Trauma-informed treatment is an integral part of treatment at Lakeview Health. Many people battling addiction have been through traumatic experiences in the past, even if they do not know how their experiences affected their lives. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that an addiction therapy program addresses past trauma, so each person can begin to heal as they focus on recovery.
At Lakeview Health, we understand how challenging trauma can be. We also recognize that it often plays an integral role in the development of an addiction for both men and women. Therefore, in our treatment programs, we help you come to terms with your trauma as we address your addiction. Then, we give you the tools to help you move past it and into a better and brighter future.
You don’t have to deal with your traumatic experience or addiction on your own. When you reach out to Lakeview Health, we’re at your side throughout the recovery process. To learn about our trauma-informed therapy program, please reach out to Lakeview Health today by calling 866 704 7692 or using our convenient online form.
PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, is a collection of side effects from extreme trauma. Of the 90 percent of people in addiction treatment who need help for their trauma, many suffer PTSD. These side effects lead a large percentage to abuse drugs or alcohol as self-medication. This self-medication of PTSD makes it important to find a treatment that addresses all aspects of your physical, emotional, and mental health.
Everyone with an addiction to drugs or alcohol started using these substances for a reason. That reason is a need to feel “normal” or suffer fewer side effects of mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression, or trauma. For some, using is a means to escape feeling anything in their daily life. Our trauma-informed therapy program in Jacksonville, FL has the means, methods, and therapists you need to stop feeling drugs or alcohol provide solutions for your life problems.
Trauma is the aftereffect of any overwhelming or threatening event that makes you feel unsafe or unable to cope. Something that haunts one person and causes trauma for them may cause another person no concern at all. This factor makes trauma unique and not easily defined in terms of specific events.
For instance, a child getting lost in a grocery store may cause lifelong trauma. Even a divorce or abandonment can cause trauma. Trauma is any event that causes adverse mental health effects, in that you perceived it as dangerous and felt overwhelmed by the experience. All of this diverse experience in people who suffer addiction and mental health conditions points to needing a trauma-informed therapy program. But far too few treatment programs consider the importance of this type of care.
Just as the causes of trauma vary, a person’s reaction is unique to them as well. In many cases, a person will have no physical reaction, but the emotional symptoms of trauma are apparent to those around them. Many people encountering trauma will experience shock and even denial. These emotions are normal, as the brain uses them to protect itself from the bunt of the event’s emotional impact. Many people also feel detached or numb immediately following the event. However, if you don’t come to terms with these emotions, they can eventually overwhelm you.
It may be tempting to try to ride out these symptoms on your own or to try to numb the feelings with drugs or alcohol. However, these actions can frequently worsen the symptoms, and, in some cases, they can lead to other traumatic events. Therefore, it is often a good idea to reach out to a mental health and addiction treatment center to address these feelings.
A trauma-informed therapy program recognizes that trauma often leads to addiction. Therefore, the trauma requires healing in order for the person to gain lasting recovery from drug or alcohol use disorder. Additionally, healing the trauma includes events occurring before the addiction or those brought on from the addiction itself.
SAMHSA defines a trauma-informed therapy program as having certain elements. These elements include realizing the widespread impact of trauma and how to achieve recovery. It also includes recognizing the signs and symptoms of trauma in people involved in treatment and actively resisting causing new trauma in the treatment process. At Lakeview Health, our trauma-informed therapy program in Jacksonville, FL fully integrates trauma recovery into its policies, methods, and practices.
According to SAMHSA, trauma affects people in every aspect of their functioning, meaning physically, mentally, behaviorally, socially, and spiritually. But for many people, unjustified shame and guilt keep them from admitting their own trauma until they receive trauma-informed care.
The best news of trauma is that the condition is fully treatable. Through quality therapies, such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, you can put your trauma symptoms behind you. By doing so, you enable yourself to stop using drugs or alcohol as self-medication and to enjoy a happier, healthier, and stable life in recovery.
Our trauma-informed therapy program offers several critical benefits to each person who participates in it. The most notable advantage is that it empowers you to take control of your treatment and the future. When you work with our trauma-informed care team, we work with you to determine what your treatment should and should not include. At Lakeview Health, we believe that giving you power over your recovery can help motivate and heal you. This is crucial in trauma recovery because you realize that there is a more hopeful future ahead of you.
In addition, trauma-informed care gives you a sense of safety. If you’ve experienced trauma in your past, it’s often difficult to feel mentally, emotionally, and physically safe. Even going to talk to a mental health professional can feel frightening. We strive to make our treatment center feel welcoming and secure. If at any time you feel that your safety is at risk, please reach out to your treatment team. We’ll do what we can to help you feel safe. In doing so, we also can avoid retraumatizing you.
Finally, trauma-informed care shows you that you’re not alone. All too often, people who have experienced trauma feel isolated and alone. With trauma-informed care, you have a support network around you to help you towards recovery.
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