Medically Reviewed

Substance Abuse Treatment Types & Therapy Programs Near Me

5 min read · 11 sections

Addiction is a complex disease that can affect many areas of a person’s life. In 2017, it was estimated that 20.7 million Americans needed treatment for substance use disorders; however, only 2.5 million received specialized substance use treatment.1

Addiction requires individualized treatments and modalities that address the symptoms and underlying causes of the disease, as well as the consequences that substance use has on different areas of a person’s life. This includes their ability to socialize, their physical and mental health, and consequences at work, home, school, or with the law.2 There are many types of therapy available to effectively treat addiction.

American Addiction Centers offers free and confidential guidance to those suffering from addiction many of the therapies listed above are available at our treatment centers located across the United States. Call us today to discuss your options for treatment

Causes & Risk Factors for Addiction

There are a variety of causes and risk factors that can contribute to the development of a substance use disorder. These may include:

  • Genetics, such as a family history of substance abuse.
  • Starting substance use at an early age.
  • Easy access to drugs or alcohol, especially at a young age.
  • Exposure to heavy advertising of substances (like alcohol).
  • A current mental health diagnosis.
  • Low parental monitoring.
  • A high amount of family conflict.
  • A history of abuse or neglect.
  • Family conflict or violence.

Through therapy, counseling, rehab, and other treatment modalities, the core reasoning for development of addiction can be discussed and coping mechanism and healing can commence. Because addiction impacts everyone differently, the course to addiction recovery can be different for each person. Fortunately, there are a variety of specialized rehab types and treatment programs to choose from to suit each person’s individualized needs.

Types & Levels of Rehab Treatment

Depending on the severity of the addiction, you or a loved one may require either 1 level of care or multiple levels to achieve long term recovery. The following are the types of rehab where therapy programs will be utilized:

  • Detoxification: A medically managed detox program will help stabilize the patient and help them overcome the symptoms of withdrawal from drugs or alcohol. These programs may last a few days to weeks. Once stabilization is achieved, the patient may need an inpatient program.
  • Inpatient/Residential Rehab: Inpatient and residential rehab programs are live-in solutions where patients will receive supervised treatment and structured care plans to overcome their addiction. These programs may last anywhere from a few weeks to a number of months, and may be followed by outpatient rehab. Depending on the program, patients may receive 24/7 monitoring from a licensed professional.
  • Outpatient Rehab & Intensive Outpatient Programs: Outpatient programs allow users to attend therapy and receive treatment on their own time as patients do not need to be on-site or live at the facility. Treatment may occur at a substance use treatment center, community health clinic, hospital-affiliated clinic, or other facility, meeting on a regular basis. Some outpatient programs may even offer night and weekend programs which make them a favorite for those personal, family, and/or professional responsibilities that may prevent them from attending an inpatient rehab.

How Can I Find Treatment Options Near Me?

To find effective treatment options near you, or to get a second opinion on whether you or your loved one may need addiction treatment, call our admissions navigators. We can quickly help you or your loved one understand your addiction treatment options, offer you further free resources, and assist you in determining your next best steps.

List of Drug Addiction Therapy Programs

Doctor trying Dialectal Behavioral Therapy on a patient; doctor and patient talking

Addiction treatment to reduce substance abuse commonly consists of a combination of group and individual therapy sessions that focus on teaching those in recovery the skills needed to get and stay sober as well as how to navigate various situations without turning to drugs or alcohol.2 Behavioral therapy is perhaps the most commonly utilized types of treatment for addiction that is frequently used during substance rehabilitation. A general behavioral therapeutic approach has been adapted into a variety of effective techniques.2 These include:

  • Individual, Group & Family TherapyPatients may partake in therapy guided by a therapist in a 1 on 1 format, with a group in a safe, peer-supported atmosphere, and/or with participation from family or anyone significant in the patient’s life.
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT encourages clients to question and examine recurring thoughts in order to phase out those that are negative and unhealthy. CBT can be applied in the treatment of many different types of problematic substance use.2 People treated with CBT techniques learn to recognize and change their maladaptive behaviors. CBT can help people with coping skills, with identifying risky situations and what to do about them, and with preventing relapse.2 This approach is helpful because it can be paired with other techniques. The skills learned through CBT continue to be of benefit long after the initial therapy, and it can be used to treat co-occurring mental or physical health disorders as well.2
  • Contingency Management (CM): CM may also be effective in treating several types of substance use disorder—for example, alcohol, opioids, marijuana, and stimulants—and is used to encourage or reinforce sobriety.2 This drug addiction treatment method provides material rewards as motivation for desirable behaviors, such as maintaining sobriety.2 A major benefit of CM is that it can result in a reduction in the two of the biggest treatment-related issues: dropping out and relapse.2
  • Motivational Interviewing (MI): MI is a drug addiction treatment method of resolving ambivalence in recovering individuals to allow them to embrace their treatment efforts to best change their problematic substance use behavior. The purpose is to strengthen the client’s own motivation for and commitment to change in a manner that is consistent with said client’s values. Therefore, rather than imposing or forcing particular changes, we “meet the client where the client is” and help her/him move toward his/her goals by drawing out and building his/her readiness to change. One benefit of MI is that, despite being facilitated by a therapist, those in recovery develop their own motivation and a plan for change over the course of several sessions, which can provide them with more of a sense of control over the course of their treatment.2
  • Dialectal Behavioral Therapy (DBT): DBT teaches clients how to regulate their emotions to reduce the self-destructive behaviors that derive from extreme, intense emotions. DBT focuses on 4 skill sets that include distress tolerance, emotion regulation, mindfulness, and interpersonal effectiveness. DBT can be adapted for many substance use cases, but mainly focuses on treating severe personality disorders, such as borderline personality disorder.2 DBT works to reduce cravings, help patients avoid situations or opportunities to relapse, assist in giving up actions that reinforce substance use, and learn healthy coping skills.3
  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): EMDR helps clients recover from traumatic experiences that result in symptoms and distress. Utilizing “dual stimulation” exercises to discuss past trauma while simultaneously engaging other parts of the brain through bilateral eye movements, tones, or taps, EMDR helps heal the brain’s information processing system and promotes emotional stability and symptom reduction. EMDR’s benefits are so empirically effective that it has been officially approved by the American Psychological Association as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma conditions.
  • Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT): REBT helps clients identify, challenge, and replace their destructive thoughts and convictions with healthier, adaptive thoughts. Empirical studies demonstrate that this process incites emotional well-being and goal achievement. It helps patients understand their own thoughts and then helps to develop better habits and thinking in more positive and rational ways and gain healthier emotions.2 The base for REBT is the idea that rational thinking comes from within; external situations are not what give one the feeling of happy or unhappy.2
  • Seeking Safety & Other Trauma Focused Therapies: Developed under a grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) by Lisa M. Najavits, Ph.D., Seeking Safety is a present-focused therapy that helps clients attain safety from trauma (including PTSD) and substance misuse by emphasizing coping skills, grounding techniques and education. This highly effective, research-based therapy has several key principles which, to name a few, include: helping clients attain safety in their thinking, emotions, behaviors and relationships, integrated treatment of substance conditions and trauma and focusing on ideals to counteract the loss of ideals that is experienced in both trauma and substance misuse.
    Focusing on ideals to counteract the loss of ideals that is experienced in both trauma and substance abuse.
  • Matrix Model: The Matrix Model employs a combination of various therapeutic techniques and was originally developed for the treatment of individuals with stimulant addictions.2 Against this backdrop of various of techniques, therapists focus on rewarding good behaviors and teaching patients to believe in themselves; self-esteem, dignity, and self-worth.2 The National Institute on Drug Abuse describes the Matrix Model as mostly focused on “relapse prevention, family and group therapies, drug education, and self-help participation”.2
  • 12-Step Facilitation: 12-Step facilitation therapy aims to promote continued abstinence by engaging people in recovery with 12-Step peer support groups. Meetings are hosted by several different 12-Step fellowships varieties, including Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.2
  • The Gottman Method: Developed by the Gottman Institute and utilized as part of the Couples Track at Desert Hope Treatment Center, the Gottman Method’s research-based approach can help couples heal from the effects of addiction, improve their communication and conflict-management skills, explore codependency, appropriate boundaries, support their individual and each other’s recovery, and foster recovery for the relationship.

Are Rehab Therapies Covered by Insurance?

Find out instantly if your insurance provider may be able to cover all or part of the cost of rehab and associated therapies.

How Effective is Drug Addiction Therapy?

How effective behavioral therapy is for addiction treatment depends on the particular individual receiving treatment, their level of treatment engagement, the therapist and other members of the treatment team, and the type of therapy being provided. For example, research indicates that the skills that patients learn in cognitive behavioral therapy sessions tend to “stick” with them beyond treatment completion. In other words, what is taught in CBT seems to have a positive lasting impact on substance misuse patients.4

Contingency management has also been shown to be effective in treating a range of substance use disorders, including those involving alcohol, stimulants, opioids, and marijuana. Giving patients tangible rewards, such as vouchers or even cash prizes, may help promote recovery by reinforcing abstinence and other positive behaviors.5

One clinical trial found that incentive-based therapy may also contribute to improved treatment retention.6

Listen to Greenhouse Treatment Center’s Gary Malone, MD discuss the role of therapy in addiction treatment. 

Medications & MAT

When combined with counseling and behavioral therapies to assisted in a patient’s recovery, medications play an important role in many addiction treatment protocols.2 Various medications may be used to help reduce cravings and manage withdrawal from opioids, alcohol, benzodiazepines, and other sedatives.2

Opioid agonist medications such as buprenorphine and methadone as well as antagonist therapy with naltrexone may be used to help those with an addiction to opioids.2 For those in recovery from alcohol use disorders, medications like acamprosate, disulfiram, and naltrexone can be used to decrease continued drinking behavior.2

Additional medications may be used off-label for symptomatic support during withdrawal and treatment, as well as to address any co-occurring mental or medical health issues.2

Not sure about the cost of treatment or rehab? Find out if insurance is able to cover all or part of the cost of rehab and medications used in treatment.

Other, Holistic & Alternative Drug Use Therapy

People practice meditation therapy as part of their addiction treament

There are alternate types of therapies that can be used to complement the more standard treatment types listed above to aid recovery. Though these techniques do serve as adequate substitutes for the substance use treatment programs themselves, they can help promote recovery through stress management and overall wellbeing. Some of the complementary therapies are:

  • Exercise. Physical activity is a great way to reduce stress and release uncomfortable emotions. With some substances, early abstinence can be associated with weight gain, and exercise can help to manage this as well.2
  • Meditation. Recovery can be a stressful time, and meditation can have a positive impact on anxiety, depression, and overall health.5 Mindfulness meditation is one way to maximize the benefits one gets out of treatment and is a technique that can be practiced easily after treatment is completed.7
  • Yoga. Yoga is another activity that comes in a variety of forms, with some gentle styles that focus on breathing and relaxation and others that are more strenuous. Yoga can have various benefits, including a reduction in stress or physical tension and feeling more self-aware, peaceful, stronger, or physically fit.7
  • Massage. This technique is another way to help reduce physical tension and assist in learning to relax without relying on a substance. Massage can become part of your self-care routine and even be used to reward yourself for small milestones in your recovery journey. Some early studies show that massage could possibly help in managing various symptoms associated with different types of substance withdrawal.7
  • Experiential. Therapies including animal assisted and equine-assisted therapy. The idea of using various therapy animals has been gaining popularity, and studies have illustrated that programs that incorporate horses into the treatment process have better outcomes for participants. People in these programs may stay in treatment longer and be more likely to finish treatment.8 They report that going to the stable lets them develop a persona other than that of “patient” and helps them feel accepted, valued, capable, and emotionally supported.7 Other animals may be used in therapy and some programs offer pet-friendly rehab treatment.

Is There a Cure for Addiction?

Currently, there is no cure for substance use disorders. Much like other chronic health issues, addiction is a persistent and sometimes-relapsing condition. However, also much like other chronic health conditions, there are various ways to treat and manage drug addiction. By treating substance use disorders, people can regain control over their lives by working against the disruptive effects that drugs or alcohol once had on their brain.9

How To Get The Most Effective Treatment

Addiction affects each person differently, so it is important for treatment to be individualized as well. Just because something works for one person, doesn’t mean it works for everyone. Over time, needs will change, and so should treatment plans.

Still unsure if you would like to attend a detox or rehab program? Take our free, 5-minute substance misuse self-assessment below if you think you or someone you love might be struggling with substance use. The evaluation consists of 11 yes or no questions that are intended to be used as an informational tool to assess the severity and probability of a substance use disorder. The test is free, confidential, and no personal information is needed to receive the result.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Substance Use Therapies


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