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Trauma & Crisis Counseling, Trauma Recovery Counseling

EMDR and Trauma Counseling: Addiction Treatment in Boise, Idaho

In many cases, traumatic events are at the heart of various types of addictions. It is even possible to have suffered a trauma that led to an addiction and not realize that you've been through it. According to HealingResources.info, traumatic events can manifest in a number of ways, including events like:

  • Living through a natural disaster, such as a flood or a hurricane
  • Experiencing a physical assault, such as rape or domestic abuse
  • Suffering from bodily harm
  • Being involved in an automobile accident
  • Witnessing a horrifying situation, such as a fatality or injury

Traumatic events can also be something that seems simpler to most people, such as being bullied in school, or watching your parents go through a divorce.

Can you identify with any of the above traumatic events? Perhaps your own past is tinted with something else that occurred that has caused you a great deal of stress and anxiety. As a result, you've turned to drugs or alcohol as a way to help yourself cope with those feelings and experiences because you just didn't know of any other way.

Regardless of what traumatic event has occurred in your past, getting to the root cause of your addiction is such a crucial part of your recovery, and the right addiction treatment program should offer you the help you need.

Trauma Treatment in Boise, Idaho: What is EMDR Therapy?

According to the Scientific American, EMDR is a type of psychotherapy has is becoming vastly popular because of the success that is being experienced by both practitioners and patients alike. EMDR stands for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, and it utilizes the patient's rapid eye movements to help ease anxiety and process trauma. It has been found to be particularly useful for those who suffer with PTSD.

When EMDR is performed, patients are asked to recall painful memories in their minds, and then follow back and forth finger movements with their eyes. In many ways, this is reminiscent of what happens when following a hypnotist's swinging watch. The lateral eye movements are believed to invoke any of the following:

  • Sensations of distraction
  • A sense of deep relaxation
  • The synchronization of the two hemispheres of the brain
  • A way to replace negative thoughts with positive ones
  • A simulation of REM sleep

The goal with EMDR is to reach the point where the traumatic event no longer results in negative thoughts, feelings or effects on the patient.

The Results of Trauma Therapy in Addiction Treatment in Boise, Idaho

Research has shown that almost all cases of addiction are related to some traumatic event that occurred for the patient in the past. When EMDR, art therapy and other forms of intensive psychotherapy are utilized, patients have shown to experience rapid improvements. It's important to note that it is not that the memory of the trauma has been erased. On the contrary, by using the right combination of treatment methods, the trauma becomes a memory that is no longer threatening in any way, shape or form. Therefore, patients are much more likely to be able to be successful in their addiction treatment.

Far too many addiction treatment centers only focus on treating the symptoms of addiction and not the cause of addiction. This does patients a disservice because when the source of addiction is still present, their tendency is to self-medicate with drugs or alcohol.

Help for Your Addiction in Boise, Idaho at Ashwood Recovery

Unless the underlying issues behind your addiction are addressed, recovery is very unlikely. Here at Ashwood Recovery, our goal is to treat the root cause of your addiction to give you the best possible chance of being successful. Would you like to learn more about how we can help? Please contact us.

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