A full-service rehab facility provides dual diagnosis assessments and treatments. One condition that affects individuals dealing with addiction is trauma. However, what is trauma therapy? Furthermore, how can it help you when you’re struggling with addiction and need teen mental health treatment?
The Connection Between Trauma and Addiction
What is trauma therapy, and why do you need it? For people who suffered a traumatic event, it’s easy to slip into addiction. Typically, drug use starts as a form of self-medicating behavior. You want the memories to stop and the dreams to go away.
Feelings ambush you when you least expect it. However, you’ve learned that the right mix of pills or alcohol can numb you. It can prevent the constant intrusion of painful thoughts. That’s why you start drinking or using.
Over time, your body develops a tolerance to your substance of choice. That’s when you increase the dose. You’re building a physiological dependency. Before long, you have to use to feel normal or risk unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.
What Is Trauma Therapy at a Rehab Center Like?
When you check into rehab, you work with an adolescent teen mental health treatment specialist. This expert assesses you for a dual diagnosis. That means that they investigate whether you have an underlying mental health condition. Examples include anxiety, PTSD, or depression.
The therapist customizes your treatment approach with the trauma in mind. Examples of modalities include:
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy, which helps you overcome memory aspects of trauma
- Cognitive behavioral therapy that enables you to pinpoint dysfunction in thoughts, emotions, and actions
- A dedicated PTSD treatment program that benefits program participants with this condition
- Hypnotherapy as a means for staying focused on recovery and handling adversity
- Family counseling that’ll be instrumental in cases of co-dependency or a breakdown of healthy communication styles
How to Get the Most out of the Treatment
Enroll in a residential rehab program. While intensive outpatient programs or partial hospitalizations are typically available, inpatient treatment makes the most sense. You get the help you need to deal with trauma around the clock. If you realize that you need more time to heal, then transition to an extended-care program.
Not everyone completes addiction treatment in a short 30 days. Some do need 60 or 90 days. From there, consider moving to a sober living environment. It offers you a little extra time to practice living independently.
At this point, you also have the opportunity to ensure that your aftercare plans work for you. Examples include continued psychotherapy, family counseling, 12 Step meeting attendance, and relapse prevention strategies. If you need to make changes, work with your therapist on doing so before you start living independently. It sets you up for a successful long-term recovery.
So, what is trauma therapy? For you, it might be the difference between staying stuck in teen mental health drug addiction and finally finding a way for overcoming it. Learn how to deal with your situations from the past as well as your substance abuse at the same time. Contact a trauma recovery center today.