What Is Psychotherapy in Addiction Recovery?

When you are in an addiction treatment facility for detox, you will begin to learn about the benefits of psychotherapy while you work through your early struggles in recovery. At Tides Edge Detox, you will work with a counselor to talk about how you are doing in detox and build a treatment plan to outline your next steps in treatment. As you start talking about your addiction and what led you down the path, you can work through your past to build a stronger foundation for yourself. Individual therapy is an essential component to recovery when you are serious about long-term sobriety. Addiction therapy begins during detox.

Overcoming Addiction With Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is the use of talking through problems to help you heal from addiction. Understanding what psychotherapy is means knowing that it involves various therapeutic methods to give you support and guidance as you grow in your recovery. Psychotherapy is beneficial throughout your sobriety, from early detox through aftercare. Psychotherapy is beneficial because:

It allows you to build a relationship with someone you can learn to trust over time.
You get a professional opinion about what is going on in your life
You learn relapse prevention strategies that can help you stay sober
Have a consistent support person in place to give you the guidance you need in recovery
You can ask questions about things you might not talk about with friends or family members

Addiction recovery is a process that takes time. When you develop a good working relationship with a therapist, you will have someone on your side to talk to when things feel overwhelming. As you work through each phase of recovery, your therapist can be an excellent part of your support.

Psychotherapy and Relapse Prevention

Preventing relapse is a goal when you are working with a therapist in your recovery. When trying to figure out psychotherapy, it helps to know that it is a bit different for everyone. While you and a therapist will talk about your past, your goals, and the things bothering you, each therapist is unique. Talk therapy is used as a relapse prevention tool because it provides you with a safe space to talk when you feel like you are going to use substances. You may learn additional relapse prevention strategies from your therapist that include:

Talking through a problem instead of trying to ignore the difficult feelings
Learning to deal with stressful emotions and describe how you are feeling
Taking a deep breath and reducing your response to situations
Building your support network beyond your therapist to include others in recovery

As you work with a therapist, you will see your skills improve. Your therapist is there to help you solve issues that are going on in your life and to help you on an emotional basis. While detox takes care of the physical component of addiction, psychotherapy helps you deal with the emotional and behavioral components. As therapy continues, you will begin to see your mood improve. Your ability to remain calm in situations that used to trigger abuse will increase, and you will heal on your journey. Therapy is an integral component of your recovery and can strengthen your sobriety in ways nothing else can.

Find Addiction Recovery Today at Tides Edge Detox

Alcohol or drug addiction can ruin your life. It’s time to take back the control you want over your addiction. For most struggling with substance use disorder (an addiction to drugs or alcohol), medically supervised detox is the first step to recovery. Here at Tides Edge Detox, we offer a wide range of detox services to cover nearly every addiction, such as: