Many people with substance use problems have also gone through at least one traumatic experience. Experiences of this type push you beyond your normal ability to handle stress. As a result, they can potentially help trigger a range of severe health issues. Those issues often include substance abuse and addiction. While in rehab, you may need a trauma therapy program to overcome your past experiences. This kind of program may rely on a range of common, effective treatment options to support your recovery.
Therapies for Trauma – Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive-behavioral therapy, or CBT, is a widely used form of trauma treatment. It provides its benefits, in part, by helping you recognize how past traumas have negatively affected your:
- Thoughts
- Emotional processes
- Behavioral responses and actions
In CBT, you also learn how to undo the impact of past traumas in these three areas. What’s more, the therapy provides you with practical advice on how to deal with any trauma reactions still affecting you.
Trauma Therapies – Exposure Therapy
Exposure therapy is a subtype of CBT. It gets its name because it purposefully exposes you to things that trigger your trauma reactions. This exposure takes place in a highly controlled setting. Through role-playing and other methods, it recreates key aspects of past traumatic situations.
In time-limited sessions, you face this kind of situation. The goal is to desensitize you to its traumatic effects. When this happens, your past traumas begin to lose their hold on you. As a result, it becomes easier to cope with current situations that could potentially retrigger your trauma.
Psychodynamic Therapy for Trauma
Psychodynamic therapy is an offshoot of traditional psychoanalysis. Like psychoanalysis, therapy helps you explore your unconscious thoughts. It also helps you process experiences you have not previously examined consciously.
However, psychodynamic therapy also differs from analysis in significant ways. Like CBT and exposure therapy, it is heavily goal-oriented. It seeks to help you with specific problems affecting you. Psychodynamic therapy also often takes less time to complete than analysis.
Trauma Therapies – Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
Another potential option for trauma therapy is eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, or EMDR. In EMDR, you:
- Learn about the potential effects of trauma
- Use a specific process to target and process traumatic memories
- Develop coping skills that help you deal with trauma-related stress
- Cultivate positive beliefs about your future and its potential
In EMDR memory processing, you focus on a specific memory. At the same time, you focus your attention on an outside point of reference. This reference point is often a rhythmic back-and-forth movement of your eyes. It can also be a rhythmic sound or other rhythmic sensation. By doing this repeatedly, you can reduce the impact of the targeted traumatic memory. You can also use the same method to cultivate positive beliefs.
Like all of the other therapies mentioned here, EMDR is evidence-based. Evidence-based means that research demonstrates its effectiveness for many people affected by trauma, which is crucial. Why? Evidence-based care is more reliable than other potential treatment options.
Learn More About Therapies for Trauma at Northpoint Colorado
Want more information on how past traumas can affect your substance use? Talk to the experts at Northpoint Colorado. We’ll help you explore how and why trauma and addiction overlap. You can also work with us to develop a therapy plan utilizing the most effective options for trauma treatment.
Need trauma treatment during rehab? Northpoint Colorado features a specialized trauma therapy program. This program uses a variety of options to support your successful recovery. All trauma therapy is customized to provide you with the greatest possible benefit. Call us today at 888.231.1281 to learn more or fill out our online message form.
