Therapy practices at drug rehab programs take on a variety of forms at different times. There’s specialized emergency work, individualized counseling sessions, and group therapy sessions. Patients receiving a mixture of both individual and group therapy sessions benefit greatly in the long term. Analyzing past behaviors in individual sessions can lead to better understanding of goal setting in group therapy sessions and moving toward a drug-free lifestyle.
Let’s look more closely at group therapy in drug rehabilitation and why it makes sense for individuals to take part in these groups.
What is Group Therapy?
In drug rehab counseling, group therapy is a form of treatment offered by private clinics, hospitals, and drug recovery centers to help patients with similar drug problems. In these sessions, one or more counselors work with the group to uncover hidden feelings or emotions that have led to substance abuse.
Group therapy in drug rehab usually involves a discussion format set up by the counselors to bring out insights and feelings from the patients and may involve group therapy activities that are designed to support recovery. This process helps patients to slowly let their guard down and allow the therapy to work. Group therapy sessions work best when patients start to open up about these past feelings and find ways to let go of emotional baggage that might be contributing to the drug use.
Benefits of Group Therapy
Drug rehab group therapy sessions are ideal for several reasons:
Group therapy helps to offer peer support among the patients. Hearing of others’ struggles with a particular drug addiction or alcohol abuse can offer much hope to patients. Through this shared sense of connectivity, patients can work with their drug recovery counselors to help find solutions for their behavioral issues.
Drug users tend to become isolated with their habits over time, so being in group therapy lets them know that they are not alone. Sharing experiences that are common to patients can help build confidence, lift self-esteem, and reduce recriminatory feelings from past behaviors.
Working together with counselors, patients can learn new behaviors to instill hope in drug-free recovery and can set the user on a path of sobriety moving ahead.
Group Therapy Activities
Group therapy for drug rehabilitation can take on different formats according to the type of work done by recovery center, hospital or private practice. But these are some of the group therapy activities that drug patients can expect:
Those coming to drug rehab might be required to submit to a random drug test, in order to ensure the respectfulness of the counselors and other patients involved.
Patients in drug rehab group therapy may find it difficult to start talking about themselves. But introductions and short summaries of why they are in therapy prove to be a very helpful to the person and the group. Introducing oneself is our ability to ‘tell our story’ in ways that are meaningful to a group.
The counselor can follow up introductions with group therapy activities, to help patients move away from verbal descriptions to offering visual representations of their addictions. This could include sketches or drawings, so counselors should have paper and markers handy to help people get moving with a visual activity.
Counselors can offer to lead discussions suggested by drug patients. For instance, if the group starts talking about parents’ influence on their behaviors, the counselor can unpack that theme a bit deeper to help the patients find and possibly repair deep emotional wounds.
Counselors may bring goal-setting activities into group therapy, seeking to learn how the patients will make one specific goal each week to move toward a drug-free lifestyle.
Succeeding in Group Therapy
Both medical and therapy treatments are provided to patients in drug rehab. These treatment plans incorporate a mix of medical and therapy solutions designed to help the user through recovery and post-recovery periods.
In group therapy for addiction treatment, patients can expect to:
- Uncover reasons behind their drug addiction.
- Understand how addiction is a disease.
- Build up confidence and self-esteem.
- Regain communication skills in normal environments.
- Get motivated to live a drug-free life.
Who Can Try Group Therapy?
Our professional counselors help patients with a variety of substance use disorders participate in group therapy. They offer hope, support, and guidance to cope with their addictions. Group therapy also helps the patients learn new skills to cope with recovery challenges and find new friendships from others going through similar struggles.
Group therapy is part of an overall treatment offered by Orlando Recovery Center for persons struggling with substance abuse, drug addiction, or behavioral health disorders. For more information, contact the Orlando Recovery Center (844) 291-0654.
“What are Some Ideas for Substance Abuse Group Activities?” Quora.com, July 2016, Accessed December 2016. https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-idea[…]use-group-activities
The Recovery Village aims to improve the quality of life for people struggling with a substance use or mental health disorder with fact-based content about the nature of behavioral health conditions, treatment options and their related outcomes. We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals. The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider.