourself better than anyone else ever could.
This programme exists because I needed it to exist. Not to fix you. Not to judge you. To walk with you — wherever you are on the road.”
— Elza Berk, Founder & CEO · Sober 26+ years
Wherever you are on the road.
First time seeking help
You don’t need to have hit rock bottom. You just need to be ready to try something different.
Tried treatment before
You know what hasn’t worked. We meet you with that knowledge — not with the same script.
Aftercare & ongoing support
Aftercare is where most programmes leave you alone. We don’t. Consistent support is the difference between a chapter and a life.
Online. Flexible. Yours.
Real, structured, professional support — without leaving your life.
2 individual sessions a week
50 minutes each, one-on-one with your dedicated counsellor — the same person every time.
1 flexible session a week
Bring a partner, family, or a GP or psychiatrist involved in your care. 50 minutes, up to 90 for families.
1 group session a week
Facilitated by a registered counsellor. Confidential. With others who understand the road you’re on.
Between-session support
Non-crisis check-ins with your counsellor between sessions.
The HR Community — free
A private, counsellor-moderated WhatsApp peer group for people with lived experience of addiction.
We don’t compete with any path to recovery.
Harm reduction can run alongside any other programme, belief or treatment. Many of our clients attend several at once — we support that, and we coordinate with any professional involved in your care.
- 12-Step fellowships (AA, NA, Al-Anon)
- Faith-based recovery
- Medical & psychiatric treatment
- Residential rehabilitation
- SMART Recovery and secular programmes
- Employee Assistance Programmes
It’s not only what you move away from.
So much of addiction treatment focuses only on the substance, the behaviour, the damage. Alongside the hard work, we actively look for resilience — the moments of strength, clarity and courage that already exist in you, even when they feel invisible. We help you find joy again.
Somewhere underneath the years of survival and the things you were told about yourself, there is an authentic version of you. Our work is to help you find your way back to that person — and build a life that feels worth living in.
You are not the first person to feel this way.
★★★★★
“I’d tried three times before. I was convinced I was one of the ones who just couldn’t do it. This was the first time someone sat with me and actually tried to understand why — not just told me to stop.”
★★★★★
“I didn’t have to stop before I started. That was the thing that made the difference. I came as I was. And slowly, things changed.”
★★★★★
“The online sessions meant I could do it from home. No one had to know. That mattered to me at the beginning.”
The same person, every session.
Janika Cumpsty
Head of Supervision
“You don’t have to do your inner work alone. I help clients identify their inherent strength and take action toward the change they truly want to see.”
- Childhood trauma
- PTSD / CPTSD
- Sexual trauma
English · Afrikaans · Dutch (reading)
Omashree Balie
Specialist Wellness Counsellor
“Seeking counselling is personal, difficult, and sometimes lonely — but the results are life-changing. I aim to make that journey as comfortable as possible.”
- Couples & marriage
- Divorce
- LGBTQIA+ affirming
English · Afrikaans
Mimi Shirindza
Registered Counsellor
“Every person carries the capacity for growth and renewal. My role is to walk alongside you as you rediscover and strengthen those inherent gifts.”
- Trauma
- Grief & loss
- Couples
English · Xitsonga · isiZulu
Risimati Chauke
Social Worker
“I create a safe, non-judgemental space where clients can process their experiences and find practical pathways toward healing and resilience.”
- Addiction (harm reduction)
- Trauma
- Crisis intervention
English · Xitsonga · Tshivenda · isiZulu · Sepedi
Talita Kondlo
Registered Wellness Counsellor
“I take a compassionate, client-centred approach — creating a safe space to explore emotions, heal from the past, and build healthier ways of coping going forward.”
- Trauma
- Couples
- Anger management
English · isiXhosa · isiZulu
Jamie-Leigh Brickles
Registered Specialist Wellness Counsellor
“Counselling is collaborative, and at its core it’s about your heart. I believe we all have the answers deeply rooted within us; sometimes we just need the courage to reach for them.”
- Anxiety
- Grief & loss
- Trauma
English
Elza Berk
Founder & CEO · Registered Counsellor
“I built MyTruth because I needed it then and it didn’t exist. Every counsellor here has been chosen for their capacity to sit with what is real.”
- Addiction (harm reduction)
- Trauma
- Eating disorders
English · Afrikaans
Addiction counselling topics
You don’t need to be ready to stop. You just need to show up.
We’ll do the rest together.