Drug Rehab San Jose
Eye Movement Desensitization, or EMDR, is a psychotherapy treatment. The idea behind EMDR is that your mind can heal from psychological trauma and injury, just like your body can recover from physical injury or trauma. An experienced EMDR therapist can use EMDR to help you heal from the debilitating symptoms caused by a distressing life experience. Our professional therapists at Northbound use EMDR as part of our co-occurring disorder treatments. As one of the premier co-occurring addiction treatment centers, our treatment can help you overcome your addiction and trauma, so you have a better future.
How EMDR Works
EMDR is an eight-phase therapy. During treatment, your therapist will ask you to perform specific eye movements as you recall both bad and good memories. EMDR can eventually aid you in overcoming the negative emotions you experience any time you remember your traumatic experience. It can further help you process past events in a healthy way so you can move forward without trauma holding you back.
EMDR for Addiction
You may become addicted to drugs or alcohol due to feelings of distress and hopelessness. These feelings might be due to a past traumatic event and can lead to a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
When you have a co-occurring disorder or dual diagnosis, you can benefit from EMDR. Here are advantages of including PTSD in your dual diagnosis addiction treatment.
EMDR Treats Trauma and Addiction
Addiction to alcohol or drugs and trauma usually go hand in hand. When you have a dual diagnosis, uncovering and addressing the underlying cause of your addiction makes you more likely to achieve lifelong sobriety than treating your substance use disorder alone. By working with a leading EMDR therapist, you’ll be able to process your distressing experience instead of trying to bury it. Unmasking the root of your addiction allows your overall treatment to work even better.
EMDR Desensitizes Drug or Alcohol Specific Memories
It’s not always that substance use disorder is connected to trauma. Sometimes, it is associated with a reward, which is the high you feel when you use your substance of choice. In other words, experiencing enjoyable memories linked to drug or alcohol use can trigger cravings that are at the heart of the vicious cycle of addiction.
Multiple studies show that EMDR can make you less sensitive to your addiction triggers. By changing the brain patterns connected to rewards and addiction, EMDR reduces intense cravings for your substance of choice.
Works Well Other Dual Diagnosis Therapies
Addiction treatment alone is ineffective when you have substance use and co-occurring mental disorders. But when combined with options like EMDR, it leads to more successful outcomes. EMDR is safe and can be used alongside other treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy, individual therapy, and group therapy.
Live Your Best Life With EMDR
Trauma makes you feel like you are stuck in the past. It even results in addiction. At Northbound, we are a top-rated drug rehab in San Jose that offers EMDR therapy. The highly effective therapy is used as part of our co-occurring disorder treatment plan. If you need help for your substance use disorder and mental health disorder, verify your insurance for treatment today: https://www.northboundtreatment.com/insurance/.
