Professional treatment is an important part of the recovery journey. That is why it’s imperative that treatment centers have the best resources available to help them. While on the road to recovery, obstacles will present themselves. Relapse is always possible, but with the right treatment, it can be avoided.
Therapy in addiction treatment has been known to help individuals in a monumental way. Individual therapy is an excellent resource for addiction treatment, as it allows individuals to be encouraged on a more intimate basis.
What is Individual Therapy?
Having a safe place to air out one’s difficulties is crucial to the rehab experience. Individual therapy allows for a more intimate environment. During this form of therapy, people can speak with a therapist about their addiction and the circumstances in their life that led to it.
Therapists aim to identify the triggers of their patients’ disorders so that their patients can live stable lives. To accomplish this goal, therapists develop plans to combat disorders headfirst.
The ultimate goal of individual therapy is to improve the behavioral and emotional health of their patients.
When it comes to substance use disorder, individual therapy is only a small part of the process. In fact, there are many different forms of addiction treatment. This is because there is not a one-size-fits-all solution for addiction.
Addiction impacts people physically, mentally, and emotionally. Because of this, it is imperative that people have access to proper treatment resources.
How Individual Therapy Works
Individual therapy consists of two individuals, namely a therapist and a patient. During individual therapy, the patient discusses his or her emotions and thoughts with the therapist while alone together in a room.
During these therapy sessions, therapists are mindful of the following:
- Identifying Triggers
- Developing Relapse Prevention Skills
- Past Experiences
- Behavioral Patterns
Depending on the treatment program that they are in, patients suffering from addiction will attend individual therapy anywhere from once a week to nearly every day. People in addiction recovery choose their treatment program based on the severity of their addictions.
To better understand the significance of individual therapy, you should also learn about the following forms of therapy.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
A person’s core thoughts and the way in which that person perceives the world around them is powerful. In cognitive-behavioral therapy, the goal is to identify negative thoughts and perceptions and replace them with positive thoughts and perceptions.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is effective because people’s thoughts and feelings
about themselves, others, and the world around them dictate their actions. For example, people who have a negative self-image of themselves will feel as though they are not worth anyone’s love, and as a result, spend the majority of their time alone. Those people’s shame may paralyze them to the point where they aren’t doing anything productive. Those people may even find themselves so unworthy that they begin to self-harm themselves.
In the realm of addiction treatment, cognitive-behavioral therapy aims to change negative thought patterns into positive ones. This is important to do because having negative thoughts can cause someone to perform negative actions, like abusing substances. Therefore, cognitive-behavioral therapy changing negative thought patterns is getting to the root problem of substance abuse. Treating the root problem of addiction rather than just the symptoms reduces the chance of a relapse.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
Another method of therapy that is used in the realm of addiction treatment is dialectical behavioral therapy. Dialectical behavioral therapy is a kind of cognitive-behavioral therapy that aims to provide people with different ways to cope with their negative thoughts and emotions. Learning how to cope with negativity helps patients build healthy interpersonal relationships.
Without these coping mechanisms, negative thoughts and emotions can trigger a person. Personal, professional, and financial issues can also trigger a person. When individuals become triggered, they turn to their vices to cope. Unfortunately, many people’s vices are substances.
The goal of dialectical-behavioral therapy is to help people learn better and healthier coping mechanisms. Through these learned coping mechanisms, patients can better manage any stress or mental illness that comes their way.
Some of these healthier coping mechanisms include the following:
- Physical Activity
- Art
- Playing Music
- Talking Through Stress
All of these strategies allow individuals to maintain edifying relationships in their lives. This is significant because relationships are often a casualty of substance abuse.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Acceptance is a significant part of the recovery journey, as it is a way in which individual therapy can lend its expertise. Individual therapy is a great tool to use to foster acceptance in addiction treatment patients because it gives the patients the privacy and space that they need to grieve their addiction and accept the fact that their sobriety is no longer in their control. Ultimately, acceptance and commitment therapy aims to help patients gain control and stability over their lives.
Sometimes patients become stressed or anxious because of the things that they can’t control in their lives. One thing that people cannot control is the past. 
The past is something nobody can change, no matter how hard they try. This is often an unsettling truth that is difficult to accept. Fear of accepting this truth may lead to relapse. That is why acceptance is imperative to the addiction recovery journey.
One thing that you can do to help you accept the past is be mindful of the present. This is because being more mindful of the present is imperative to having a brighter future. Through mindfulness practices, the past is used for one thing, growth.
How Will Individual Therapy Help Me?
Some benefits of individual therapy include the following:
- Doctor-Patient Confidentiality
- One-on-One Conversation
- Convenience
- More Attention to the Individual
- Individual Timeline
Individual therapy has been known to benefit many individuals who have taken the leap of faith into the vast unknown. Taking the first step is always the hardest part, but once you do so, you’ll find that improvement is just another step closer. Helping our patients pursue a life of sobriety and stability is of the utmost significance in what we do here at New Directions for Women.
Individual Therapy at New Directions for Women
Addiction treatment is not a walk in the park. It is perhaps one of the most difficult things someone will do for themselves. Still, the trials don’t even hold a candle to the rewards.
At New Directions for Women, we will make sure that your individual needs are met. We recognize that there is not a one-size-fits-all method for addiction recovery. Some women may need a more individualized approach to their rehab while others may not.
If you would like to learn more information about New Directions for Women, you can contact us today.
