People struggling with drug and alcohol addiction have behavioral health disorders that need to be treated. At today’s treatment facilities, counselors host support groups that give patients the chance to grow and learn with one another.

Addiction Support Groups

At rehab centers throughout the US, group meetings are part of most addiction treatment programs. In support groups, patients and counselors meet in a room to discuss:

• Struggles – Each patient opens up about his/her struggles with alcohol and drug addiction. How it started; the vice-triggers; how bad it got.
• Triumphs – What things do patients do to overcome drug abuse? Different patients have different coping mechanisms that others can learn from.
• Insights – The new ideas that people have gained since entering rehab. Each patient shares an idea that has worked in his/her effort to stay sober.
• Fears – What doubts and insecurities do each patient struggle with? Patients open up about feelings that once triggered drug or alcohol cravings. How do they face fear now?
• Progress – How far has each patient come since entering substance abuse treatment. What goals and milestones still lie ahead.

Peer support groups are a great way for recovering drug and alcohol users to gain knowledge, inspiration and encouragement from like-minded individuals on the same journey.

Family Therapy

At today’s treatment facilities, family therapy is an integral part of alcohol and drug addiction treatment. In most cases, family members don’t know how to handle their addicted loved ones. Family therapy helps both sides learn:

• Understanding – When a patient struggles with drug or alcohol addiction, family members don’t often know how to handle the situation. Some give up on the individual while others see addiction as a moral problem. Joint therapy helps families understand the situation at hand.
• Communication – Families often don’t know how to talk to addicted loved ones. A parent or partner might shout at the person when he/she shows symptoms of drug or alcohol abuse. Addiction counselors help family members properly speak and handle loved ones in these situations.
• Sensitivity – Drug and alcohol abuse is often spurred by mental illness factors like trauma, depression, paranoia and lack of coping skills. People can get sensitive or go into denial when confronted by a family member about substance abuse. Therapy helps families communicate in a sensitive, non-offending manner.
• Reason – In support meetings, patients and their families set recovery goals. This is done with the understanding that sobriety is an ongoing effort and relapse is a learning experience, not a defeat.

Near the end of family therapy, counselors instruct family members on how to properly accommodate their loved one once he/she exits the rehab facility and returns to normal life.

Experiential Therapy

At treatment facilities, counselors promote various methods of behavioral health, such as experiential therapy, which involves experiences. This helps patients through the recovery process by giving them new hobbies, talents, passions and goals.

• Art therapy – Art is one of the best ways to engage the mind. Through mediums like painting, drawing and pottery, people in recovery find new, rewarding pursuits to fill their time. To complete a painting, the artist must concentrate and focus on meticulous details, layer by layer.
• Music therapy – Music entertains and engages the mind. There are many details and harmonic nuances to take in with good music. Classical and jazz are filled with counterpoint and layers that reveal something new with each listen. Rock, soul and folk have visceral effects and points of lyrical interest.
• Equine therapy – This involves horses and horseback riding. Animals represent a different side of nature. They have no culture, economy, cities, politics, technology, drugs or alcohol. For humans, communication with animals is vital for mental health. Animals demonstrate what life is like with no drama, addiction or financial concerns.
• Outdoor activities – When urban congestion gets too much, nature is the best antidote. Out in the woods, there are no bars, liquor stores or street pushers. Nature activities like hiking, rock climbing and camping can clear the mind and nurture curiosity and a sense of adventure. The great outdoors can improve a patient’s mental health condition.
• Sports and exercise – Physical activity promotes blood flow, stamina and body health. The more physically fit an individual gets, the more fit he/she wants to be. This is the opposite mindset of people with drug and alcohol use disorders, which ruin health and cause lethargy.

Experiential therapy helps patients take on mindsets, goals and lifestyles in which drugs and alcohol have no place.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a method used in addiction recovery to change a patient’s habit-forming subconscious beliefs. In many cases, addictive behavior is a mental health disorder rooted in deep-seated feelings of despair. CBT covers:

• Deep thought – CBT encourages patients to meditate each day. This clears the mind, relaxes the body and allows people to take in positive vibes.
• Thought keeping – Patients are encouraged to keep journals of their thoughts, feelings, goals, accomplishments and progress with addiction treatment.
• Exposure therapy – People who struggle with addiction often suffer irrational fears and hallucinations. CBT challenges patients to conquer irrational fears with daring exercises. Examples include handling tarantulas, swimming and low-elevation tight-rope walking.
• Thought exercises – The mind is active 24/7 and can roam anywhere unless the individual proactively guides the thought process. CBT promotes exercises that train the mind to stay on positive, self-empowering themes. When left unattended, the mind may roam into negative areas that reinforce limiting, self-defeating mindsets.

CBT helps people conquer addictive behavior by reversing the deep-seated mindsets that fuel addiction.

Dual Diagnosis Therapy

In contemporary rehab therapy, drug and alcohol addiction are seen as behavioral health disorders often rooted in childhood trauma. A lot of people with addictive tendencies were sexually abused as minors. Others use drugs to fill a void caused by grief, such as the early loss of a parent or loved one.

In dual diagnosis therapy, counselors work with patients to pinpoint his/her childhood issues and deep-seated traumas. Once these issues are identified, counselors use this information to customize the patient’s treatment plan. By dealing with the underlying issues, it’s easier to achieve long-term recovery.

Get Help: Support Group Treatment Options

At treatment facilities, support groups and behavioral health counselors offer some of the best methods for recovery. Most of today’s rehab centers offer multiple addiction treatment options, all in accordance with the Mental Health Services Administration.

If someone you know is struggling with drug or alcohol addiction, call the nearest treatment centers and ask about their programs and support groups. Your call could save a loved one.