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Combining Psychotherapy with 12-Step Programs: A Better Outcome

Posted On : Aug-02-2011 | seen (332) times | Article Word Count : 454 |

Therapy offered in conjunction with any 12-step program has proven to be a successful and effective way to treat alcohol and substance abuse. Therapy serves as the support system for coping with trauma and abuse, while the 12 steps and the meetings provide a fellowship of kindred spirits.
Alcohol and drug addiction are so prevalent that the stigma of being in “recovery” and

working a 12-step program has been largely eroded.

Indeed, more and more employers are providing benefits packages that include

reimbursement provisions for drug and alcohol treatment. But for all addicts no matter

what the drug of choice, the painful underlying causes of each addiction must also be

dealt with in order for recovery to work.



Part of the process for achieving lasting sobriety involves attending meetings and

working the 12-step program. Since the 1980’s when rehabilitation facilities included

counselors and psychoanalysts, talk therapy became a significant part of addiction

treatment in America.



Psychotherapy is where a recovering addict can work one-on-one with a licensed

professional who is trained to help understand and manage the challenges that undermine

the ability to stay clean and sober and live satisfying and productive lives.



Good therapists who are experienced working with addiction might recommend a 12-step

program to his or her patients as an important accompaniment to the work of healing the

shame, remorse, fear, isolation and anxiety that promote addictive and self-medicating

substance abuse.

Using the principles of a 12-step program and psychopharmacology when medically

indicated, a licensed, well-trained psychoanalyst can accomplish what some say is a more

fully resolved and healthier outcome.

It is noted that there are a number of types of mental health practitioners who work with

addicts in recovery. Some are, themselves, recovering addicts or alcoholics and are able

to draw from their own experiences in dealing with their patients. But, clinical

background, training, and level of education vary greatly, and some important recent

studies point to the efficacy of psychoanalysis as the treatment with strongest outcomes.

This may be due to the ability of psychoanalysis to “hold” the pain while helping to

alleviate it, which creates an important alliance between patient and therapist.

If you are struggling with addiction and have been working a 12-step program, or even if

you’ve gone through rehab, it does not necessarily mean you are “cured.” Often, once the

addiction is under control, the real work of healing the emotional pain begins. Sexual

abuse, loss, and trauma, which are some of the underlying causes for addiction, can

become amenable to the slow and careful restorative work of psychoanalysis.

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