Clinical Therapy for Addiction | Professional Clinical Therapists

How We Provide Clinical Therapy for Addiction

At Reflections, even though we like to think outside of the box when it comes to treating addiction, we are mindful of several medical protocols and industry standards that need to be provided in order to deliver effective care. These include:

Comprehensive Evaluations

When a client is first admitted to Reflections, he will undergo a thorough intake assessment within the first couple of days. This includes a physical and mental health evaluation, as well as a medical history review. We even try to review his family’s health history, if possible, looking for any patterns of substance abuse or mental health issues in the generations before him.

Why is the intake assessment so thorough? We want to be able to customize our program to his needs as closely as possible, especially if he will require additional mental or physical health services.

We must mention that we are one of the few drug rehab centers in the state that is approved to provide physical health services to clients. Our licensed naturopathic doctor does an in-depth physical examination on each new client. Find out what that entails and the advantages it gives our program:

See Our Physical Health Services

Medication Management

If the patient comes to our facility and needs to keep taking certain medications, our team will make sure he’s taking them at the recommended doses and intervals. If it’s a highly addictive medication, our naturopathic doctor can recommend and prescribe alternatives.

Relapse Prevention Education and Practice

We begin imparting relapse prevention techniques almost as soon as the new client begins our inpatient program. These are going to serve him well throughout his time in rehab and well beyond.

Relapse prevention is the school of thought that a person in recovery needs to have tools to withstand temptations and propel greater well-being in everyday life outside of rehab. Clients at Reflections are afforded plenty of time to learn about and practice these techniques prior to graduating our program and returning home.

Learn More About Relapse Prevention

Life Skills Development

Along with relapse prevention, clients also get to learn about and practice life skills, which give them new hobbies and a renewed vigor for life. These newfound, or improved, life skills also serve them well as they get ready to graduate rehab and return home.

One example of our life skills development program is cooking, both individually and with teams. We also help train clients for job interviews and help them start looking into careers they would like to pursue after completing rehab.

Dual Diagnosis Recovery

At Reflections Recovery Center, we offer dual diagnosis treatment, meaning treatment for a co-occurring mental disorder in addition to the drug or alcohol addiction that brought the client here. Many of the therapies listed farther down this page are immensely helpful with treating various mental health issues.

Since metal illness is present in up to two-thirds of substance abuse cases, we would be remiss to not offer high-quality care for both types of conditions. Clinical therapies are our best tool for alleviating the impact of a mental health disorder on a client’s quality of life.

Explore Dual Diagnosis

How Our Clinical Therapist’s apply Addiction Therapy Techniques

As we mentioned, our clinical drug and alcohol therapy takes place in an offsite facility from where our clients reside during the men’s inpatient addiction treatment program. This facility is a large, modern office space that features several rooms for one-on-one counseling, as well as meeting and conference rooms for group sessions of various sizes.

Our licensed clinical addiction specialists offer several of the most advanced clinical therapies in the industry. We use the following techniques in either group or individual settings, sometimes in both. Click on any clinical therapy technique to learn more:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a goal-oriented version of psychotherapy that takes place over a short amount of time. Whereas other forms of therapy, such as psychoanalysis, can take years, CBT often wraps up in less than 20 sessions. This method of clinical treatment has risen to great popularity in our industry in recent years.

Cognitive behavioral therapy involves a combination of techniques from the traditional fields of psychotherapy, behavioral psychology and cognitive psychology. CBT is an evidence-based practice that was originally developed to help people with mental disorders, and has since been proven to be extremely effective for those recovering from drug and alcohol addiction as well.

CBT’s Role in Adjusting Behaviors, Thoughts, Feelings and Beliefs

Emotions, thoughts, beliefs and behaviors all influence one another. Some addiction treatment approaches, such as meditation and yoga, help the client feel more emotionally centered, which in turn help clarify thinking and beliefs.

CBT works the other way around: It helps clients adjust their thoughts and attitude, which eventually leads to greater emotional stability.

When clients are able to prevent negative thought patterns from spiraling out of control and replace them with positive thought patterns, they increase their ability to manage their behaviors instead of reacting rashly to stressful situations.

The Benefits of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

We all have an internal dialog running through our minds that we usually aren’t aware of. When something happens in our lives, epic or mundane, it triggers a cascade of questions and assumptions.

In CBT sessions at Reflections, our therapist works with the client to examine this automatic internal dialog, identify habits of thought that may be contributing to his unhappiness, and create new habits of thought that build him up inside – instead of tearing him down.

CBT is highly effective because it:

Can provide results in a relatively short period of time – months instead of years
Targets a specific problem with a goal-oriented approach
Helps the client identify patterns of thought that can lead to a downward spiral of negative thinking
Instills new patterns of thought that allow the client to better cope with difficult situations when they arise
Teaches the client to take over managing his own cognitive habits after therapy ends
Gives the client skills he can use throughout his life, whenever he needs them

What to Expect in CBT Sessions

At our Prescott, Arizona treatment center, a therapist begins by finding out what the client wants out of life and then works with him to set specific goals. Next, the client and therapist work one-on-one to discover and address whatever thoughts and behaviors are tied up in the client’s substance use.

Cognitive behavioral therapy sessions are typically 50 minutes long. The client may leave the session with homework to complete, such as consciously changing his reaction in a certain situation, implementing a new habit, etc.

By identifying the patterns of thought (which the client is often unaware of at first) that are contributing to substance abuse, then helping the client change them, the therapist empowers the client to manage his thoughts, emotions and behavior in healthy ways going forward.

Read About CBT for Alcoholism

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) addresses trauma and changes the way the brain processes information. A successful EMDR sessions will strip away the images, sounds and feelings associated with a past traumatic event. The client will still maintain the memory, but it will be less upsetting going forward.

Traumatic events push many people toward the use and abuse of substances, so taking away the sting of those memories will give the individual a brighter outlook in the treatment and post-treatment phases.

What Can EMDR Treat?

EMDR is considered a relatively new therapy, and more research on what it can effectively treat continues today. New research brings evidence on more and more psychological issues improved by EMDR, one of them being addiction.

EMDR has been so well researched now, with more than 30 controlled studies done, that it is officially recommended by the American Psychiatric Association, the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, and the World Health Organization.

Patients are having successful results in EMDR treatment to overcome:

Trauma
Addiction
Low self-esteem
Feelings of powerlessness
Anxiety
Panic attacks
The psychological effects of natural disasters
Eating disorders
Negative self-beliefs

And, EMDR can even be used in coaching for achievement in personal, business and sports success.

How Does EMDR Work?

Studies show that when a person experiences the negative effects of trauma, harmful emotion is stored physiologically in the body. One of the main goals of EMDR therapy is to move that emotional memory to a different part of the brain for reprocessing.

In EMDR therapy, traumatic events stored in the part of the brain meant for long-term memory are accessed and moved to the forefront of the mind. While in short-term memory, the mind creates a working narrative memory.

Information can then be reprocessed, with new associations forged between the traumatic physiological network of the body and new cognitive insights developing in the mind. The brain can then reprocess the accompanying emotions in a more neutral way, sweeping the negative feelings away and eliminating emotional distress.

Why Is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Successful?

Many medical professionals believe EMDR treatment accesses some of the biological mechanisms connected to those in REM sleep. The same way the brain rids itself of superfluous information in REM sleep, the rapid rhythmic eye movements seem to damper the power of emotionally charged memories.

Removing the impediments of negative self-thinking opens the channels in the brain’s neurobiological mechanisms for healing. EMDR therapy can lead to a less traumatically charged feeling about the event(s), and then to feelings of survival and strength instead.

A tornado victim that holds onto the inappropriate cognition, “I am in danger,” when the danger has long passed can develop anxiety over wind, flying, driving and so on. “I am safe now” becomes the appropriate thought after EMDR.

Intellectually knowing something like, “I am safe,” or, “I am not to blame,” is entirely different from emotionally feeling it to be true. We may believe in the logic of one thing, but be driven by the emotion of another. Changing these beliefs so rapidly, as only EMDR can, is nothing less than phenomenal for those who have benefited from it.

What Is the Evidence?

In recent years, several studies have shown the efficacy of this therapy. Some studies show that up to 90 percent of individuals suffering from trauma no longer have the diagnosis of PTSD after three sessions. Another study found 100 percent of victims who had experienced one traumatic event and 77 percent of victims who had experienced multiple traumas no longer had PTSD after six sessions.

And another recent study showed 77 percent of combat vets were cured of PTSD after 12 sessions. No wonder EMDR has gained worldwide recognition.

As new data continues to emerge, the range of symptoms and treatable disorders enlarges. Dr. Jamie Marich, a trauma specialist and EMDR trainer, has made important connections in using EMDR to treat addiction and trauma. She concludes that unhealed trauma-related issues block addiction recovery and pose a risk for relapse.

What Makes EMDR Different?

EMDR is a type of psychotherapy that is not talk therapy. This is one of the main attributes that makes EMDR different than most other therapies.

The client does not have to admit to the gory details of his past trauma to gain help from this therapy. In traditional therapy, the client would spend hours upon hours telling his counselor about his problems, anxieties, past trauma and so on. But in EMDR, the client is in control. He only has to remember his trauma and picture it in his own mind for the therapy to be effective.

Often, an issue prevalent in men with addiction is the fear of disclosing behaviors that are embarrassing or shameful to the individual. A benefit of EMDR is that he need not share if he is not ready to, while still benefitting from the therapeutic effects.

People are finding they don’t need years of therapy to see improvement. The results of EMDR are very rapid in comparison. After only a few sessions, clients often report dramatic results.

If we understand that unhealed emotional wounds play a role in causing or exacerbating addiction, then we can use EMDR as a very effective tool. In helping clients properly deal with wounds – past, present and future – Reflections Recovery Center is able to give them the skills necessary to move forward into long-term recovery with a reduced risk of relapse.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) teaches the client mindfulness techniques and concepts. It is similar to cognitive behavioral therapy, as it can help with understanding how to:

Regulate emotions
Tolerate pain (not change it) in stressful situations
Maintain healthier relationships with others

DBT is particularly effective in addressing the mental health issues that often accompany drug or alcohol addiction. It aims to move the client past life-threatening behaviors and quality of life barriers.

Psychoeducation

Psychoeducation involves precise education about the mental health condition that plagues an individual client. In psychoeducational sessions, our counselor teaches the client about the causes and symptoms of his addiction, as well as specific treatment concepts.

Psychoeducation also includes assisting the client toward self-help, so that he can learn to manage symptoms and situations on his own. This form of therapy also calls for a great deal of family involvement, so access to and communication with the client’s family is imperative.

Motivational Interviewing

It’s common for people to turn to substance abuse when they lack direction or inspiration. So when it comes to breaking that addiction, motivational interviewing is highly effective. Like cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing (also known as “MI”) is goal-oriented.

MI helps the client explore and address ambivalence in his life. The process also helps the client discover his own interest in making a major life change, and then he is encouraged to develop a plan to accomplish that goal.

Trauma-Informed Care with Clinical Therapists

Since trauma is a common factor in the realm of addiction, we offer trauma-informed care (TIC), which educates our clients – in group and individual settings – about how negative experiences impact mental health. TIC helps clients recognize their own trauma-related symptoms and understand the role trauma has played in their lives.

Clients will be able to better process past and future traumatic events after receiving trauma-informed care. Those who can effectively deal with trauma will have a higher chance of not turning to harmful substances to alleviate symptoms down the road.

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