TRAUMA THERAPY

Our Drug Rehab Centers are a trauma-informed care facility with extensive experience in providing trauma therapy on a daily basis. What exactly causes someone to be in need of a trauma-informed care rehab center? Well, it can be any event that has happened to a person. 

It can be a series of situations over time and it can also be a set of circumstances that someone is living through and these cause an individual to have physical and/or emotional impacts that impede their functioning. This can lead to a person finding ways of coping that work in the short run but not necessarily in the long haul. 

So if we are investigating the trauma in someone’s life, we are looking at events and circumstances that effect the individual. Trauma is the sum of all of those events and experiences that will impact a person as a whole. 

So some traumatizing events could be a fire. It could be a barking dog that never stops every time you walk by who would in fact bite and/or attack you if given the chance. It could be watching someone be very ill that is close to you. 

It could be experiencing a thunderstorm or hurricane down in the south. It could be being a victim of child sexual abuse. It could be witnessing violence in your community. It could be from being homeless, hungry and not having your basic needs met. It can be experiencing a traumatic death. 

It can be any or all of these things combined! It’s important to distinguish between grief and trauma. Grief is really just a generalized reaction to sadness; so it really doesn’t make you question your identity, so it doesn’t make you feel guilty. 

The pain is actually related to the loss of that individual trauma. A reaction of terror attacks our self-concept. It says it’s my fault and that I had something to do with this. It really is related to tremendous fear on part of the individual and sometimes if it’s a child, the anger often becomes destructive and aggressive.

They will also have seen an increase in fighting so the impact of trauma can hurt everyday tasks. It really affects the prefrontal cortex in the executive functioning of the brain. So it will affect processing information holding various conversations with people. Someone’s ability to set goals, sit still in class, etc. In general, remembering how to organize things that you and I take for granted in day to day life. 

Some of the cognitive symptoms of trauma would be: 

Memory lapses

Difficulty making decisions 

Decreased ability to concentrate 

Feeling extracted with the environment around you

Trauma informed care isn’t really an intervention but it’s an approach that tries to aim to engage the various clients. We have to have histories of trauma and for us to recognize the presence of some of these trauma systems. We must acknowledge that there’s a role that comes played in that young person or adult’s life. 

Think of it as a universal precaution that we always want to put a mask on in public. Behind closed doors at home we’re dealing with an overwhelming amount of unaddressed pain, shame and trauma (physical, emotional or sexual). Those in need of trauma therapy are suffering in isolation in most times. 

When medically treating trauma, this is really about an emotional universe precaution that we want to approach people with respect, kindness and some sense of dignity and safety to their emotional well-being. You could say it is our job to calmingly care for our clients as every group member matters and must be catered to on an individual basis! 

Trauma-informed care impacts how we interact on a day to day basis with our clients. It’s really a shift on looking at someone and saying “what’s

wrong with you” and instead really starting to appreciate their personal story and to ask, “what’s happened to you”, or  “what have you gone through in your life”, or  “how can I help you feel more comfortable here at our Drug Rehab”? 

That’s when we start to ask what is strong about the person. What are the resiliency factors that really help them to survive on a day-to-day basis, and to stop asking people what’s wrong with you! It’s really just about seeing the resilience and the strengths and the things that they have to offer. 

Our trauma therapy is to ensure our clients feel safe both physically as well as emotionally every time they enter our doors. We also want to have rapport and a true relationship with all of our clientele.

Once a client knows they are safe, then they’re ready! They can trust us to finally talk about what had happened to them! They can let us know exactly what type of services they would like from us in order to best serve them!

They will inform us whether or not they’d like to receive medication management, etc. The bottom line here is that we want our clients to understand that they are in control of what services they are receiving from us and are a part of the collaboration when it comes to developing a treatment plan with their primary therapist. 

We want all of our clients to tell us how we can help them and we will offer as many if not all of those services to meet their needs. We also want to empower the people that we serve to move on with their life with their strengths resiliency and skill sets that they will be able to use in their future.

Trauma informed care is based on an understanding that we serve clients to have neurological, biological, psychological and physical effects from traumas that are hidden from us. We cannot necessarily see when you’re first introduced to them and have an understanding that these experiences happen quite often to individuals who are undergoing substance abuse as well as behavioral and mental health services. 

We take into account that we have knowledge of trauma and we use this knowledge across all departments in our trauma therapy drug rehab centers. This also means that we assess and provide care that takes into account any type of trauma that may have happened to that individual or the family.

We recognize that most traditional service approaches can not reach those we serve very well. So if someone has undergone trauma in a treatment center prior to working with us, just by coming into our trauma therapy setting may be a trigger for them. 

Trauma informed care is a person centered response and we’re looking at improving individuals’ all around health and well-being rather than just treating a simple mental illness or addiction. Our Drug Rehab embraces trauma-informed care! We recognize the coercive interventions can cause further traumatization!

That’s why we provide hands-on training to our staff accordingly. Our Drug Rehab values our client’s voice in all aspects of care! From intakes all the way through discharge. We recognize the client as a whole including all the individual’s perspectives and responses, as well as those of their family. 

We focus on what has happened to those we serve. We also do a lot with self-care involving our (EAP) Employee Assistance Program as well as regular trainings for our clinical staff to continue to work with those of experienced trauma therapy specific treatment. 

Besides utilizing our amazing trauma therapy at our trauma informed care facility, we also use other modalities to provide services for those that have identified trauma as something they are ready to address. You really have to call us or schedule a tour to learn about all of the amazing things our Drug Rehab can do for you.

The standards all licensing agencies address are the program’s performance in specific areas, and have developed requirements to make sure that care, treatment and services are provided in a safe manner. A trauma-informed and a recovery-oriented system of care, are the foundation of these requirements. These standards and requirements are developed with behavioral health care experts, behavioral health providers, outcome measurement experts, as well as patients and their families through direct surveys and the grievance procedure.  While at our Drug Rehab Centers, you can expect to address all your extremely difficult trauma issues as well as the important psycho-education you need to survive!

Everyone has a story. You create this story in early childhood based upon what’s happening in your world. If your world is healthy and positive, that’s the story you will create. You will feel competent and secure in your world. That’s an ideal foundation to build your life upon. For most addicts, however, that’s not what generally happens. Therapy, provided by a highly skilled and compassionate therapist is the catalyst you need for lasting change. The knowledge that you are not alone, you are not crazy, and you do not have to be an addict forever provides a sense of security and safety you may not have felt in your life until now. We will connect you with a therapist that can help with whatever you are going through, so you can re-write your story to one of health, security, positivity and happiness.

One major aspect of our Drug Rehab is our exclusive individual therapy performed by some of the best therapists. Our therapists are dedicated to making sure you finally heal! By having access to a private therapist, you can address various issues such as, but not limited to, past/current emotional trauma/abuse, past current physical abuse/trauma as well as past/current sexual trauma/abuse.  

If you are wondering exactly what the different types of trauma are that need to be addressed (Emotional, Physical and Sexual) in an individual therapy setting are, below are some brief descriptions.

• Emotional Trauma: This is a wide range of abuse that does not have to deal with physical or sexual abuse or touching. Words are just as damaging as being assaulted or forced to do something against your will. Even scarier is that unlike a bruise or broken bone which are hard to hide, you are able to bury your hidden feelings and painful experiences and memories. If no one ever asks you the right questions, then no one will be able to pick up the undertones of depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses that continue to cause dysfunction in your life and cause you to resort to drugs and alcohol to cope with the trauma.

• Physical Trauma: This is mainly dealing with the actual physical violence you may have endured while a child or adult. When an addict is healing from their substance abuse but has endured physical abuse, the pain beyond a bruise or broken bone last much longer. In fact, it is considered soul murder when someone tries to hurt you in any shape or form. So just because your bruises have healed, that does not mean that you are. There is much work to be had in the department of overcoming resentment and fear as well as boundaries and standing up for oneself!

• Sexual Trauma: Although you cannot compare two separate individuals that have experienced all different types of trauma and abuse, generally speaking; no one would wish rape or molestation upon their worst enemy! We are fully aware that many alcohol or drug addicts are silently suffering from past experiences that continue to haunt them today. Most of the time these past ordeals lead to severe anxiety, depression, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and can completely debilitate someone from living a normal life. It is no wonder someone who has experienced sexual trauma would turn to drug abuse and alcoholism for comfort and a false sense of safety. 

If any of these experiences are left unaddressed, you will most likely continue to use until you make your way to the grave. We know that drugs and alcohol are not your problem but rather a solution to all of your problems in life. A simple way to illustrate this is to take away your drug use and then ask yourself if by doing so would all of your problems just go away? Numbing out is a brilliant coping mechanism, but no longer serves you. Hopefully after reading the three main types of abuse an addict usually experiences; you understand the importance of addressing such traumatic experiences with a licensed professional who is qualified to treat such symptoms and issues. 

Most all addicts are embarrassed to talk about their intimate issues in a group setting. That is why we make individual therapy readily available. Some issues are just too traumatic to talk about in a public setting. All of our clients have access to a master level clinician on a weekly basis and in most cases if the situation requires it, can speak with a clinician every day out of the week. All this and more is possible at our Drug Treatment Center due to small intimate group sizes and placing a priority on the client’s life as the highest concern.

Come feel secure and safe with us knowing we are using the best therapeutic interventions, have the most highly trained staff, and that we are fully committed to seeing you through this journey. In fact, we are always honored to be even a small part of someone’s journey to finding their way home again. We do not take that honor lightly. We know what it took for you to get here!

The following evidence-based modalities are used by our highly trained clinicians to address issues of trauma and how that changes the way our brain works, and how we think about life:

• Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT): CPT is a solution focused therapy where you and your therapist will explore the negative beliefs you have about yourself, the world and your life. Our therapist will help you look at the unhealthy coping skills you have developed because of the negative thoughts and traumatic experiences, and how addiction is an acting out of those negative thoughts and unhealthy coping skills. 

• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT): DBT is a dialectic process, meaning there is always more than one way to think and feel about a situation.  DBT creates a balance between acceptance of what is and change, both of which are necessary to overcome addictions. This modality is especially helpful for those suffering with Borderline Personality Disorder.              

• MBB (Mind Body Bridging): MBB is a technique used to bridge the gap between the emotional and logical by mapping and stimulating the Index System (I system). This allows for opportunities to slow the I system down naturally by learning to identify manufactured stories and requirements that cause hyper-arousal.

• Shame Resiliency: Shame is the largest predictor of relapse and lack of wellness as well as the most common feeling associated with trauma.  Patients are taught shame resiliency skills to live an authentic, wholehearted lives.

• Psychodrama: A therapy technique used to bring closure to trauma wounds. Group begins with a warm up and then group members can volunteer to do an enactment about something painful needing to be processed. The group then shares their experiences about the enactment and then closes with gratitude’s or affirmations.

• Self-Compassion & Radical Acceptance: Building self-esteem doesn’t work, and studies show that it actually causes relapse. Self-compassion is the most effective means of countering shame and negative feelings, which are directly correlated with mental wellness, trauma recovery and sobriety. Patients are taught the requirements of self-compassion (mindfulness, self-kindness and common humanity) and radical acceptance through experiential exercises. 

• Mediation/Mindfulness: Patients are taught how to take the critical pause to find fresh alternative to the unhealthy habits they have been engaged in to numb and run away from their emotions. This includes Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and gaining  control over the heart rate through breath work and learning body sensations.

Our Drug Rehab believes in the efficacy of the therapy modalities that we offer. As we continue to expand our program in exciting ways we also include Community, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Music Imagery and Process, and many other therapy modalities that are foundational for long term success, healing and growth.

No one, and no issue is “hard” or “easy”. People are in pain, or clinically depressed or just have not been taught appropriate coping skills for the hard things life can throw at us.  No one asks to be hurt in life; sometimes it just happens. That’s not your fault! We will help you realize your true worth.  We will help you remember who you are before your “story” got hijacked by other people. We will help you rewrite your story how you want to be as a person; how you want to show up on the planet. Let us help you find “You” again!

Give us a call to see if our PTSD and Trauma Based Addiction Recovery program is right for you? (949) 386-2715