Talk Therapy – Will It Save My Daughter from Heroin Addiction?

How will talk therapy prevent your daughter from going back to her dealer and buying the next fix? Can it do something that the warnings you’ve been giving her for years were unable to accomplish? In fact, this type of therapy is highly effective for heroin treatment, and here’s why.

Talk Therapy Picks up Where Detox Leaves Off

When she went through detoxification, your daughter learned how to break the physical hold that heroin had on her. Her body reestablished equilibrium. She learned that living without the fix is possible. In short, her body no longer tells her mind that she needs the drug to survive.

But the cravings are still there. They are one of the main reasons why women seek out rehab after detox. Heroin has a powerful hold on the mind, which typically requires psychotherapy to overcome it. And this type of treatment consists primarily of talk therapy, which gets to the “why” of the addiction.

Examples of Addiction Counseling Therapies

In a rehab setting, therapists rely on a variety of approaches to help program participants overcome the craving for drugs. Examples include:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy that assists clients to work through negative thought patterns and emotions
• Dialectical behavioral therapy which helps women struggling with addiction to engage in coping skills when dealing with stressors
• Anger management therapy that lets participants address the feelings behind the anger, which previously led to numbing with drugs
• Trauma therapy which explores unresolved issues in someone’s background that affect current reactions to situations
• Family therapy that helps mend fences, train family members in supportive (not enabling) behaviors and show how to regain common ground

These types of talk therapy approaches help your daughter explore the reasons why she’s using. They also allow her to express past hurts that affect the choices she makes right now. It’s interesting to note that many program participants learn things about themselves they didn’t consciously understand. In the process, they build self-esteem as they undergo personal development that strengthens their ability to resist drug cravings.

Talking is Good for Individuals with Limited Support Networks, Too

You may be your daughter’s greatest cheerleader and at the forefront of her support system. But there’s no getting around the fact that drug use isolates individuals to the point that they lack peer interactions. For this reason, group therapy, in particular, can have a significant positive impact on people in recovery. Some just need to get out thoughts and feelings that they’ve been bottling up for years and group therapy is a great place to let go.

As they get more comfortable with expressing themselves verbally, they gain positive feedback. In a peer group setting, positive feedback helps with the formation of a positive self-image, which boosts resolve to stop using. It’s fair to say that there’s no true downside to talk therapy.

Getting Help for Your Daughter’s Heroin Addiction Today

Beaches Recovery offers a gender-specific program for women with a substance abuse problem. Other substance abuse treatment programs include one for first responders as well as executives. Whether she’s still using or going through detox, call 866.605.0532 to help her with rehab now.