Dec 26 2008
Gainesville Hypnotherapy Omaha, Nebraska
Hypnotherapy and Addiction
Learn how hypnosis can greatly enhance your chances of success during and following drug or alcohol rehab. Hypnotherapy is also very effective for smoking, weight loss, motivation, and a host of other behavioral-related issues.
Enlarge Image Hypnosis and Addiction
Hypnotherapy can be used effectively as part of a treatment or cessation program for many kinds of addictions, ranging from smoking to alcohol to drugs, and also overeating, gambling, sexual urges, and so forth. Specifically, hypnosis can be used to reinforce behavioral changes sought by those seeking to break their addictions.
There are many well-established programs and methods for addiction treatment. The biggest challenge for most addicts is "staying clean" after the initial rehabilitation or cessation program. Hypnotherapy can be used effectively to reinforce good behavior during this aftercare period.
What is Addiction?
Let’s take drug abuse as an example, although many of the comments are applicable to addictions generally. According to the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA), drug addiction is a complex but treatable brain disease. Compulsive craving, seeking, and use of drugs that persist even in the face of severe adverse consequences characterize drug addiction.
Studies show that relapses occur at rates similar to those for other well-characterized, chronic medical illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, and asthma. Relapse can occur even after long periods of abstinence from drugs. This is why after-care and ongoing maintenance programs are so important as part of a treatment program, and it is here that hypnosis can play a vital role.
Treatment for Addiction
It is now believed that drug addiction is completely treatable. There are several treatment approaches for addiction, and experts stress that any particular individual requires a program tailored for his or her particular needs. People addicted to drugs can hope to recover and lead productive lives, although long-term maintenance and aftercare is required to prevent relapse.
The ultimate goal of treatment is to enable an individual to achieve lasting abstinence from drug abuse, but the immediate goals are to reduce drug use while easing withdrawal symptoms, to improve the patient’s ability to function, and to minimize the medical and social complications of drug abuse and addiction.
The longer-term goals are to prevent relapse and to allow the individual to re-affiliate him or herself with society as a drug-free person. Like people with other diseases such as diabetes or heart disease, people in treatment for drug addiction will need to learn to change their behaviors to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Preventing relapse is necessary for maintaining the effect of the withdrawal treatment and setting the individual up for longer-term success. This is where hypnotherapy can help.
Effective Addiction Treatment Approaches
Drug addiction treatment approaches fall into two broad categories – medication, and behavioral therapy. These can be blended into a tailored program that generally begins with detoxification, followed by one or more treatment regimes, and then long-term ongoing relapse prevention. Sometimes, as with other chronic conditions, episodes of relapse may require repeating prior treatment components.
An ongoing program that includes customized treatment addressing all aspects of an individual’s life, including medical and mental health services, and follow-up options (e.g., community or family-based recovery support systems) can be crucial to a person’s success in achieving and maintaining a drug-free lifestyle.
Medications can be used to help with different aspects of the treatment process. Some medications offer help in suppressing withdrawal symptoms during detoxification. Other medications can be used to help re-establish normal brain function and to prevent relapse and diminish cravings throughout the treatment process.
Behavioral treatments comprise a range of activities such as individual and group counseling, training sessions, hypnotherapy and visualization exercises, and self-help programs such as 12-step programs, family interactions, and so forth. All these activities are designed to help patients engage in the treatment process, modify their attitudes and behaviors related to drug abuse, and increase healthy life skills. Behavioral treatments such as hypnotherapy can also enhance the effectiveness of medications and help people stay in treatment longer.
It is important that any program offers the full complement of services required for an individual’s recovery. This includes the facility for medical and psychological evaluation and treatment as an integrated part of the program. For example, treatment programs should provide assessment for HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases. Programs should also provide mental health counseling to help patients modify or change behaviors that place themselves or others at risk of infection.
As is the case with other chronic, relapsing diseases, recovery from drug addiction can be a long-term process and typically requires multiple episodes of treatment, including "booster" sessions and other forms of continuing care.
Hypnotherapy for Drug Addiction Treatment
Hypnotherapy is a means by which people can learn to modify their behavior. It can be used to help people with a range of issues from high stress and low self-esteem to motivation and self-improvement. Hypnotherapy can be very useful in addiction treatment as subjects strive to learn new behavioral responses and to cope with the stresses of withdrawal and the development of a life free from their addictions.
Hypnosis is not in and of itself a cure or treatment for addiction or dependency and should only be used as part of a supervised treatment program. In most jurisdictions, hypnotherapy as a part of any therapeutic treatment requires the approval and oversight of a licensed health professional. However, such situations are common and generally beneficial. Thus, hypnotherapy is becoming recognized as a valuable element in many addiction treatment programs.
Residential Treatment
Residential treatment programs can be very effective, especially for those with more severe problems. Many residential programs last for a month or so. Such programs require an extensive structured follow-up component to ensure ongoing success. A longer term option is the Therapeutic Community (TC), a highly structured programs in which participants remain at a residence, typically for 6 to 12 months.
TCs may accommodate those with relatively long histories of drug addiction, involvement in serious criminal activities, and seriously impaired social functioning. The focus of the TC is on the re-socialization of the patient to a drug-free, crime-free lifestyle.
Summary of Addiction Treatment
There is hope for people afflicted with drug addiction, but each individual requires a specific program tailored to their needs. However, the recovery process is long and requires commitment from and extensive support to the individual. When evaluating treatment program options, the following points should be considered:
– No single treatment is appropriate for all individuals.
– Treatment needs to be readily available.
– Effective treatment attends to multiple needs of the individual, not just his or her drug addiction.
– An individual’s treatment and services plan must be assessed often and modified to meet the person’s changing needs.
– Remaining in treatment for an adequate period of time is critical for treatment effectiveness.
– Counseling and other behavioral therapies are critical components of virtually all effective treatments for addiction.
– For certain types of disorders, medications are an important element of treatment, especially when combined with counseling and other behavioral therapies.
– Addicted or drug-abusing individuals with coexisting mental disorders should have both disorders treated in an integrated way.
– Medical management of withdrawal syndrome is only the first stage of addiction treatment and by itself does little to change long-term drug use.
– Treatment does not need to be voluntary to be effective.
– Possible drug use during treatment must be monitored continuously.
– Drug addiction is treatable and there is hope of full recovery.
Hypnotherapy can be a valuable component of a drug rehab program, as it effectively supports the learning of new attitudes and behaviors. Get more information please see Hypnotherapy and Addiction
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