Great Barrington, MA is a quintessential environment for holistic mental health and Berkshire Addiction Counseling services. If you or your loved one needs addiction counseling in Berkshire County, you should consider some of the counseling methods described below. For the purpose of this article, we’ve highlighted some of the most prominent therapeutic practices used in mental health and addiction counseling. These are merely a highlight of the most prominent methods and don’t encompass all the therapeutic techniques used by mental health professionals.
What Is Counseling
The first type of counseling is Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). This therapeutic approach was first developed by Marsha Linehan in an effort to help people reconcile conflicting interpersonal ideas. It’s commonly used to treat personality disorders, relational difficulties, addiction and more. DBT’s core tenants focus on distress tolerance, emotional regulation, healthy communication and mindfulness.
Moreover, many people who experience therapy usually go through some form of CBT or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. The goal of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is to help individuals change their behaviors by identifying certain emotions and thought patterns. Through recognizing these areas, the idea is to influence the individual’s perspective before they act, and thus change their behaviors. CBT is commonly used to treat mood disorders like anxiety and depression, eating disorders, addiction, marital problems and more.
Lastly, there is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). EMDR is the most common therapeutic approach for treating trauma and PTSD. The idea behind this is to refocus the individual’s traumatic experiences in a safe environment. From here, a therapist will guide their patient to close their eyes and reimagine images, thoughts, emotions, body sensations or other facets they associate with their traumatic experiences. While recalling their experiences, the patient will produce bilateral stimulation such as tapping their fingers to the sides of their body or moving their eyes back and forth. EMDR has proven to be incredibly effective and if you or someone you know wants help overcoming their trauma, they should consider this technique.
If you or your loved one is struggling with substance use disorders, our team is here to help. Contact us today to learn more about our approach.