Early recovery can be a time of emotional upheaval for many. Recovering from addiction, like most growth, usually comes with some discomfort. In fact, we often need to deliberately step outside of our comfort zones to achieve that growth.
Luckily recovery is a well-worn path. Millions, if not billions, have gone through the recovery process before, so we know what works. The way to get and stay sober is not a mystery. However, that doesn’t mean it comes easily.
Vital Component of Outpatient Treatment
Therapy is a vital component of outpatient treatment (OP) because the best way to heal and grow in early recovery is with direction. Make no mistake, the person in recovery is the one who must do the work. However, the work of recovery is much easier when we have guidance, particularly in the beginning.
Therapy helps the outpatient attendee make sense of their journey. It gives context to their feelings and challenges. It helps channel their attention and energy in the right direction. Part of having an addiction means that our instincts have failed us, and in early recovery, they still may fail us. When facing fear or discomfort, our first impulse is to run, hide or bottle up the emotion. Therapy will instead redirect us in the direction of growth. This means confronting fears but in a thoughtful way. In our therapy programs, we can also do this in a controlled environment with support.
Outpatient Treatment: Why Therapy is So Important?
The support that therapy provides during outpatient treatment makes great progress possible. It would be difficult to achieve this progress otherwise.
A trained therapist can direct a patient towards insights and encourage progress through positive reinforcement. Therapy also includes diagnostic elements that help both patient and therapist identify issues that lie at the core of the disorder. Things such as past trauma, unresolved resentments or unhealthy behavior patterns which may have been with a person for most