Intensive Addiction Therapy
For those most severely affected by substance dependency the optimum way of overcoming their addiction has, until now, been to enter residential rehabilitation and indeed, for those who have a physical dependency this is still normally a necessity. By its very nature residential rehab removes the patient from the normal activities of work, family and social life for weeks and in some cases months at a time. Not only is this disruptive to one's commitments and responsibilities but it also presents a significant challenge of re-adjustment on return to normal life. Moreover the sudden re-emergence of familiar associations and triggers from one’s old existence can become overwhelming and seriously threaten recovery. Fortunately however, many of those living with substance dependency can now avoid the constraints and associated accommodation and staffing costs of in-patient residential rehab.
Having over a period of years treated many hundreds of clients suffering from substance dependency, I have developed an informed understanding of the essential elements that lead to successful and long term recovery and from this have created a programme of Intensive Addiction Therapy (IAT) that in many cases avoids the need for residential rehab while still achieving successful results. With IAT we treat your substance abuse problem alongside your every day life which means that you learn to manage your feelings in real life. It is all about changing your mindset, developing your awareness and understanding of your addiction and creating a toolset of skills and techniques to enable you to respond differently to the challenge your new life presents. IAT teaches you to be in charge of your feelings, your thoughts and yourself rather than being dictated to by your addiction
Think for a moment about learning to swim: If you were taught in a classroom you might really struggle to keep afloat when it actually came to being in the water! Understanding and overcoming your addiction is just the same. You need to live it to learn it !
The principal benefit of the IAT is that it still allows you to maintain your commitment to your family, friends, and work for a large part of the week. All I ask is that you commit a number of hours to the programme each week by engaging in regular face to face sessions and telephone sessions. I will also require you to work on written assignments in your own time for joint discussion later. Face to face sessions will take place either at my office in Horley, Surrey or London, or at another accessible and private location of your choosing
How does Intensive Addiction Therapy work?
The IAT programme is designed to match the natural progress of your recovery. So, normally for the first 4 – 6 weeks we will engage in an intensive course of one to one therapy, then move to a maintenance phase, to carry you through and beyond the critical relapse points, and then into a monitoring period that lasts until you feel confident to take things forward on your own
How do I know that IAT is for me?
First, call for an informal chat with me on 07790 670 365. In order to consider whether this is an appropriate treatment programme for you, I would need to complete a telephone assessment which gathers all the relevant information about your dependency. If you are right for this programme then we can discuss the next step