Substance Abuse Therapy At Spring Hill

From the early stages of substance abuse treatment to aftercare programming, therapeutic approaches are designed to reveal the underlying issues that perpetuate cycles of addiction.

Individual, group, and family counseling services are crucial to helping you achieve success in recovery by identifying the root causes of your substance abuse through self-exploration.

All three types of therapy offered at Spring Hill can ultimately empower you to build healthier relationships with yourself, your families and loved ones, and your peers in recovery.

Why Therapy Is Important In Addiction Recovery

Abstinence from mind-altering substances is only half the battle. The other half entails understanding the psychological and emotional factors of compulsive drug or alcohol use.

Through therapy, you can identify your primary triggers and stressors and learn how to cope with your most challenging emotions without resorting to substances for temporary relief.

Therapy is the base of success for any long-term recovery journey. It’s the focal point of inpatient rehab at Spring Hill as well as outpatient treatment, medication-assisted treatment, and other types of care.

Types Of Evidence-Based Therapies At Spring Hill

Effective addiction therapy is meant to address the mental nature of chemical dependence. Every type of therapeutic approach has a unique way of forming healthier neural pathways.

Patients may respond better to some therapy approaches than others on a case-by-case basis. In many cases, a combination of approaches can be more effective than one approach alone.

Our rehab center offers a range of evidence-based therapy approaches to provide individualized care for each patient.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based type of psychotherapy that integrates cognitive and behavioral therapies to treat substance use disorders and improve mental health.

CBT is one of the most common types of addiction therapy that you’ll find at addiction counseling and rehab centers in New England and across the U.S.

This approach is based on the basic theory that behaviors, thoughts, and feelings are interwoven, and patterns in all three can be changed or relearned to produce healthier ones.

In our addiction treatment program, CBT is often used in combination with other treatments to help you learn how to develop effective coping skills in place of substances.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (CBT)

Similar to CBT, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a counseling approach that helps you learn how to cope with stressors that trigger challenging emotions and unhealthy behaviors.

Originally, DBT was designed to treat borderline personality disorders by teaching emotional regulation strategies such as mindfulness and distress tolerance.

Mindfulness practices help you to stay in the present, and distress tolerance entails self-soothing and distraction techniques to cope with intense feelings and emotions in real-time.
DBT is now also used for other disorders such as:

• post-traumatic stress disorder
• behavioral and mental health disorders
• substance use disorders in individual and group therapy settings

Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing (EMDR)

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an advanced and modern therapeutic technique that focuses on the connection between trauma and addiction.

The EMDR approach is based on the theory that substance abuse patterns evolve as survival skills to cope with memories and emotions related to traumatic experiences.

By processing these memories in therapy, you can learn how to manage triggering emotions and gradually overcome your fears of experiencing those emotional responses.

EMDR has evolved as an evidence-based therapeutic practice that can treat people with addiction and co-occurring mental health disorders.

Motivational Interviewing (MI)

Self-motivation to maintain sobriety is essential to long-term recovery and is something you may find difficult during the early phases of treatment.

The technique of motivational interviewing entails counseling you on finding your inner resolve and motivation for working on yourself to improve your lives for the better.

Helping you discover your motives and goals for abstinence is a journey of self-exploration that reveals inner strengths and develops self-confidence and self-worth.

There are four principles of motivational interviewing:

• expressing empathy for the patient
• supporting the patient’s self-efficacy
• working through a patient’s resistance
• developing discrepancies between past, present, and future circumstances

With motivational interviewing, our therapists passively listen and empathize with you as you actively work through your hesitancies and mental obstacles to recovery.

Motivational interviewing at Spring Hill is often combined with other approaches such as CBT, DBT, stress management, and group therapy for optimal results.

Community Reinforcement Approach

Reinforcing positive lifestyle changes and healthier choices is key for early recovery, as motivation is driven by rewarding experiences in recovery.

The community reinforcement approach provides perspective on the comparison between living in active addiction and enjoying life without being dependent on mind-altering substances.

The theory behind community reinforcement is that reward is more influential on behavioral modification than punishment.

Healthy behaviors that are reinforced are more likely to be repeated. In general, you may be increasingly motivated by the benefits of sobriety, including:

• healthier relationships
• educational and employment opportunities
• connections to your communities

Family Therapy

The integration of family therapy in addiction recovery programs is a crucial element of the treatment process at Spring Hill, as family dynamics play a major role.

Although we no longer allow family at our treatment center, engaging family members and loved ones in your substance abuse treatment via phone calls or Zoom meetings helps everyone involved to be aware of the roles they play and the behaviors that fuel the addiction.

Through family therapy, each person who has been affected by substance abuse directly or indirectly can support one another in improving family dynamics and bonds.

12-Step Facilitation

Mutual support programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other 12-step recovery models can help you stay connected in your communities.

By facilitating 12-step involvement, we can help empower you and your peers to support one another and share experiences, strength, and hope as you navigate journeys in recovery.

The 12 steps set a strong foundation for recovery that you can continue building on in your communities after completing residential treatment at Spring Hill and moving into lower levels of care.

Many sober living homes in Massachusetts and beyond require 12-step group attendance to maintain residency.

Group Therapy At Spring Hill

Based on the concept that humans are instinctively drawn to connection, group therapy plays a significant role in each treatment day at Spring Hill.

Therapy in group settings, whether peer-led or professionally facilitated, is a natural way for you to feel accepted by your peers as you navigate the challenges of early sobriety.

Group therapy at our facility provides opportunities for you to emotionally interact and connect with other people you relate to. In our safe group settings, you can share experiences without fear of judgment or rejection.

Psychoeducational Groups

As you undergo therapy and experience recovery firsthand, you will likely gain insight into your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Psychoeducational group topics are used to educate patients on how to leverage these insights to make healthier choices and use good judgment in challenging or triggering situations.

Psychoeducational groups provide continuity in treatment, as you learn about the mental, psychological, and behavioral effects and consequences of addiction versus those of sobriety.

Distress Tolerance Skills Groups

Distress tolerance is one of the four primary modules of dialectical behavior therapy that focuses on the development of coping strategies to use during crises or stressful situations.

The benefits of distress tolerance skills groups include helping you learn how to tolerate stress that in the past would trigger drug use.

Relapse Prevention Groups

An essential part of addiction treatment is identifying relapse triggers and developing tools and skills to use in situations that could potentially trigger compulsions to drink or use again.

In relapse prevention groups, you learn about the stages and warning signs of relapse. Relapse prevention strategies can be learned and practiced in individual and group settings.

Triggers And Coping Skills Groups

Triggers and coping skills groups provide an outlet for you to explore the internal and external factors that increase your vulnerability to relapse.

While the topic of triggers can be intimidating, discussing them among peers with similar experiences and fears can decrease the anxiety around the possibility of relapse.

You can identify with one another and exchange feedback on the coping skills for addiction they use or would like to use.

Other Specialized Groups For Addiction Recovery

Specialized groups include a wide range of therapy approaches to address the specific needs of people with similar backgrounds.

Gender-specific groups may be designed for people who prefer to engage in group therapy with peers within their own gender, such as female or male survivors of sexual trauma.

There are also specialized groups for people who identify with a specific culture and would benefit more from being a group that is focused on cultural themes and backgrounds.

Other group therapy types that may be offered at Spring Hill include:

• veteran addiction recovery groups
• groups for single or parenting mothers
• LGBTQ+ addiction recovery groups
• PTSD-focused recovery groups
• groups for people with co-occurring disorders
• groups for first responders

At Spring Hill Recovery Center, we believe in making the recovery experience unique and rewarding for every person who seeks treatment for overcoming a substance use disorder.

Call our helpline to speak with a specialist about the evidence-based therapy approaches we offer to help you achieve your treatment goals and a fulfilling life of sobriety.