Addiction and trauma often go hand in hand. When individuals seek addiction counseling, part of their therapeutic plan must address any underlying traumas. At TruHealing in Baltimore, Maryland, our team of counselors and therapists help individuals identify, confront, and overcome their trauma head-on. Our goal is to help individuals begin dealing with their trauma as we help support recovery through our trauma-focused therapy. When people come to us, our team works to create a focused and customized therapeutic plan addressing any trauma from their past. Our trained and experienced staff will modify and adapt the program to directly fit the individual’s needs and adjust it as clients progress in addiction treatment.
What Is Trauma-Focused Therapy
Psychotherapy has many different branches. Trauma-focused therapy is one. When individuals are in trauma therapy, they work with counseling professionals to identify how trauma impacts their sense of safety and security and develop coping skills.
Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is one of the main conditions that can be helped by the benefits of trauma therapy. But the need for trauma therapy can also be triggered by:
- Domestic violence
- Sexual abuse or assault
- Being witness to a crime
- Experiencing sudden and severe health problems
- Being involved in a serious car, bus, train, or other accidents
Situations can also cause trauma. For instance, someone living in a high-crime neighborhood can experience deep-seated troubles and fears.
Benefits of Trauma Counseling for Addiction Recovery
Remember that trauma therapy, like any therapy, isn’t a process whereby answers are given. Rather, in therapy, counselors work to help clients identify their answers. For people who have experienced trauma, here are five benefits of trauma therapy:
- Ending denial: It encourages people to acknowledge the deep-seated feelings of pain that the trauma produces. Trauma-informed care puts all the feelings on the table.
- Building capabilities: Trauma therapy seeks to create an environment that helps individuals cope with the feelings that the trauma creates in them.
- Enhancing self-image: One problem in the struggle with trauma and substance abuse is a sense of guilt or shame. Trauma-informed care teaches that it’s not the individual’s fault for the trauma they’ve been exposed to or had to endure.
- Context: Trauma-informed care helps provide a larger perspective that is beneficial for all aspects of an individual’s life.
- Promotes better behaviors: Trauma therapy aims to give clients the skills you need to deal with the stress of trauma without relying on drugs or alcohol.
Evidence from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that trauma plays a significant role in the incidence of substance abuse. Study after study connects situations such as sexual assault or abuse or partner violence to the onset of abuse of drugs or alcohol.
It works in a way many would expect. Overwhelmed by emotions, in severe pain, someone desperately seeks relief. They reach out to drugs or the bottle to medicate their issues away. If it happens enough, the risk of addiction and physical dependence grows tremendously. The benefits of trauma-focused therapy are that individuals can begin to chart a new path. When used in conjunction with co-occurring treatment, this therapeutic approach can be very effective.
TruHealing Baltimore
Life has many highs and lows. Some people are unlucky enough to experience the deepest of lows through instances of trauma, and that trauma can lead to substance abuse. It is through the benefits of trauma-focused therapy that individuals can restore a sense of safety and stability. Here at TruHealing Baltimore, through our trauma-informed therapy, we aim to help clients grasp the significance and the role of traumatic events in their life.
Trauma-focused therapy is integral to substance abuse treatment. Reach out to us today at (833) 782-2241 to learn about the benefits of trauma-informed therapy and our recovery approach.