When you need lasting recovery after substance abuse or addiction, that recovery comes from a variety of therapies, programs, and services. Among these is experiential therapy, one using expressive activities and methods. Art, music, role play, acting, animal care, and outdoor challenges provide just some of the tools used for an experiential therapy program. Although they sound more like “fun” and less like therapy, you gain some of your biggest recovery breakthroughs in these programs.
In your experiential therapy program, your therapist guides you through the activities. You slowly start noting emotions that come with your success, difficulties, confidence, and setbacks. The therapist helps you recognize and vocalize your feelings to release and explore them. So what seems like “fun and games” teaches you much about how you manage yourself and your feelings.
When You a Need Experiential Therapy Program
An experiential therapy program provides benefits in trauma treatment, rehab for addiction, eating disorder programs, mental health programs, anger management and for treatment of other behaviors and compulsions. People who seek healing from painful feelings and past experiences gain the most benefit. From your experiential therapy program, you understand your relationships and how to bring positive change to them. You also learn tools for living your best life.
Experiential therapy works best when you receive it alongside a mix of other types of therapy. The overall premise of this method is that how you perceive yourself guides your behavior. So in experiencing negative emotions and events, you better learn how to feel love, calm and forgiveness.
After you spent time isolating yourself and focusing only on substance abuse, experiential therapy opens doors in your life. You gain new interests and build on positive experiences. Some of these therapy methods, like art, music and physical activity easily carry over into your at-home lifestyle for stress relief.
What to Expect from Your Addiction Therapies
Your addiction recovery relies on a mix of therapies, as said before. With one of these individual, group and family therapy styles being experiential, you gain strong healing and recovery. But many people wonder what to expect from experiential therapy as part of their addiction therapy services.
In an experiential therapy program, your therapist plans activities and sets specific goals for your progress. The activity can include a wide range of hands-on methods, from art or music to rock climbing and equine therapy. You take part in the therapy while your therapist guides you. When you complete your task or session, you discuss your feelings, thoughts, successes, and failures with the group.
During your experiential session, you learn how you make decisions and choices, as well as where you must improve in these areas. In talking about your activity with the group and your therapist, you process your emotions, creativity, and personal interactions. Sometimes, what you learn in this type of group therapy carries over into your individual talk therapy sessions, for greater exploration of your feelings.
Finding the Right Therapies in Rehab
Seeking Pennsylvania addiction recovery services is the right decision for your lifelong wellness. In making this decision, you must find a rehab program with a variety of therapy services and program methods. When you find the right rehab, you usually feel confident in your decision in a mix with other emotions about taking the next steps.
Steps to Recovery in Levittown, PA provides the mix of therapies, treatments, programs and support you need for strong recovery. Programs at Steps to Recovery include:
- PHP and IOP options
- 12 step program
- Multi-phased treatment
- Daily goals, coping skills, and life skills
- Addiction education
- Family therapy, education, and support
- Individual therapy and group therapy
You can gain lasting recovery from a variety of therapies, including your experiential therapy program at Steps to Recovery in Levittown. Call Steps to Recovery now at 267.719.8528 to learn more about your own next steps.