Many factors may have contributed to the onset of your substance use disorder. While these illnesses are different for everyone, past trauma is one of the leading reasons for drug and alcohol abuse. Fortunately, the addiction treatment facility at Northern Illinois Recovery can help you overcome trauma and substance use disorders.
The program seeks to simultaneously treat a past traumatic event’s psychological impact and the associated substance use disorder. Becoming trauma-informed means being aware of the effects of a stressful event on an individual’s future life.
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Insight Into Trauma-Informed Care
The rehab program involves accepting, recognizing, and treating the effects of all kinds of trauma. It serves as a treatment structure for mental health professionals to prevent the isolation or further traumatization of a person who has already experienced trauma.
Trauma-focused care is an umbrella of treatment approaches that offer mental health care by shifting the focus from what might be wrong with you to what happened in your life, making you behave the way you do.
The program has several goals, including:
- Recognizing the impact of a traumatic event on your physical, emotional, and mental well-being
- Identifying trauma symptoms
- Replacing addictive and self-harming behaviors with healthy self-care skills
- Treating both co-occurring disorders simultaneously
- Avoiding future trauma
If a past traumatic event has led you or your loved one to begin abusing drugs, you need to get in touch with a mental health professional for help. With such support, you can get access to trauma-focused treatment programs such as:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
- Family therapy program
- Group therapy program
Trauma-Informed Care Adopts a Non-Pathologizing View
Most people who grapple with substance use disorders due to traumatic events view themselves and their life as defective. Such individuals might have self-tormenting beliefs and thoughts about themselves, thinking they are weak, abnormal, and flawed.
To be non-pathologizing means you need to see the victim of trauma as a human being striving to recover from past challenges.
Trauma therapy allows rehab professionals to recognize their clients’ inner worth when they address substance use disorders. It helps the participants of rehab programs work towards building safety and trust necessary for healing.
Guiding Principles of Trauma Therapy in Addiction Treatment
Understanding what someone has gone through is not always enough. Individuals with trauma often suffer more than just the traumatic event itself. As such, there are several guiding principles of trauma therapy. Safety is of the utmost importance. The treatment plan should make you feel safe, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
Trust grows when the staff and caregivers are transparent when making decisions. The program seeks to build a strong bond between the rehab client and the team. Mutual self-help and peer support is key to enhancing trust and mutual respect in addiction treatment.
The program’s design and organization often move past religious, gender, and cultural biases or stereotypes. It seeks to heal the trauma that is often rooted in racial differences, ethnicity, gender, sexual preferences, age, and religious beliefs.
Trauma-informed care focuses on leveling power and encouraging partnerships among rehab staff and clients. It recognizes that healing occurs through meaningful power-sharing and decision-making. Experts concur that recovery happens in mutually respectful relationships. The program identifies and strengthens the participant’s positive skills. It also teaches new coping mechanisms, including instilling a belief in resilience and healing from trauma.
Contact Northern Illinois Recovery for Rehab Treatment
Traumatic events, such as rape, terrorism, military combat, and domestic violence, can cause the survivors to start abusing drugs and alcohol. If you or your loved one experiences such an event, seek trauma and addiction treatment from a mental health facility. Call Northern Illinois Recovery at 855.786.1978 to schedule an appointment with our rehab center.
Licensed Physician and Surgeon
Dr. Beth Dunlap, a board-certified addiction medicine and family medicine physician, and is the medical director at Northern Illinois Recovery Center. She is responsible for overseeing all the integrated medical services at both campuses. Beth completed medical school, residency, and fellowship at Northwestern University, where she continues to serve on the faculty as a member of the Department of Family and Community Medicine. She has extensive experience in addiction medicine at all levels of care, and her clinical interests include integrated primary care and addiction medicine, harm reduction, and medication-assisted treatment.
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