We offer a variety of intensive therapies, because they are a proven-effective method of addiction treatment. Therapy is the most underrated tool for overall wellness. You should never overlook therapy or the power that therapy has to transform your life. From therapy comes insight, exploration, understanding, and change.
Royal Life Centers at Puget Sound knows that therapy is the single greatest tool in overcoming your addiction, which is why we provide a variety of intensive therapies. At Royal Life Centers at Puget Sound, we have many forms of therapy, including: individual therapy sessions, group therapy, behavioral therapies, adventure therapy, activity therapy, and equine therapy. We advocate for guests to partake in as many therapeutic processes as they can, as we are firm believers in the effect that therapy has on making positive changes.
Therapy to Recover from Addiction
Therapy is the single most important part of drug and alcohol rehabilitation, matched only by the willingness to get sober— and to try a different way of life. Therapy promotes overall health, but mental health in particular. Therapy helps our guests immensely, as it provides them with insight, understanding, and an opportunity to explore themselves, all giving way to positive change. We use intensive therapies to uncover the root cause of substance abuse, resolve any trauma or unresolved emotions, gain a better understanding of the way guest’s think and behave, and identify any triggers, among many other things. Therapy is essential for the recovery process, which is why we provide a variety of therapies in all of our addiction treatment programming.
Beyond addiction treatment, we think everybody can benefit from partaking in therapy. Here’s why:
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- talking about things helps you understand them fully
When you are talking in therapy, you are able to gain insight about whatever you’re talking about. Maybe the way you perceive a situation has a different perception from another’s point of view, which is almost always the case. You will gain a better understanding from talking about something, in addition to the experience just being cathartic.
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- get validated
Therapists are experts at validating your emotions, which in itself is an invaluable feeling. You will never be told that you are wrong for feeling a certain way, or that your feelings don’t make sense; instead, you will be validated for your emotions and challenged to explore them.
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- discover past wounds that still effect you
Often, when something seemingly menial triggers a reaction, it is because that thing is actually triggering a reaction from an unresolved issue in your past. Exploring these triggers will provide you with insight into your behavior and reactions, allowing you to finally resolve and come to peace with issues that could be plaguing you present day.
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- focusing on yourself
During therapy, you can put aside any worry for other people. Your therapy sessions are a chance for you to look into what’s going on with you solely. You may find yourself constantly catering to others needs and feelings, but with therapy you only have to focus on yourself. You don’t have to worry about talking about the same issue over and over again either, the time you have with your therapist is yours to use, to talk about anything that is bothering you, no matter how many times you have brought it up.
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- zero judgement
Therapy sessions are a safe space for you to talk about anything that may be embarrassing or uncomfortable to speak about elsewhere. You can say anything in therapy without fear of being judged or criticized.
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- safe space
Speaking of safe spaces, therapists are there as a presence— they will help and guide you through your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors without impeding on your own personal growth. What I mean by this, is that therapists are there to provide a presence and give insight and guidance as you solve your problems. No therapist will solve your problems for you, they only provide the space and insight to help you solve the problems yourself. This isn’t just a safe space to build trust in, but you are also building self-esteem as you are guided to find your own solutions using the insight the therapist has provided.
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- awareness
Therapists are able to hear what you have to say about your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. From the information you provide, they are able to point out any patterns or any commonalities from what you tell them. This insight can be life-changing for you. These patterns could be the people you choose to surround yourself with, thought patterns, patterns in romantic partners, patterns of behavior in relationships, etc. Having the awareness of how you think, feel, and act can help you so much.
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- repressed emotions
Using therapy to uncover repressed emotions will ensure that you are fully working through any repressed emotions— this way, they cannot come back to cause problems in your life. Repression will have seriously negative effects on your well-being, and can even cause physical reactions. Bringing repressed emotions to the surface will give you the opportunity to work through them, feel them, understand them, and navigate them moving forward.
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- multiple perspectives
Therapists can provide multiple perspectives for one single situation. Finding ways to acknowledge other ways of looking at something can ultimately help change your state-of-mind from being narrow to broad. These perspectives will come in handy as you problem-solve and navigate through recovery and through life.
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- rewire your brain
“We think of medication as changing the depressed brain, but there’s very compelling evidence that talk therapy does the same. With brain imaging methods, psychotherapy has been shown to alter activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, the anterior cingulate cortex, the hippocampus, and the amygdala. These areas are involved in self-referential thoughts (“me”-centered worry thoughts), executive control, emotion, and fear” (Walton).
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- learn
Overall, therapy will teach you how to get through problematic thoughts and obstacles just by talking through it. This is a healthy way to navigate through life, far from your old method of masking the problem(s) with drugs or alcohol.
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- trauma
With therapy, you are able to expose and understand any trauma or traumatic events that effect you today. Therapy is the most effective method of overcoming the effects of trauma, and will allow you to free yourself from the experience and move forward.
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- grief & loss
Often times, when we face grief and loss, we are unable to properly process it. Therapy will help you effectively process your grief or any loss that you’ve experienced. This is something that will provide you with so much freedom, as you will find yourself able to overcome these feelings and events without being consumed by them.
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- lasting effects
Therapy provides insight and understanding that will continue to help you cope, understand, and overcome any obstacles or stressors in your daily life. The lasting effects of therapy are endless.
Common Misinterpretations
People think that if you go to therapy you must really sad, unstable, or out of control. For some reason, tending to your mental health is extremely stigmatized. We think that people who think therapy is only for crazy people, are the crazy ones. Everyone can benefit from therapy. Thinking that only crazy people go to therapy is like thinking that only crazy people need to care about mental health. Bettering yourself should be every single person’s main goal. Therapy is not only tending to your mental health, but it is a valuable tool in personal growth.
If you have a substance use disorder or problem with drug abuse, you will find that therapy will be the most helpful tool for you to guide you in the direction of positive change. All of our treatment facilities provide a variety of therapies for the recovery of mind, body, and spirit. We firmly believe that therapy is one of the best things you can partake in for yourself.
Therapy at Royal Life Centers
Our treatment centers match guests with a primary therapist upon their arrival to our addiction treatment facilities. Guests will work with their primary therapist through out their stay with us, giving them the opportunity to build trust and safety with their primary therapist. Our treatment programs are individualized, as guests work with their therapist and case manager to develop a treatment plan tailored specifically to meet their personal needs, goals, and circumstances. Our addiction treatment is comprehensive and offers intensive therapies for long term and lasting sobriety. The intensive therapies we offer at Royal Life Centers include: individual therapy sessions, group therapy, behavioral therapies, adventure therapy, activity therapy, and equine therapy. Also included in our therapeutic processes are cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, art therapy, journaling therapy, music therapy, and more. If you are seeking addiction treatment, please reach out to us.
Reach Out
If you or someone you know is struggling with an addiction, please reach out to us at (877)-RECOVERY or (888) 308-1985. Our team of addiction specialists make themselves available to take your call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Because We Care.
References:
Walton, Alice G. “11 Intriguing Reasons To Give Talk Therapy A Try.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 2 June 2017, www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2014/06/03/11-intriguing-reasons-to-give-talk-therapy-a-try/#3f3b79cd4ebb
