Behavioral health services are an important part of addiction treatment because addiction is more than a physical dependence on drugs or alcohol. Even after detox, when physical dependence has resolved, individuals with a substance use disorder are at substantial risk for relapse.
Individual therapy (sometimes called “psychotherapy” or “counseling”) is a process through which clients work one-on-one with a trained therapist in a safe, caring, and confidential environment, to explore their feelings, beliefs, or behaviors, work through challenging or influential memories (triggers), identify aspects of their lives that they would like to change, better understand themselves and others, set personal goals, and work toward desired change.
Counseling is an essential part of treatment for many people. Cognitive behavioral therapy, family counseling, and other therapy approaches can help people recovering from alcohol and/or drug addiction to remain substance-free. Psychotherapy can also treat the other mental health conditions that often contribute to misuse. These factors can create ongoing, nearly irresistible urges to misuse. Individual counseling helps people with substance misuse disorder to avoid cravings and learn to cope with life, without resorting to misuse.
Advantages of Group Therapy:
*ROAD to a Better Life arranges access to individual therapy, group therapy, and intensive outpatient programs (IOP) for our patients through our many, local community partners.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse states, “Behavioral therapies vary in their focus and may involve addressing a patient’s motivation to change, providing incentives for abstinence, building skills to resist drug use, replacing drug-using activities with constructive and rewarding activities, improving problem-solving skills, and facilitating better interpersonal relationships. Also, participation in group therapy and other peer support programs during and following treatment can help maintain abstinence” [2] This is especially important when psychological and social factors threaten the possibility of relapse. Such factors may include:
