Individual Therapy

Addiction can negatively impact almost every area of your life. Long-term substance abuse can lead to physical and mental health issues, strained relationships, financial problems, legal trouble, and more. For these reasons, professional addiction treatment is necessary to achieve recovery. 

When you are in an addiction treatment program in New Jersey, you will engage in a variety of evidence-based services. For example, you might participate in medical detox, individual counseling, group therapy, and relapse prevention planning. 

During individual addiction therapy, you will develop healthy coping mechanisms, learn important communication skills, change negative thought patterns, and address the root causes of your substance abuse. Individual psychotherapy is a tool that promotes personal growth and lasting change to help you achieve long-term recovery from substance use disorders.

In this article, you will learn:

• The purpose of individual therapy in drug and alcohol rehab programs
• How individual counseling works
• Types of therapies used in one-on-one counseling
• Benefits of individual therapy for addiction recovery 

Individual therapy plays several important roles in the treatment process. 

• Addressing Root Causes – Substance abuse can be caused by a wide range of underlying issues, such as untreated trauma, underlying mental health conditions, or developed drug and alcohol use as a learned behavior from unhealthy living environments. Regardless of what caused your addiction, you will address and heal from it during individual talk therapy. 

• Identifying Triggers – There are specific triggers that cause substance abuse. It could be intense emotions like sadness or anger, reminders of a traumatic event, or people, places, and things that cause you distress. During individual therapy, you will identify these triggers to avoid and work through them in the future.

• Developing Coping Mechanisms – Once you identify your triggers, your therapist will help you develop healthy coping mechanisms to replace behaviors like drug and alcohol use.

• Changing Negative Patterns of Behavior – Addiction often causes people to adopt negative behavior patterns. During individual therapy, you will learn how to replace negative behavioral patterns with positive ones. You will do the same thing with thought patterns.

• Treating Mental Health Conditions – People who struggle with addiction often have underlying mental health conditions. If you struggle with a mental illness, individual therapy can help you learn how to manage your symptoms and prevent you from using drugs to self-medicate. 

Individual or one-on-one therapy involves meeting with a mental health professional in private. When you are in an addiction treatment program in New Jersey, you will meet with your therapist in their office. No one else will be present, and you can be comfortable opening up about sensitive topics.

Individual therapy sessions usually last 45 minutes to one hour. The first session will focus on your personal and family history, identifying current problems, and building a rapport between you and your therapist. After a relationship is built, you will use the future sessions to discuss your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Individual therapy also uses an individualized approach. Because the sessions focus solely on you, the therapist will tailor the topics, goals, and tools they use to target your needs.

There are many types of individual therapy that your therapist can choose from. Each therapeutic method comes with its own set of benefits.

During New Jersey rehab programs, evidence-based therapies are used to address addiction. This means the types of therapies you will engage in are proven effective in managing substance use disorders. 

Examples of evidence-based therapies for addiction include:[1]

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
• Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
• Motivational interviewing (MI)
• Contingency management (CM)
• 12-step facilitation therapy
• The matrix model

If you have co-occurring mental health disorders, your therapist might use other therapeutic interventions to address your symptoms. In other words, the type of therapy you engage in will be based on your specific needs and goals for recovery. 

If you or a loved one suffers from substance abuse, it’s time to consider your treatment options. At Blue Star Recovery we offer a highly-rated addiction treatment program that includes one-on-one therapy with a qualified mental health professional. 

Contact us today for more information on the importance of individual therapy in addiction treatment. 

References:

1. Science Direct: Evidence-based practices for substance use disorders