APEX Rehab
We utilize both cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to help patients remember, articulate and heal from past traumatic events. Whether the trauma originated in childhood, adolescence or adulthood, we employ proven psychological counseling methods that help patients recover from emotional wounds. Through this healing, they’re able to better tackle addictions and mental illnesses resulting from trauma.
Trauma is not necessarily easily identified. The National Comorbidity Study revealed that as many as 51% of women and 61% of men had had a traumatic experience of some sort. The type of trauma tends to vary by gender, but women experience a broader range of trauma.
It’s easy to recognize that exposure to or witnessing assaults, rapes, combats, violence, near-death experiences and accidents are traumatic, but trauma can also be neglect, rejection, abandonment and emotional abuse. Trauma can happen once or over a period of time, but it will make the individual feel afraid, less trusting and maybe guilty, ashamed or incomplete.
Negative symptoms of trauma are anxiety, fear, guilt, shame, self-blame, irritability, agitation, insomnia and difficulties with concentration. When individuals don’t deal with their trauma, it can have a crippling effect on their lives and it makes them more susceptible to developing addictions in an attempt to self-medicate.
There are numerous techniques and therapies that provide ways of approaching trauma in addicts and APEX Rehab uses a variety of them.
Cognitive behavioral therapy explores the negative and self-defeating thought patterns that prompt users into addictive behavior. It seeks to replace the negative thoughts with constructive alternatives.
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a non-traditional psychotherapeutic approach. It has been mostly used with individuals suffering from a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), associated with events such as combat, assault, rape and car accidents. Its goal is to weaken the effect of negative emotions and make disturbing memories less disabling.
Dialectical behavioral therapy aims to help the patient accept pain and past experiences, but also to encourage the patient to change thought patterns and emotional responses.
Experiential therapy that includes music and art can also be beneficial in encouraging patients to get in touch with their suppressed emotions. These therapies can also enable the patient to learn how to express their emotions and deal with them in a less destructive manner. APEX Rehab is also one of the few addiction treatment centers in San Diego that include Rock to Recovery technique. This is a form of songwriting therapy that allows patients to learn new ways of expression and relaxation while enjoying and having fun.
Trauma Therapy