Treatment Therapy

At Crystal Lake we use various therapeutic options to help you recover and regain your life. Our comprehensive treatment program has several options available, including:

• “Talk Therapy” or behavioral counseling in groups or one-on-one.
• Medication management.
• Evaluation for co-occurring disorders.
• Treatment for conditions such as anxiety, depression, or trauma.
• Long-term planning and follow-up to prevent relapse.

These options help you by:

• Helping you change your attitudes and behaviors about drug or alcohol use.
• Teaching you how to make healthier choices.
• Empowering you to grow.
• Improving your communication skills.
• Developing a new perspective on your life.
• Making healthier choices.
• Learning coping skills to manage stress and difficult emotions.
• Helping you learn to thrive without the use of drugs or alcohol.

What is therapy?

Most therapy is grounded in talking. Talk therapy or “psychotherapy” is a way to improve your life by talking about yourself with a trained professional. There are many kinds of professionals licensed to work as therapists, including:

• Psychologists
• Psychiatrists
• Addiction Counselors
• Clinical Social Workers
• Clergy

These professionals offer one-on-one, group, family, or marriage counseling. Additionally, psychiatrists can manage medications.

Most individual therapy sessions last 50 – 60 minutes, and group and other forms may last longer. The goal for all kinds of therapy is to gain insight into yourself and how you interact with the world to drive change. Therapy sessions are confidential, so you can talk about anything you choose.

Some people think there’s no need for therapy because they wonder, “how will talking about my problems make them better?” Therapy is more than just talking to someone – in therapy, you also learn skills to deal with difficult situations or adjust to life without using drugs or alcohol.

Whether therapy is individual or group, you will learn skills to improve yourself. You’ll also be able to explore your substance abuse or other issues such as trauma, grief, or life changes. At Crystal Lake, we offer one-on-one and group therapy sessions. Your therapist can also arrange family and/or marriage sessions while in treatment.

What kinds of therapy are there?

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

This therapy was developed in 1986 and is a blend of talk therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). ACT focuses on accepting yourself and your feelings and situations. This method helps you move forward and make changes, even if things are stressful or challenging in your life. ACT is an excellent choice for you if you have anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and substance use disorder.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is used in many drug and alcohol rehabs. One reason is that it works well and even shows positive effects in as little as 5 – 20 sessions. When you see a CBT therapist, you work on changing your emotions by looking at your beliefs and thoughts. CBT is grounded in the belief that behavior is influenced by what you think and perceive. If you have a substance use disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, anxiety, working with a CBT can be an excellent way to learn new skills.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Dialectical behavioral therapy is a form of CBT developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan in the 1970s to treat Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Dialectical is just seeing that two things that seem like opposites can both be true. For example, you are doing the best you can, and you are looking to improve your life. DBT is now used for many behavioral health conditions, including alcoholism, bulimia, suicidal depression, bipolar disorders, and drug abuse. Suppose you struggle with mindfulness, interpersonal relationships, emotion regulation, and how to tolerate stressful situations, DBT can help you learn skills in all these areas to make lasting changes in your life.

Dual Diagnosis Treatment

Many people who have a substance or alcohol use disorder also have another mental health diagnosis. In fact, of the 20.3 million Americans with a substance use disorder, over 1/3 may also have an underlying mental illness. The best treatment is integrated, which means treating both substance use and mental health at the same time. Using CBT, DBT, group therapy, and more, our program will help you address your mental health using comprehensive, evidence-based practices. If you’ve been diagnosed with a substance use disorder and a mood, personality, anxiety, or trauma disorder, dual diagnosis treatment will help you recover.

Experiential Therapy

Unlike traditional “talk” therapy, experiential therapy uses activities and creative tools to connect with emotions and beliefs. Some examples are art therapy, music therapy, crafts, and pet therapy. The goal is for you to connect with emotions, such as the joy of completing a painting, hearing music that evokes memories or new experiences, or the relaxation of petting a therapy dog. It’s also a way to learn acceptance that you did the best you could and find something satisfying from the experience rather than the outcome. Experiential therapy is recommended if you have a history of trauma, anger issues, substance use disorders, eating disorders, and recovery from grief and loss.

Family Support Program

Addiction, alcoholism, and mental health disorders impact everyone in a family. Family therapy can improve how your family communicates with one another and with you, solve family problems, and create a safe, supportive home environment for the whole family. If you have family support while you’re in treatment, it’s a wonderful way to start healing together.

Individual Counseling

Individual counseling or psychotherapy is a process of meeting in a personal session with a licensed therapist. These sessions are entirely confidential, so you can feel free to talk about anything impacting your ability to live a fulfilled life. There are many kinds of therapists, including dialectical behavioral, cognitive-behavioral, trauma-informed, just to name a few. Depending on a clinician’s background, they can treat multiple behavioral health disorders. While at Crystal Lake Healing, you will be working with a primary therapist to help you address your substance or alcohol use and mental health disorders.

Al-Anon, Nar-Anon, Alateen, CoDA, and ACoA are free 12-step based groups for people who have a family member with a substance use disorder. The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) offers free support groups for families. Meetings aren’t closed to people to you if you have a substance use or mental health disorder. You, too, may have someone in your life with a substance use disorder, and you can receive help from these groups as well.

Medication and Therapy

Medication Management (MAT)

As medicine learns more about addiction and alcoholism, they find medications that aid people in recovery from addictions. It can also reduce the risk of overdose and help you remain in treatment and recovery.

There are options for you whether you have an alcohol or an opioid use disorder.

Alcohol Use Disorder

Acamprosate: This medication works by helping your brain heal and function normally again.

Disulfiram/Antabuse: Antabuse discourages drinking by causing you to become physically ill if you drink while taking the medication.

Naltrexone: Administered as an injection every thirty days or taken as a daily pill, naltrexone helps reduce alcohol cravings. It’s also prescribed for opioid use disorder as it blocks the effects of opiates by blocking the receptors that opioids bind to in the brain.

Opioid Use Disorders

Buprenorphine: If you have an opioid use disorder, this may be an option for you. o This medication blocks withdrawal symptoms while also preventing you from getting high on opioids while taking. Unlike methadone, you can take buprenorphine at home if a doctor prescribes it.

Methadone: Methadone is used to treat opioid use disorders. A drawback of this medication is that it must be taken each day and under supervision.

Naltrexone: This medication will block the receptors in your brain from attaching to opioids; thus, you won’t get “high” while taking it, even if you use an opioid. It can lead to an increased overdose risk if you use opioids while taking naltrexone.

Counseling and Addiction

Substance Abuse Counseling

Substance abuse counselors work specifically with people with substance use disorders. You will work with your therapist to understand addiction, address addiction, and recover from addiction. This happens by exploring the reasons behind your illness and learning new, healthy ways to cope instead of reaching for a substance. While this counseling is specific to people with difficulties with drugs or alcohol, you can go to substance abuse counseling if you have a co-occurring disorder.

Trauma-Informed Counseling (TIC)

Trauma-informed care can be confusing for people. Rather than being therapy used to address trauma specifically, it’s an approach therapists use when working with clients. Trauma can happen to anyone and is often undiagnosed. A trauma-informed therapist will work with you in a way that doesn’t cause retraumatization. This involves using six principles outlined by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and include:

1. Safety: Creating a physically and emotionally safe space for you
2. Trustworthiness and Transparency: Being open and honest about counseling processes and how services are delivered, so you understand the treatment process.
3. Peer Support: Sharing the experience of others without divulging confidential information. When you hear about other people having similar experiences, you can begin to feel connected and hopeful.
4. Collaboration and Mutuality: Assisting you rather than directing you on your healing journey.
5. Empowerment, Voice, and Choice: Allowing you to have a voice and be heard through your therapy and empowering you to make choices in the healing process.
6. Cultural, Historical, and Gender Awareness: Awareness of unique experiences that you have had that are rooted in cultural or gender identity.
7. 12-Step Programs: Twelve-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous do not provide counseling or therapy. Instead, they are groups of like-minded people who come together to address their addictions, recover from addiction, and help others recover. Your therapist or treatment center will often recommend attending meetings as a complement to your treatment. In many cases, your treatment center will bring you to meetings or arrange to attend meetings virtually

How do I pick the best therapy for me?

Deciding on the best therapy for you can take some time. It’s helpful to understand your diagnosis – if you struggle with addiction and aren’t diagnosed with a co-occurring disorder, addiction counseling may be a good fit. However, if you have been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) is considered the best treatment available.

There are a few questions you can ask yourself after meeting:

• Is this a safe space for me?
• Does the therapist appear competent?
• Can I trust this person – is there a connection?
• What kind of therapy do they offer?
• Do they take my insurance?
• Is there sliding scale payment?
• Will they handle my medications?