Acceptance And Commitment Therapy For Substance Abuse At Hope Canyon
Rather than trying to change how you think or feel about negative experiences, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) changes how you interpret and react to those situations. Instead of being consumed by negative thoughts or emotions, you learn to accept them for what they are and not allow them to influence your actions.
At Hope Canyon, we have found ACT to be very effective in treating co-occurring mental disorders such as anxiety or depression that can contribute to your substance abuse problem. By using this type of behavioral therapy as part of your recovery plan, we can address the root issues of your addiction and give you a better chance of achieving a successful, lasting recovery.
The concept of acceptance and commitment therapy is based on two basic assumptions:
- Negative thoughts are normal. Your therapist will help you embrace the idea that you don’t have to eliminate emotional pain to have a happy life and successful recovery.
- Less control, not more. Trying to control your negative thoughts and emotions with drugs and alcohol may work for a short time, but the harmful long-term impact far outweighs the short-term benefits.
Stop Letting Negative Thoughts Influence Your Behavior
There are times when using drugs or alcohol may seem like the best way to deal with your negative thoughts and emotions. But substance abuse never really solves the core problem, and in the long run it only makes things worse. Our therapists use ACT to help you see that you can “accept” your negative thoughts without letting them influence your behavior.
At Hope Canyon, we show you how to view negative thoughts without judgment and commit to taking positive actions to deal with them. This ultimately helps you change your relationship with negative emotions and troubling thoughts and achieve your goal of a successful recovery.
Along the way, you become less likely to feel controlled by your thoughts, and you learn to “live in the present” instead of continually being worried about the past or the future. By helping you discover a new, healthier way to deal with your thoughts, ACT can help you ensure that your values and behavior are better aligned so that you can enjoy life without drugs and alcohol.
