9 Reasons Why Holistic Addiction Treatment Should Be the New Normal
06/08/2023 2024-02-05 11:179 Reasons Why Holistic Addiction Treatment Should Be the New Normal
9 Reasons Why Holistic Addiction Treatment Should Be the New Normal
The key to the holistic addiction recovery model is that it’s focused on treating the whole person, not just the symptoms of addiction.
As a licensed addiction counselor, I’m well versed in many different approaches to treating addiction and achieving success with long term recovery. While addiction recovery is never easy, I routinely get feedback from my patients that it is easier and more achievable with than what they were expecting — all because of our holistic approach.
The key to our holistic addiction recovery model is that it’s focused on treating the whole person, not just the symptoms of addiction. Traditional methods are often more focused on stopping substance use, and don’t address all the underlying aspects of addiction or all the components of health and well-being.
Holistic addiction treatment considers all aspects of a person’s well-being, including physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual. This comprehensive care can lead to a deeper, more sustained recovery.
Cynthia McKay, Licensed Addiction Counselor Tweet
Thankfully more and more addiction facilities and counselors are seeing the benefits of the holistic approach, but the reality is that many of them haven’t kept up with the advances that can make addiction recovery smoother, less painful, and more effective. Others simply don’t have the training to address all the underlying factors of addiction.
Holistic addiction treatment vs. traditional addiction recovery
These days, more and more people are turning to holistic approaches for recovery. Why? Because holistic treatments acknowledge that addiction isn’t merely a physical issue; it’s a complex web of mental, emotional, and spiritual challenges that demand comprehensive and integrative solutions.
This complexity of addiction is one of many reasons I chose to be part of an integrative team here at the center. Being able to collaborate easily and quickly with prescribers, wellness practitioners, IV therapy nurses and others helps me achieve better outcomes for my patients. It also puts just about everything a recovering patient needs under one roof, which I think is essential. Addiction recovery is hard enough without needing to juggle several different providers all over town.
Traditional addiction recovery models aren’t all bad of course, so to be more fair and balanced I’ll also include a few possible downsides of the holistic approach. The main downside is cost — a lot of your treatment will probably not be covered by insurance.
That said, we see patients who have been on an endless cycle of relapsing. In some cases they’ve been in and out of rehab facilities for years. The cost of this less effective treatment is astoundingly high, not just financially, but also in the time commitment and the strain it puts on one’s personal and professional lives.
The benefits of a holistic approach to drug and alcohol dependency
Here are the key benefits of choosing a holistic approach to addiction recovery over a more traditional one:
1. Comprehensive care
2. Addressing root concerns
3. Dual diagnosis and co-occurring disorders
Addiction is often accompanied by other mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, PTSD, or trauma. It’s impossible to fully recover and gain your life back if these co-occurring challenges aren’t dealt with.
Our Integrative center is well suited to this because we already treat the full spectrum of mental health needs on a daily basis.
4. Individualized treatment
5. Whole-person wellness
6. Non-medical therapies
7. Skills for life
8. Empowerment
9. Prevention of future issues
Are you looking for help with addiction recovery?
What are the downsides of a holistic approach?
Despite the numerous benefits of a holistic approach to addiction recovery, there can also be potential downsides. Here are some to consider:
1. Lack of standardization
2. Time commitment
3. Cost
4. Limited research in some cases
5. Potential over-emphasis on self-healing
The bottom line
Ready to fight addiction on your terms?
If you’re looking for ouptatient addiction treatment, our center offers you both traditional and innovative treatment options to fight addiction on your terms.
Based in Centennial, just south of the Denver tech center, our integrative team of addiction and mental health specialists will do everything in their power to make your recovery as comfortable and effective as possible. We’ll also work hard to give you the most continuity possible, so that your personal and professional lives aren’t put on hold while you get treatment.
To learn more, contact us
today and schedule a free 15-minute consultation with our lead
therapist, licensed addiction counselor Cynthia McKay, JD, MA, LAC, MFT. She’ll be happy to help you determine if our outpatient program is the
best choice for you or your loved ones.
If you’d like to learn more or schedule your first appointment, please fill out the contact form below or call our patient care team at (720)698-9710. Online appointments for most of our providers can be made here.
Cynthia McKay, JD, MA, LAC, MFT, LISAC
Cynthia is a clinical psychotherapist, licensed addiction counselor, and our lead therapist at Ballen Medical & Wellness. She specializes in a myriad of treatment modalities ranging from general psychological concerns to relationship/marriage & family therapy, depression, anxiety, addiction, grief, pre & post-divorce issues, sexual abuse, co-occurring disorders, and trauma-informed systemic psychotherapy.
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