Entering treatment for drug or alcohol abuse includes participation in ongoing counseling and either individual or group therapy conducted by licensed substance abuse or addiction therapists. In fact, treatment is tailored to each client’s individual circumstances. There is no one-size-fits-all treatment program.
By Leslie Thompson
When struggling with addiction, an individual is faced with an enormous amount of stress. From trying to cope with the physical detox of a substance to reprogramming one’s mental processing to avoid the addictive cycle, even the most minute task or chore may seem daunting and unattainable. Choosing an appropriate therapy or treatment program should not add to this nerve-racking period. Upon evaluation from a physician or clinical therapist, a patient should be informed about several different types of treatment programs based on their needs, goals, and diagnosis. One such program is Intensive Outpatient Treatment.
By Leslie Thompson
The terms “downward facing dog” or “pigeon pose” may not a ring a bell to you, but for a large number of yoga enthusiasts, these terms are commonplace and elicit a calm and meditative reaction. There are a lot of misconceptions and preconceived notions about the practice, but what every yogi knows are the benefits yoga has on the body.
For individuals recovering from alcohol or drug addiction, transforming the body and the mind is essential in order to overcome an addiction. As more and more recovering addicts look for ways to change their past destructive lifestyles and look for alternative approaches to cope with life’s stresses, yoga may be the perfect complement to one’s more traditional therapy.
Developed by Dr. Eric Berne in the late 1950s, transactional analysis is a type of social psychology with applications in counseling, education, organizational development, and psychotherapy.
Transactional analysis, commonly referred to as TA, is based on these primary concepts:
1. People have three parts (or ego-states) to their personalities.
2. These ego-states converse with each other in transactions.
Somatic therapy involves holistic and therapeutic approaches to treating patients. It is primarily used for the treatment of trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). An interesting aspect of somatic therapy is that it is not a single type of treatment but a complete system of techniques that include psychotherapy and body-psychotherapy. The primary theory behind somatic therapy is that it helps patients to face their past traumas directly so that they can get past those memories and move on with their lives.
Rational emotive therapy focuses on helping patients resolve behavioral and emotional problems. It was developed in the 1950s as one of the first types of cognitive behavior therapy, or CBT. Rational emotive therapy promotes the belief that when a person becomes upset or depressed, the emotions are caused by his or her own belief system and not the actual event that occurred.
Psychoanalytic therapy was developed by Sigmund Freud in the 1890s, and it is one of the most well-known forms of therapy in the world. Essentially, psychoanalytic therapy involves a therapist and a patient sitting down to chat about the patient’s life.
Psychoanalytic therapy, or psychoanalysis, is very intensive and time consuming, so patients should be aware going in that this type of therapy is not a quick fix for their problems.
Family therapy is a type of psychotherapy that deals with families and couples. The focus of family therapy is to monitor the changes and development of the interactions between family members or couples to improve the ways that people relate to one another. Overall, healthier, happier relationships are the goal of this type of therapy.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, is a type of psychotherapy that was created to help patients deal with a variety of unpleasant memories. EMDR is most commonly used for trauma-induced disorders.
Art therapy is a type of psychotherapy that employs the use of a variety of art materials such as paints, markers, and chalk in the treatment of patients. In some cases, art therapy might also include the use of photography or other forms of visual art expression that may be helpful in allowing patients to tap into their creativity and self-expression.
