Addiction Treatment Often Involves Clinical Psychological Therapy ...

Addictions are considered mental illnesses, regardless of whether the addiction is to alcohol, drugs, gambling, sex or cigarettes, or some other substance or behavior. Because all addictions are a little different, and all patients are also unique, mental health practitioners use several different types of treatments to help patients break free of whatever addiction has a hold over them. Typically addiction therapy will include some combination of behavioral therapies and some psychologists will even utilize clinical hypnosis. In addition, there are medications available for those who don?t respond well to psychological therapy alone.

Many addictions begin as a recreational activity. For example, gambling and drinking are both socially acceptable behaviors, but for some, this pleasurable activity can spiral out of control, and this is when it becomes a mental illness. Without help, it?s nearly impossible for some people to regain control on their lives.

For others addictions can occur in response to something they had no control over. A very traumatic event in someone?s life can lead to several types of addictive behavior as individuals struggle with self esteem issues or the inability to accept the outcome of the event. Deaths, divorce, loss of employment, war, violence and so many more situations can cause an individual to turn to drugs or alcohol as a way to cope and sleep at night. Because these substances can help one regain some level of calm, however temporary, the person may find they either do not want or are unable to stop the use, even years after an event occurred.

Many addicts believe that the outside world is causing the addictive behavior. Using the traditional methods of cognitive behavioral therapy, family therapy and positive reinforcement in conjunction with clinical hypnosis, some psychologists find they can help a patient start to understand that it is their own reactions to external situations that defines their reality. Addicts are taught how to recognize their negative reaction to external stimuli and change that to a more positive outlook.

Clinical hypnosis is induced through a process of suggestion and verbal instruction. The patient is helped to move into a state of light to deep relaxation. They are able to hear everything being said to them, and have control over their responses, though the ultra relaxed state gives them permission to say things they might otherwise edit or block. Under hypnosis, the goal is to identify how a patient feels before and after using an addictive substance. If, as is commonly the case, the addictive behavior is a coping mechanism, the therapy focuses on getting the patient to learn or relearn methods of coping that are healthy rather than self destructive.

In addition to one-on-one therapy sessions, most addiction treatment involves participation in group therapy. This offers a patient support, allowing them to recognize that they are not alone in trying to deal with similar issues, and that help and reinforcement can be as close as a phone call away. Often, clinical hypnotic induction is recorded and sent home with the patient so they can re-create the experience for themselves to reinforce positive feelings and other skills they have learned.

Those with serious chemical addictions, such as drugs must endure detoxification before the behavioral therapy can begin. Medication may be used to help with symptoms of withdrawal, allowing the brain to restore relatively normal functioning and preventing relapse. A psychologist cannot prescribe medication, but can work with other physicians in order to get the prescription for the patient.

Although there are a limited number of substances people become addicted to, each has their own unique set of circumstances that led to their addictive behavior. In many cases, a multi-pronged approach is needed in order to see a patient successfully through to recovery. The combination of clinical hypnosis within a framework of cognitive behavioral therapy, group counseling and medication, if necessary, has been shown to be incredibly effective in the course of treatment. Implicit in this method of treatment is the need to work with each patient individually, so each can get the help that?s right for them.

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Author Stephen Daniels highly recommends Dr. Shannon St Pierre a psychologist in Calgary with more than 22 years of experience. She effectively uses clinical hypnosis in conjunction with behavioral therapy to treat addictive behaviors, and teaches self hypnosis to help patients manage their lives more effectively.

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Source: http://www.reliefoil.com/addiction-treatment-often-involves-clinical-psychological-therapy-hypnosis-and-medication/

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