Why Individualized Addiction Treatment Works Better Than Other Treatment Methods

When you are looking for drug treatment, it is easy to feel overwhelmed with the variety of services and therapies that are offered by treatment facilities. While having a variety of proven therapies and treatment options is important, they should be guided by a deeper understanding of the inner workings of addiction. That is why individualized addiction treatment is so important. Individualized treatment allows for customization to fit an individual’s unique needs. As a result, individualized treatment can effectively address the physical and psychological issues that underlie addiction and give clients the tools they need to recover for a lifetime.

When people enter a drug treatment facility like Hawaii Island Recovery, you won’t be placed in a one size fits all program. As we already know, each addict has a unique history, needs, and goals. With an individualized treatment plan, you will be carefully evaluated to evaluate the extent of your addiction. Treatment personnel will carefully look at the substances used, the severity of your addiction to these substances, frequency of use, underlying physical and mental issues that underlie your addiction, and the triggers and stressors that may keep you stuck in your addictive thoughts and habits.

The concept beyond individualized addiction treatment is simple. This approach is more systematic and flexible,
and as a result, it is likely to be more successful. Individualized treatment addresses the whole of the person; the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of one’s life. Ultimately, individualized drug treatment sets the stage for long-term recovery.

Here are real stories of people who successfully recovered from alcohol and addiction because of the individualized addiction treatment program.

Nick Terry has been an alcoholic and a drug addict for five years before he came to Hawaii Island Recovery. During those times he has been in and out of drug rehabs, 12-steps, and other programs. He will stay sober for a week, but after that, he would always relapse and stay in the streets with friends. At that time, he slowly realized that he was losing important things in his life, like the mother of his daughter who left him, and his jobs which he failed to keep because his life was spiraling out of control. Despite his losses, he can’t stop drinking and using drugs.

says Nick who admits that he lost self-respect, and had been consumed by guilt and shame over his actions. When he got to the HIR, he says that he wasn’t excited to be in treatment again at the age of 34 years old and up but he felt some relief and hope when he went through the initial screening by the staff and he was introduced to the community.

Individualized treatment program reveals something other treatment programs don’t

“Through the process of some one-on-one counseling and group counseling, I learned that drugs and alcohol were just a symptom of my underlying issues and conditions and I learned through the counselors here…the compulsivity issues, attachment issues, and abandonment issue the things that were the underlying causes for me to keep wanting to self-destruct my life over and over,” says Nick.

Nick realized that these issues that were causing him to go back to drugs and alcohol stemmed from his childhood. He learned that he had attachment issues and self-worth issues because as a child he felt that he wasn’t worth it. So, he lived his life thinking that he wasn’t worthy of the happiness, joy, and success that he was having so when good things happen to him, he would feel that he wasn’t worth it. So, he would self-destruct using drugs and alcohol and would end up losing the important things in his life.

Individual therapy helps a person struggling with addiction to look deeply into the role that drugs play in their lives. One-on-one counseling helps them understand how they may have used drugs and alcohol in coping with situations and feelings that they fail to deal with in a positive way. In Nick’s case, he was using drugs and alcohol to cope with guilt because he felt unworthy to be happy. When he finally realized that it was his self-worth that was causing him to depend on drugs, recovery finally started. Now he claims that he has been sober for more than a year and he now works at the HIR as a resident manager so he can also help other people with addiction.

Individualized addiction treatment meets the client’s unique needs and addresses the issues that would help them deal with situations, moods, and feelings that urge them to drink or use drugs. What can trigger one person’s relapse may not trigger the other. That’s why there’s no such thing as an all-in-one treatment for everyone.

Amanda who has been sober since August 2011 says she owes her recovery to Hawaii Island Recovery. When she first called the facility Amanda said she needed help but she doesn’t know what kind of help that was. All she knew was that she was in a dark place, she was abusing oxycodone and alcohol, and she was suffering from anxiety and depression.

“I had been in a lot of therapies since I was 12 and it wasn’t working. The things I was trying wasn’t working and I think what has helped me by coming to Hawaii Island Recovery in August 2011, three-and-a-half years ago, to stay sober is being in a safe community where I got to have a team of therapists and really live with people and learn how to work out the problems with those people in a safe environment”, says Amanda

Drug addicts who have been using drugs to cope with anxiety and depression need a tailored approach to help them cope up with certain emotions and stressful situations that may trigger a relapse. By learning healthy coping skills, like working out problems with concerned individuals, recovering addicts have a better chance of handling difficult situations without having to go back to drugs and alcohol.

Hawaii Island Recovery is a residential substance abuse rehab facility that offers individualized addiction treatment in a relaxing and healing environment. It offers treatment programs that help individuals live a life of full and long-lasting recovery from addiction.