When recovering from drug or alcohol addiction, it’s important for people to have therapy. Some of this therapy will be in a group setting, and group therapy can be very powerful. In a group, people can come out of their shells, discovering commonality in the issues and experiences they share. However, when people are dealing with shame, guilt, remorse, and other negative emotions, it’s important for them to have individual therapy with a therapist who can get to the heart of what’s going on. In fact, there are several benefits of one-on-one therapy.
- Individual counseling leads to self-awareness. In counseling sessions, a person and his or her therapist will discuss the issues to be addressed, and the counselor will often encourage reflection, offering the person an opportunity to delve into personal experience. Mindfulness is one tool used to help with self-awareness, allowing a person to consider thoughts, feelings, and sensations that occurred in the session. Counselors may also provide insight into a person’s behavior and its impact on the desired outcome, as well as the mismatch between what the person thinks will happen and what actually happens. Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is helpful in this regard. Using individual therapy, counselors are able to act as outside observers, providing perspective that may not otherwise be recognized.
- Working one on one with a therapist provides the opportunity for self-exploration. Questions are asked, like “Who am I?” “What are my beliefs and values?” and “What is meaningful in my life?” and “Who are the people that make up my support system?” Counseling provides the opportunity for thoughtful reflection on this type of question.
- In therapy, individuals learn to identify boundaries. Often, a person’s issues arise from the inability to create physical and emotional boundaries. Recognizing where boundaries are needed is an important skill, and counselors can provide insight and help explore the questions that lead to appropriate boundaries.
- Counseling helps promote communication skills. In addition to boundaries, communication skills are vital to a person’s well-being. Assertiveness, emotional intelligence, empathy, active listening, confidence, and respect are all related to good communication skills, and one on one therapy can help with these.
- Individuals can learn coping skills through one-on-one therapy. Perhaps the most important aspect of individual therapy is its ability to help people develop coping skills. For instance, a counselor who uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) or Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) will focus on mindfulness techniques to help decrease symptoms of anxiety. A CBT therapist will help a person identify triggers and unhealthy thoughts, teaching methods of reframing and considering alternative perspectives. All of these techniques provide valuable knowledge that can be carried into the real world.
Addiction research, particularly research conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, indicates that a combination of group therapy and one-on-one therapy is most effective in treating drug and alcohol addiction. This is because while people can learn and grow by interacting in a group, one-on-one therapy builds trust and induces comfort. In the environment of a one-on-one session, a person can share feelings and information that will help create the right treatment plan for that person’s successful recovery. At BriteLife Recovery, we believe in the investment required for one-on-one therapy, because we know that it’s an important factor in facilitating long-term success.
If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, BriteLife Recovery is here for you. A one-on-one approach to addiction recovery is at the heart of BriteLife’s philosophy, and it’s key to the success of the program. Individual therapy can give patients tools and help them find the strength they need to survive addiction and rebuild their lives. If know someone who you think would benefit from the BriteLife approach to addiction recovery, visit our website to learn more. You can also find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to find out how we can help.