When someone enters a treatment facility and seeks help for a substance use disorder, they may be struggling with an addiction to one or several substances. The goal of starting your recovery journey is to live a life that is substance-free. Therefore, it’s important that during treatment, caregivers are cautious to not end up swapping one substance for another. 

For example, you don’t want a patient to leave a facility addicted to a different substance than they came in with. At The Kimberly Center, our team believes strongly that it is possible to treat addiction without medication. While some medications may be necessary for safety purposes during the detox process, our goal is to make sure our patients leave our facility completely free of any substance dependencies. 

Understanding the Importance of Long-Term Treatment Without Medication 

Part of recovery involves learning how to handle the ups and downs of life without turning to alcohol or drug use for help. When a person leaves our treatment facility after seeking help for an addiction, they are likely going to be in a much better place mentally than when they came in. However, that doesn’t mean that they still won’t have bad days from time to time or urges to engage in substance use again. We want to show them that there are more productive ways to deal with stress and negative emotions than through self-medication. Our team uses a multitude of strategies to help prepare our patients for life after treatment. We want to ensure that they have every tool possible to tackle the obstacles of life with confidence and to be aware of their inner strength. 

Different Types of Long-Term Treatment Options 

Individuals in recovery have found lasting success in a variety of long-term treatment options. At The Kimberly Center, some options that we choose to utilize include talk therapy, family therapy, and the 12-Step Program. 

#1. Talk Therapy 

Everyone has times of emotional distress when they may be feeling overwhelmed and unable to process their emotions. In these stressful moments, a person needs a listening ear that they can vent to without fearing judgment, undesired advice, or ridicule. With talk therapy, you sit down with a professional therapist and discuss different feelings and emotions. Talk therapy, also referred to as psychotherapy, incorporates working through conflicts and finding long-lasting, positive solutions.  

Working with a therapist can help you develop healthy coping mechanisms for stress and learn how to handle life’s obstacles in productive ways. Furthermore, a therapist can help you better understand how to identify negative thought patterns and stop them in their tracks. 

#2. Family Therapy

An individual’s struggles with substance use disorder can cause a lot of strain on family relationships. For instance, family members may struggle to regain trust and rebuild a relationship with a loved one even after that individual has sought treatment and is on their recovery journey. One contributing factor is that if you haven’t experienced addiction firsthand, it can be very difficult to find compassion or empathy for someone going through it. As a result, many family members of someone who has struggled with addiction deal with feelings of betrayal, frustration, and even anger. 

For individuals in these situations, family therapy can be beneficial. This type of therapy allows for healing to begin in a calm and controlled way. In family therapy, the person in recovery attends a session alongside their family members. Everyone has a chance to speak and share how they’re feeling. This communication can help everyone understand each other a little better and can allow individuals to feel a greater sense of compassion for one another. 

#3. The 12-Step Program 

This program is a long-standing treatment method that has helped a large number of people achieve long-term sobriety. The process revolves around the 12 steps to help transform one’s view of life and their relationship with substance use. In addition, the 12-Step Program involves attending regular support group meetings. 

At these meetings, you have the opportunity to share your experiences with other people who have gone through addiction before and understand how you’re feeling. You’ll have the ability to speak without the fear of judgment or ridicule. Moreover, everything will be kept completely confidential. By attending these meetings, you can help keep yourself accountable in the months and years following the very start of your recovery journey. You’ll also have the ability to be mentored by people who have been sober for many years. These individuals will be there for you in times of struggle or when you’re feeling a lack of motivation. 

The goal of starting your recovery journey is to live a life that is substance-free. Therefore, it’s so important that during treatment, caregivers are cautious to not end up swapping one substance for another. At The Kimberly Center, we believe that long-term treatment for addiction without medication is not only possible but what is best for our patients. Some of the long-term treatments that we utilize include talk therapy, family therapy, and the 12-Step Program. We want to ensure that you have the confidence and inner strength to tackle any obstacle that may come your way without turning to substance misuse. If you’re currently struggling with a substance use disorder, there is hope. Our team at The Kimberly Center can help. We have helped countless patients and want to help you. Call (855) 452-3683 today to learn more about the different types of services that we provide.