When you decide to attend addiction treatment programs, group and individual counseling allow you to explore your substance use disorder and co-occurring mental health disorders with a licensed therapist. At Red Oak Recovery, we use individual counseling in a number of evidence-based treatment approaches. Learn what individual counseling is and whether you may benefit from this type of therapy by calling Red Oak Recovery today at 828.382.9699.
What Is Individual Counseling?
Individual counseling for drug addiction addresses your drug or alcohol dependency and looks at how substance use has impacted your life. You also discuss the potential underlying causes of your addiction. While detox treats the physical symptoms of addiction, individual counseling addresses mental and physical wellness.
At times, deep conversations with your counselor may bring up past trauma or buried issues contributing to your substance use disorder. In individual counseling, you learn how to evaluate your thoughts and feelings and deal with them more beneficially. As a result, you increase your self-awareness and gather valuable tools that can help you prevent relapse once you finish the program.
Our individual counseling program takes many forms, but we’ll help you narrow down the ones that may benefit you the most.
Signs You Need Individual Therapy
Almost everyone can benefit from individual therapy while recovering from drug and alcohol abuse. In fact, individual counseling forms the backbone of our young adult treatment programs. Together with group therapy, it gives you the opportunity to become an active member of your recovery team.
Here are a few signs that you need individual counseling:
- You’ve battled co-occurring issues such as trauma, depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.
- You want to get to the bottom of why you started to use drugs or alcohol in the first place.
- You have unanswered questions regarding traumatic memories from your past and would like to face and overcome your fears.
- You’ve undergone drug or alcohol detox in the past without following through on recovery.
- You would like to learn how to overcome your thoughts and feelings and learn to express yourself in more productive ways.
Building a positive relationship with a therapist you can trust helps you progress more quickly along the path to recovery.
What Your Therapist Brings to Individual Counseling Sessions
The success of individual counseling sessions depends largely on the abilities of the therapist. Under the guidance of a licensed, caring therapist, you can access a recovery plan that addresses your strengths and weaknesses to help you overcome your substance use disorder.
Therapists are trained to listen without judgment and provide feedback to help you come to your own realizations, which allows you to pursue your recovery goals on your terms. Additionally, individual therapy gives you the chance to discuss topics you aren’t ready to talk about in group therapy. You also have the therapist’s undivided attention.
Types of Counseling for Drug Addiction
There are several types of therapy used in individual counseling, including the following:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy focuses on changing the way you react to negative events, thoughts, and feelings. It teaches you valuable coping skills.
- 12-step facilitation is based on a 12-step approach to recovering from substance use disorders. This approach considers addiction a disease that you cannot deal with on your own. It encourages participants to trust in a higher power to give them the strength to get through recovery.
- Dual diagnosis therapy deals with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.
- Grief counseling involves a therapist trained in helping clients overcome the emotional stress and trauma of losing someone they love.
Your therapist will help you determine whether these and other strategies will best serve your recovery efforts.
Learn More at Red Oak Recovery
One-on-one therapy with a licensed counselor can help you address how your substance use disorder has impacted your life. As you begin to heal, your sessions concentrate on what you want for your future life. Contact Red Oak Recovery at 828.382.9699 to learn more about our addiction treatment programs in Asheville, North Carolina.
