When you seek help at a treatment center for your alcohol use problem, the first part of the process will involve an intake evaluation. This is an essential process because it allows the facility’s staff to determine your recovery needs and customize a plan for your situation. The intake process involves measuring the severity of your addiction to alcohol, so the intake counselor will ask you several answers about your alcohol consumption and drinking habits. You shouldn’t worry about being judged or punished. The counselor is only trying to determine your recovery needs, so they need to know about your substance abuse habits for that reason.
Any information you provide will be confidential and will only be used to customize your treatment program. The intake process will also include an evaluation of your physical and emotional health to help the staff provide the best possible quality of care. The staff wants to ensure you are receiving treatment for any medical conditions that affect you as you go through recovery. Additionally, chronic pain or emotional health problems can raise the risks of a relapse, so they will want to make sure those conditions are also treated properly during your stay.
Once you begin treatment, you’ll find that your loved ones won’t be able to contact you. This is done for your benefit because it makes it more likely that you’ll bond with the other recovering addicts in the treatment facility. Your bonding with other addicts begins as you start participating in group counseling sessions. It will involve a large group of recovering addicts getting together to discuss their experiences with alcoholism and drug addiction. You’ll also discuss the recovery process and your ability to identify your triggers for using. Partly, this type of session will help you get your thoughts and feelings off your chest, which means you’ll be less stressed and better able to focus on your recovery.
Additionally, group meetings help recovering addicts learn from one another and offer support to each other. By sharing your experiences, you can help other recovering addicts deal with their own triggers, cravings, and withdrawal symptoms.
What Other Types of Help Can Recovering Alcoholics Receive?
In addition to group meetings, you’ll also engage in individual counseling sessions with an addiction counselor. These meetings will help you discuss the behaviors and feelings that have led to your drinking in the past. This is an important part of the recovery process in that it will help you identify internal and external motivations or triggers for your drinking. Commonly known as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), this type of therapy helps recovering addicts modify their behaviors to reduce the risks of a relapse. While CBT is very effective in helping addicts identify and avoid self-destructive behavior patterns, it can also be used to reinforce positive behaviors.
The therapy includes teaching you to fill your time with constructive activities to ensure you’ll have less time to focus on cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Outside of your therapy sessions, you’ll incorporate a CBT philosophy by engaging in activities such as yoga, meditation, physical exercise, and other activities that promote health and wellness.
By the time you complete the day’s activities, you’ll have a short period of free time and it will be time for bed. Another way treatment centers help recovering alcoholics is by offering family counseling. After a few weeks in a rehab center, you’ll begin regaining your visitation privileges and your family members can come to the facility to visit you. When your family members do visit, they will be encouraged to keep visits positive and avoid discussing any problems that your addiction created. Those more serious discussions will be reserved for family therapy sessions.
Moderated by a therapist, family therapy will offer you a chance to discuss any addiction issues that strained your familial relationships. Since recovery involves apologizing for any harm you caused, this time can be used for that purpose. While damaged relationships can’t be healed overnight, family therapy gives you the chance to start mending those relationships.
You can also discuss situations in which family members served as triggers for your drinking. Families are complex and those relationships can also cause the type of stress that leads to substance abuse. By addressing those issues in therapy, you can begin working on them before you go home. You can begin living a clean and sober life by calling our counselors at 833-610-1174. We’ll answer any questions you may have about the recovery process and help you start the treatment plan that best fits your situation.