Therapies

Today, after years of research, different types of therapies have proven to be beneficial to the aid of many people facing all types of problems.  Therapies such as;

Marital and couples counseling therapy consists of dealing with conflicts in the relationships, learning how to communicate with each other and improving intimacy.  There are many concerns which bring people to marital or couple therapy, concerns such as, trust issues, infidelity, and commitment, also dealing with extended family, religious differences, parenting and finances.

Family therapy is another type of therapy available to the need of families and deals with matters such as parenting, step parenting, blended families, coping with teenagers, family conflict, parent-child relationship, grief, divorce, managing child/children with disabilities.  Sometimes it becomes overwhelming for families to maintain healthy relationships with each other due to outside stress that’s brought into the home, behavior change of teenager/s, or the energy is just not there to manage a disability.  This type of therapy deals with the strengths and weaknesses within the family household.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Art therapy is a method of addiction treatment that uses the creative process to improve and enhance the physical, mental and emotional well being of a recovering addicted person.  Art therapy helps recovering addicted people to deal with personal issues, it helps develop healthy social skills, relieve stress, increase self esteem and gain self awareness.

Art therapy is combined with counseling and psychotherapy and is conducted in different types of settings like schools, clinics, hospitals, wellness centers and so on.

Art therapy consists of drawing, painting, sculpture, music, writing and other form of art; it is also used to help mental and emotional problems, family and relationship conflicts, abuse and domestic violence, social and emotional difficulties arising from disability and illness as well as trauma and grief.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Healthy romantic love is a love that can encourage bonding, intimacy and the opportunity to be you with another person.

Romance, with or without sex, encourages personal growth as each new relationship shows new aspects of one’s self, you learn new thing about yourself that you did not realized existed because people adapt to their environment which causes change or evolution, depends on the character / personality of the other person, could bring out the good or bad in you.

Most people when they find a new love usually experiences the euphoric feeling and when it disappears, a person keep searching for it again and again thus creating an endless longing for that so called rush which can evolve into a destructive pattern of addiction and compulsion.  The closeness that romance, love and sexuality offers to a love addicted person can be often filled with pitfalls, anxiety and pain.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Relationship addiction

It is not that a person is addicted to relationships as it is more about falling for the people who are emotionally damaged and who are not capable of real intimacy.  Relationship addiction deals with people who have an uncontrollable urge to care for another person, someone whom you believe you can change, care for and someone whom you can love also someone whom you believe will return that care, attention and love to you.

When a person is unable to change another person’s ways, they tend to become frustrated and through that frustration they have an even more need to be with that person.  When all your thoughts and actions are based around that person it is at this point where it becomes an obsessive relationship.  Love has been confused with obsession.  Your behavior, emotions, life are all being controlled by the relationship and also your physical health suffers in the process.

The faults of the other person is being downplayed, excuses are made and you retain blame for everything that has gone wrong in the relationship so you think that if you had tried harder, things would be better.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Spirituality is the innermost relationship you can have with yourself and with others.  All addiction treatment is faith based treatment, meaning that, it shines the light that dims the negative and as you see your way clear, a serene feeling encompasses your being, that is spirituality, it is where everyone wants to be naturally, but at times it is so difficult because of the demands of the world.

Everyone need and want something better to deal with stress, something more positive and clean to find greater peace, greater love and greater power to resist relapsing back into negative situations.  Many people already know this but there are others who question spiritual beliefs.

So what is spiritual belief and how does it relate to faith based treatment?

Spirituality can be referred to an inner path that allows a person to discover their true self, the deepest values and a meaning to life.  In relation to faith based treatment being a treatment that helps a person to discover his/her true self and to give value and meaning to their life.

There are some benefits to faith based treatment, such as; it brings humility, inner strength, a sense of meaning and purpose to life, a feeling of acceptance, love, peace and harmony.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Regardless of it being a complex illness characterized by cravings along with compulsive behavior, drug addiction continues in spite of its negative consequences.  Many people do not realize that addiction is a brain disease and cannot be cured in just a couple of days.   Seeking and consuming drugs becomes compulsive because of the prolong use of the exposure of drugs on the brain functions where multiple brain circuits are affected.

Addiction is much more than just compulsive drug taking; the bad consequences it produces can put a person in a more risky situation mentally and physically also a wide range of dysfunctional behaviors that can interfere with normal functions of family, friends and the community. Addiction treatment is there to help the individual stop using drugs, maintain a drug free lifestyle and achieve productive functioning in the family, workplace and in society.

Due to the many elements and disturbances of a substance abuser’s life, treatment is not so simple. Drug treatment principles deal with effective treatment programs that incorporates many components directed to a particular aspect of the illness and its consequences.  Many scientific research and clinical practice have shown the importance of continuing care in treating addiction, by integrating all types of approach in the residential and community settings.   As the future draws near new results from research on the influence of genetics and environment on gene function and expression, such as epigenetic (altering gene function without altering DNA), which shows the development of personalized treatment interventions and these results will be integrated to have the most effective addiction treatments.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Depression and Addiction

Depression is a mental health condition that most frequently coexist with substance abuse.  Like the chicken and the egg, we wonder what comes first and is the same question we can pose for depression and addiction, which comes first?   We know that one can lead to another because depression could have come before addiction and depression could come as a result of addiction.

Looking at signs of substance abuse, we see that users lose interest in activities they used to love also interest in family and friends; these are also signs of depression.

Some symptoms of depression are losing interest in activities such as hobbies, work, sex, people; altered sleeping habits, void feelings or feelings of uselessness, losing or gaining weight, restless, tired, guilt and suicidal thoughts and these are also symptoms of addiction.

Someone who thinks negatively all the time can set themselves up for depression; also series of negative events in life, loss of a loved one, trauma, and loss of job can all be settings toward depression and addiction.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Outpatient addiction treatment is a treatment that does not require an overnight stay at a treatment facility.  It is a treatment that you can attend either day or evening sessions and are able to return to your home.

There are many types of outpatient treatment, for example, evening outpatient treatment programs where you can meet several times a week on evenings and weekends for a range of group and individual therapies, you can attend 12 step meetings, lectures and other classes, people are also encouraged to attend AA, NA or other support groups on non scheduled days.

Another type of program is private or group therapy sessions where you can choose to meet once or twice a week with a psychologist, psychiatrist or an addiction therapist of your choice.  Cost fluctuates between fifty (50$) dollars to three hundred (300$) dollars per hour, depending on your need and you can also decide on attending a group therapy which cost a lot less.

There are also alternative therapies that some may find beneficial which would be therapies with activities such as acupuncture, yoga, or meditation.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

When a female is pregnant, caution should be taken as to what she consumes into her body, because everything she consumes passes into the baby’s bloodstream.    Pregnant females who have substance abuse problems risk dangers to her unborn child.  The danger involved depends on the type of substance used, the amount of substance used and the time during the development of the fetus.

Although there are some prescribed medications that some females have to take while pregnant, it could also have a risk danger to the developing fetus.  Alcohol should be avoided at all cost because it has an even higher risk where an infant can/may suffer fetal alcohol syndrome.

Other substances such as cocaine, crack and meth that has been exposed to the unborn fetus has a strong impact and can cause a condition in an infant known as NAS (neonatal abstinence syndrome), a term used to describe what an infant goes through while coming off drugs and is the same reaction as an adult withdrawing from drugs.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

What is a Christian intervention?

A Christian intervention is for families whose lives are centered in Christianity and would feel more comfortable having a Christian intervention to help bring a loved one back.

A Christian intervention is carried out with a foundation in faith by an interventionist who has accepted Christ as his personal savior.  It Bible based and is ideal for people who have a Christian upbringing and the use of drugs or alcohol has separated him/her from the presence of God, this is also used for people going through the court systems by introducing them to Jesus Christ as their personal savior.

A lot of people with substance abuse problems may think that it is God who has detached himself from them, but in reality, it is they who allowed hundreds of situations to divert them from their connection to the spirituality of God.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites