The initial steps toward achieving and sustaining recovery require change, adaption, motivation, and commitment. There are many factors in the recovery process, and maintaining your motivation and commitment pushes you to sustain abstinence. However, over time, the beginning motivation toward recovery that you trained during treatment becomes much more self-encouraged. This is where structured therapy groups can help to make long-term abstinence possible. What can someone expect when they join a therapy group during recovery from addiction?
Therapy groups provide opportunities to discuss hard conversations and circumstances in and out of treatment. Typically, the groups are small to medium-sized with a guided discussion about a particular scenario or topic. Therapy groups like these allow clients to recognize themselves through deeper introspection, learn truths about themselves, and teach them coping mechanisms that they can use to manage their lives in a healthy and safe environment. Therapy groups can be influential, as they can help reveal insights about addiction and identify personal truths of how to move forward in recovery.
Addiction recovery provides different types of therapy groups by focusing on areas like trauma, mindfulness, family, motivation, life skills, health, commitment, relapse, experiential therapy, and acceptance. Therapy groups help with long-term recovery and personal engagement to remain dedicated to your journey. When individuals partake in structured focus therapy groups or personal counseling, they understand addiction and the recovery process. These groups generate positive change and can increase the rate of recovery. They are fantastic for motivating those struggling with addiction to stay accountable and engage in various activities, putting words into action.
Therapy groups start and continue throughout treatment, but after treatment ends, they can be beneficial in pushing individuals toward maintaining their commitment to recovery. They can involve family, friends, and therapists. The benefits of getting involved with therapy groups include identifying triggers and warning signs of addiction, giving their members the ability to engage in recovery with their peers, and discover solutions that best fit their recovery plan.
Additional benefits that come with therapy include:
Initially, when treatment approaches its end, therapy is advised and included as a part of the recovery plan. This may feel nerve-wracking for some, as communication is difficult when struggling with substance use. However, the interpersonal skills and relationships built through each session heighten focus and give the person suffering from addiction the motivation to maintain their healthy life.
Therapy groups provide restoration and motivation to restore your sense of self-worth and give you more opportunities to hold yourself accountable in and out of recovery. They begin from the first point of engagement with the treatment facility and continue long beyond treatments in groups for alumni. Each therapy group focuses on different parts of the recovery process, providing respect and compassion with structure and consistency.
In therapy groups, individuals can expect to find positive support, advocacy, peers, and mentors, with other options for family and coupling treatments and case management. Therapy provides the opportunity to have a voice while going through treatment and recovery, regardless of what they are going through and what the future holds. The more engaged someone is in therapy groups, the more support and structure they benefit from while living their healthier and happier life.
Some expectations of therapy groups include:
Therapy helps a group of participants focus on limitations without external pressure. The levels of social support in therapy go above and beyond treatment, providing individuals with a positive influence in their goal of achieving abstinence short-term and long-term. The motivation gained from therapy sessions comes with a balance of beneficial decisions that help direct personal motivation and commitment.
It’s critical to understand the concepts and perspectives of individuals who struggle with substance use. Therapy sessions help each client on a day-to-day basis and provide an effective way to address the core reasoning behind their addiction. When a client partakes in therapy sessions, they gain influence on their extended recovery and build a network of people they can rely on and feel comfortable with.
Therapy sessions may have topics that discuss hard feelings and experiences, but the sessions allow the client to stop focusing on the painful thoughts, focusing instead on practicing strategies to live life more in the present and plan for the future. The social interactions, vulnerability, and education included in therapy give individuals perspectives, insights, and support to experience life substance-free. These skills build through each session, boosting confidence and trust. At NorthStar Transitions, we understand how important your perspective is on your recovery path. Our therapy opportunities and approaches are designed to build your confidence, helping you open up and teaching you how to find purpose and happiness in your life. When you choose to build your relationships and maintain your commitment to recovery, you are committing to the long-term goal of living a healthier life. For more information about our approaches or our therapy options, reach out to NorthStar Transitions, or call us at (303) 558-6400.
