Relapse Prevention in Bay City, TX

At our drug and alcohol rehab for relapse prevention, we help our clients see that leaving addiction behind isn't just a matter of accepting the right treatment programs in Bay City. They need to work hard towards sobriety. Many patients, however, suffer from a deep lack of actionable motivation. While they may be somewhat motivated to get better they are unable to translate it into actually doing anything. This is why our program for relapse prevention in Bay City is essential.

It is only possible for addicts to find long-term sobriety when they actively work towards it. Finding the motivation forward, then, is an important prerequisite. Relapse, or a return to drug use, happens mostly in those who neglect to accept special drug relapse prevention treatment after detoxification to address concerns such as these. Studies show that 95% of these people quickly return to addiction. Programs for relapse prevention and additional options like sober living in Bay City are critical if long-term sobriety is to be achieved.

Relapse prevention is psychological therapy. At our center for relapse prevention in Bay City, we offer therapeutic expertise in a number of areas. Motivational interviewing is one of the most important relapse prevention approaches. A poor level of motivation can be very harmful both because it can lead to direct refusal to stay sober, and it can mean half-hearted engagement with therapeutic work.

Motivational interviewing is an approach that aims to boost the level of motivation that patients feel about getting better. Its primary approach is to help patients acknowledge that they have hopes, dreams and values, and to then help them see that those ideas are incompatible with an addiction habit. The more deeply the patient sees and accepts the incompatibility, the more efficiently does his mind translate motivation felt for hopes and dreams into motivation to leave addiction behind.

Motivational interviewing can require the highest level of skill in the therapist. The slightest amount of confrontation or accusation can completely undermine progress. Patients need to be guided with nothing other than friendly, non-judgmental conversation. The best therapists stay away from moralizing, preaching, making unsolicited suggestions lecturing, criticizing and shaming.

The most skilled therapists place the patient in control of the conversation. It is the job of the therapist to only assume the role of a friend and sounding board along for the ride. Something called the Columbo approach is often used. In the 70s-detective show Columbo, the protagonist was a brilliant detective, but was the most unassuming of characters, who stuttered, stammered, bumbled and fumbled his way to success. The therapist should be a bumbling, unassuming and friendly fellow, as well, to help take away any need that the patient may have to hold back.

One example of such an approach involves pointing to various very convincing, well-illustrated studies that show how exactly addiction harms the body and mind. The Columbo therapist, then, worries as a child might, in a helpless way, to see his father do something harmful. As it becomes clear to the patient how terribly harmful addictive activities are, he may begin to see on his own, how his dreams will remain forever unachievable if he goes on.

In many cases, therapists using motivational interviewing have been successful working with African-American clients by allowing them to arrive at the conclusion that addiction is chemical slavery. Since the need to escape slavery tends to be an important area of personal motivation to African Americans, the idea that addiction is chemical slavery makes drugs extremely distasteful to them. The motivation that they feel to be proud African-Americans free of slavery, therefore, translates to motivation to be free of drugs.

Finding the Right Relapse Prevention Care

Motivational interviewing is only one of many different drug relapse prevention approaches that patients tend to need. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is an important approach often used, and so is group therapy. In each one of these relapse prevention approaches, the skill of the therapist and personal fit that the therapist is for the patient, tend to be of fundamental importance.

Patients and their families looking for relapse prevention need to realize that it's important to interview therapists before signing up. At our center for relapse prevention in Bay City, we encourage our patients to speak to different therapists to find one who works for them. If you'd like to talk to one of our therapists now, all you need to do is to call (877) 804-1531.