Inpatient Addiction Counseling
Table of Contents
Substance use disorder is a complex and mysterious condition in which multiple factors are at play. To untangle the behavior patterns that fed into an entrenched addiction cycle, addiction counseling is required.
What is Addiction Counseling?
Addiction recovery starts with detox, but once that step is completed, it’s time to engage in treatment. So, what is addiction treatment? Treatment involves a medley of therapeutic activities that help you identify the disordered thoughts that had fueled substance abuse.
Psychotherapy is the central treatment element that will help you overcome a substance use disorder. Therapy, or counseling, is a process of discovery and learning. The purpose of therapy is to teach you how to regain control over unhealthy thoughts and behavior patterns.
The therapist guides you toward making changes in the way you respond to certain triggers. These triggers might be emotions, stress, a certain person, or adverse life events. While in active addiction, maybe you numbed yourself with drugs or alcohol when facing something difficult. In treatment, the counselor can teach you how to work through a trigger without the need of a substance.
The Role of Addiction Counseling in Treatment and Recovery
Therapy plays a major role in treatment because it shows you how to handle setbacks without relapsing. In therapy, you learn new coping skills and emotion regulation techniques. You learn to take a pause when you feel triggered and tempted to use a substance. During the pause, you pay close attention to your self-talk and then correct it.
That step, taking a beat to reflect on feelings and thoughts, that will help you take the right action. For instance, ask yourself, are you engaging in catastrophic thinking? black and white thinking? negative self-talk? or berating yourself? If so, looking for a way to numb those feelings may surface, and this is where new behaviors enter.
In the past, you numbed these emotions with alcohol or drugs. You are now taught to acknowledge the negative emotion and assure yourself to be patient, that it will pass. Practicing both mindfulness and CBT can help you establish healthy new thought patterns.
Types of Addiction Counseling for Substance Use Disorder
There are many types of counseling formats that each provide certain benefits to the recovery process. Most rehabs weave these therapies into their treatment programs:
What is Individual Counseling?
One-on-one therapy is a core treatment element. It is during these private sessions with a therapist that a great deal about what fueled the addiction is revealed. Just a few sessions can result in new insights, and, once revealed, the therapist will have much to work with. He or she then creates treatment goals and benchmarks to achieve during the time they are working with you.
What is Group Counseling?
Group counseling involves other peers in recovery. A small group gathers with a counselor to discuss topics related to the addiction journey and recovery insights. The group sessions provide an opportunity to gather peer support, and to bond while in treatment.
What is Family Counseling?
Family counseling is also a basic element in addiction treatment. Most people in treatment live with family members or a spouse that the addiction has also impacted them. In family therapy, the members work through some of the issues that were caused by the addiction. They are also taught what to expect with their loved one’s recovery process, and how they can be of support.
Effective Therapies for Substance Use Disorder
Evidence-based therapies are psychotherapies that have been studied and were found to be effective. For addiction recovery, counselors have access to various therapies that have shown efficacy. These include:
CBT. CBT is by far the most widely used therapy for people in treatment for substance use disorder. CBT guides the person toward change, helping them reshape the way they think about and respond to triggers. CBT teaches them to shift their thoughts from negative self-talk to productive, positive thoughts.
DBT. DBT places a focus on four main areas: emotion regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and mindfulness. DBT helps develop these key skills, which allows them to better manage negative mood states and to reduce self-criticism. The DBT tools help someone in recovery come to self-acceptance while also making positive changes in their daily life.
MET. MET is a short-term therapy that involves four steps that help bring about positive change. MET deals with the person’s conflicted feelings about sobriety, so it is often used at the outset of treatment. MET helps persuade the person to embrace recovery while becoming self-motivated to change their life for the better.
CM. CM is an incentive-based therapy that provides small rewards in exchange for continued sobriety. For example, a clean substance test will result in a reward, which helps reinforce a patient’s resolve to remain sober.
5 Benefits of Inpatient Addiction Counseling
Consider these five ways that counseling can help someone entering recovery:
- Provides support. Going to rehab can be highly stressful. It is important to have someone there to assist you when you are struggling with the treatment process. A therapist can walk you through a stressful situation and teach coping skills at the same time.
- Helps manage mental health. Another common risk to recovery is the presence of a co-occurring mental health challenge. Inpatient treatment allows the therapist to address and help manage that condition.
- Helps you work through emotions. To fully recover from a substance issue you must process and heal from any underlying emotional pain. For instance, abuse, grief and loss, divorce or relationship struggles, and other traumas are addressed in therapy.
- Provides peer support. Group therapy is an important source of peer support. By engaging in group therapy sessions, you build strong bonds with others as you each share your personal stories.
- Builds accountability. In recovery, ongoing therapy plays an important role. Group therapy creates a sense of mutual accountability, where you do not want to let your peers down. In one-on-one therapy, you feel a strong desire not to disappoint your therapist.
To break the cycle of addiction it requires a strong desire to make lifelong changes. Patience, commitment, and a strong support network that includes counseling are necessary to sustain recovery.
Annandale Behavioral Health
California Inpatient Addiction Counseling
Annandale Behavioral Health uses multiple types of therapy to help people overcome addiction and change their lives for the better. Call us today at (855) 778-8668
