The first step in treating addiction is, of course, the detoxification process. Detoxification often gives the patient the ability to think clearly – something that has been missing for some time. With a clear head, patients are able to come with terms with the fact that there is a problem that needs to be solved.

After detoxification comes the therapy stage. A good Drug and alcohol treatment rehab center will use a variety of techniques to help enhance the recovery process and also help the patient break away from the psychological ties with addiction. Here are some of the more common therapies used in treating addiction.

Cognitive Therapy

Also known as talk therapy, this therapy is aimed at therapeutic exchange via perception, acquisition and insight. This therapy helps to modify the thoughts and behaviors, allowing patients change the mentality that has been affected and distorted by drug use.

More positive thoughts are developed during the therapy sessions, made possible by the partnership of the patient and the therapist.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT is the combination of the talk therapy and behavioral modification.

With the help of this therapy, patients are able to develop more positive habits, and their coping skills and enhanced. The therapy focuses on one thought stimulus at a time, helping to change how patients respond to situations.

This therapy can be very helpful when mental reactions to stressors are to be retrained. It also helps to modify mental reactions to negative thoughts and practical problems, helping patients develop more positive actions and reactions.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR is a therapy targeted at drug addicts that have a history of physical or psychological trauma. The therapy tackles one mental belief or image at a time. Patients focus on a negative trigger, and the use of bilateral stimulation is employed for the activation of the two sides of the brain. Alternating tones, vibrations or even visual stimuli are employed in this type of therapy.

EMDR is very effective in helping people who suffer from anxiety and dissociative disorders.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

This form of therapy is targeted at people who have survived a form of traumatic or ritualistic abuse. Such people usually experience dissociation due to these events.

The therapy is a combination of core CBT and mindfulness psychology, with a focus on enhancing stress tolerance, and helping the patient keep an emotionally stable body and mind.

Creative Therapies

This is the use of creativity to help in treating addicts. Arts and music are typically employed in this type of therapy. Experiential therapy focuses on removing negative beliefs by incorporating new and positive experiences.

The therapies discussed above are some of the treatment measures employed by private drug rehab centers such as Retorno. In most cases a combination of these therapies will be needed to treat drug addicts and give them the freedom they desire.