There are millions of people who suffer from substance addiction and ruin their entire life because of it. Everyone advises such addicts to leave these habits. Some addicts do lots of medical treatments to get sober. But, it’s an endless struggle until you involve
psychotherapy treatment into it.
Getting into the trap of alcoholism and drug abuse depends upon a number of factors which can be mental, social, and emotional as well. Psychotherapy helps in addressing these factors; which are the root cause of addiction. The patient would not feel like leaving the addiction until these inherent problems are identified and resolved.
Why you Need Psychotherapy to Get rid of Substance Abuse?
Drugs usage and alcoholism is much more than the physical urge to intake that particular substance. The physical urge is triggered only because of other inherent problems in a person’s life. That’s why such patients have a high risk of relapse even after medical treatments because medicines can’t fix the mental condition of a person. For that, we need the help of psychotherapy.
Let’s see some of the physiological or social factors that cause such addictions:
- High stress and tension
- Emotional trauma
- Peer pressure or having friends who regularly use drugs
- Family history or lifestyle
- Mental health issues like depression or anxiousness
All of these factors can only be addressed by a psychotherapist. When an addict tries to leave the addiction without the right therapy, the psychological symptoms like depression or anger becomes more intense. The person would cut-off from family and society, and eventually will fall again even more strongly for the physical urge of drinking or using those substances.
Now, let’s see how psychotherapy can help in overcoming alcoholism and substance abuse:
Role of Psychotherapy in Addiction Recovery:
The patient has to undergo physical detoxification before starting any psychotherapy sessions. In this stage, the patient is kept in a safe and controlling environment where anti-anxiety medications control the cravings of alcohol. The patients generally overcome the physical need of taking such substances in the detoxification stage. After this, they are sent for psychotherapy.
Psychotherapy is like mental detoxification for such patients. In physical detoxification, the patients are provided with a safe physical environment to overcome physical cravings for alcohol, while in psychotherapy, they are provided with a non-judgemental ground to discuss their issues and problems.
Through these heart to heart conversational sessions, the therapist comes to know the deep-rooted cause of the patient’s conditions. What is the main problem which the patient is trying to escape through alcohol? The therapist understands the thinking process, relationships and other personal values of the patient to identify this real cause. In some cases, it can also be more than one cause. The process of finding out all such causes requires many psychotherapy sessions.
After detecting the problems, the psychotherapist will teach the patient healthy ways of confronting such problems, emotional traumas and various challenges of life. The therapist will use different techniques and present examples so that the patient can learn healthy coping skills. The patient will also be taught to react in a positive and acceptable manner in such problematic situations instead of turning to alcohol and drugs.
The entire procedure, therapy approaches and the number of therapy sessions will depend upon the patient’s personalised needs and his willingness to overcome the addiction. The main objective is to make the patient aware of their strengths, their boundaries and a harmonious blend of both of these to face life’s problems.
Different Forms of Psychotherapy:
Let’s glance at a few approaches of psychotherapy which are generally used to help patients in overcoming alcohol and drug addiction:
- Individual vs. Group Therapy:
When it comes to drug addiction, therapists prefer group therapy over individual therapy. In group therapy, the patient gets the chance to discuss his problems with other people who are also going through similar conditions. As nobody can understand a patient situation better than the other patients, he will feel more comfortable in disclosing his hidden emotions and fears in front of them.
The patient can get both support and challenges from others in group therapy. On the other hand, people suffering from mental conditions should take help of individual therapy.
- Residential vs. Outpatient Treatment:
In residential therapy, the patient has to stay at a special place under controlled environment for some months. Here, he gets medications along with regular therapy sessions to control the urge. On the other hand, the patient stays at his place and visits the therapist only for regular sessions in outpatient therapy.
Among these two, outpatient therapy is considered better because, in this, the patient gets the chance to use the substances as he stays at home. Still, he abstains it by fighting that urge. On the contrary, in residential therapy, he never gets a chance to test his abstaining or coping skills as there are no drugs or alcohol in special residential centres. In such condition, the patient falls easily in the trap of relapse after returning to their home.
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy:
In cognitive behavioural therapy, the therapist teaches the patient to recognise moods, situations and thoughts that trigger the urge of using addictive substances. The patient also learns to avoid these triggers and replace them with positive thoughts and feelings. Getting adequate practice of this trick can change the entire life of addicts. However, only expert therapists can perform this form of therapy.
- Family and Relationships Based Therapy:
In such situations, the addict doesn’t suffer alone, but his entire family and people close to him also suffer. In this approach of psychotherapy, the therapist uses the patient’s love and bond with these close people to transform him. Family members or spouse of the addict are involved in the therapy session.
This is done to show him the importance of these relationships in his life and how his family and friends are suffering because of this addiction. According to studies, there is a low relapse rate in this technique of therapy.
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