How Therapy and Counselling Support Long-Term Addiction Recovery

September 5, 2025

2:17 am

Addiction therapy and counselling

Addiction therapy and counselling is available to all. You may not be ready to go into rehab or you may not need to: It doesn’t matter. You can start therapy at any time. If you are having a home detox this becomes even more important.

Addiction is a very serious illness that changes your brain chemistry. It claims lives and can ruin family relationships. It doesn’t care if you are rich, poor, black, white, gay straight or trans. It really is an equal opportunities illness.

Recovery is not only possible but, with the right treatment: achievable. A collaborative treatment plan will always include therapy. Detox alone (if one is needed) is never enough.

At Find Me a Rehab we have a collection of experienced addictions clinicians who have worked in the majority of rehab centres in the UK, as well as private and statutory outpatient provision. Our advice is free, confidential and impartial. For Free 24 Hour Addiction Help or just Free Clinician Drug Advice: Call.

Without therapy, a detox is like putting a plaster over a hole in a bucket. It won’t last long and you will soon be back to square one.

As with all things in life, there are developments in the field of addiction treatment. Modern approaches, blended with traditional approaches, can provide an effective springboard to lifelong abstinence.

Addiction Therapy and Counselling

Understanding Addiction

While everyone who gets caught up in addiction experiences different things there are common features such as the uncontrollable urge to take drugs/alcohol. It is a compulsion that no amount of willpower will overcome. Even though someone knows that using is dangerous, they simply can not help themselves.

What causes someone to become addicted to drugs/alcohol can be a combination of things but tends to be because there are elements of a persons life that are causing emotional pain.

Sometimes it is because of a physical injury and a subsequent reliance on pain medication. Often it is because of an experience in earlier life that they can not process. Mental health conditions can sometimes lead to addiction.

When someone caught up in the madness of addiction can begin to understand what caused it, they are in a better position to recover.

Addiction Therapy and Counselling

What Is Addiction Counselling?

Addiction counselling is geared wholly towards assisting people on a trajectory of recovery. It is a specialist field that can help you to deal, not only with addiction to substances, but also behavioural addiction such as porn and gambling.

The ethos is solely to provide a supportive environment structured around exploring the psychological , as well as social factors, contributing to their addiction.

You don’t have to be a resident in an residential treatment centre to be able to access addiction therapy. It is possible to start therapy before going into treatment though your brain may not be as receptive due to the presence of drugs and alcohol.

What is important is to continue with therapy if you go into residential treatment.

Addiction therapy can be a group process as well as a one to one experience. In the first few sessions of individual therapy the therapist will work with you to identify both the degree of your dependency and if there are any other current issues such as low mood or historical trauma.

This means that the therapist has an accurate picture of the problem so can devise a therapy plan that deals with the underlying causes of your addiction as well as providing tools to avoid relapse and how to deal with cravings.

At Find Me a Rehab we have a collection of experienced addictions clinicians who have worked in the majority of rehab centres in the UK, as well as private and statutory outpatient provision. Our advice is free, confidential and impartial. For Free 24 Hour Addiction Help or just Free Clinician Drug Advice: Call.

Addiction Therapy and Counselling

Why Counselling Matters in Addiction

Addiction focused therapy covers a multitude of areas connected with recovery:

  • Identifying unresolved previous trauma and mental health conditions: A lot of people caught up in addiction have unresolved psychological trauma as well as possible mental health conditions such as persistent low mood and anxiety. In sessions, these issues will be identified and explored so that you understand why you are addicted. Different psychologically informed approaches are used to address these issues.
  • Exploring healthy coping strategies for withdrawal and relapse. The goal of addiction therapy is to achieve, and maintain, lifelong abstinence and sobriety. By learning how to tackle cravings, withdrawal symptoms , anxiety and stress, the chances of maintaining abstinence and sobriety are massively increased.
  • Strengthening relationships with loved ones, family, friends and colleagues.  Addiction can devastate relationships with others. When someone is caught up in the madness of addiction there behaviour can shift . This can place an incredible strain on how they interact with others. With an informed approach, it is often possible to rescue and rebuild these relationships.
  • Heightening accountability. Engaging with addiction therapy can go a long way to heightening your accountability so that you develop a sense of responsibility.  This is crucial in achieving your goal of sobriety.
  • Establishing a support system.  When someone engages in addiction focused therapy they learn the power of establishing a personal recovery network. This can include friends, family, loved ones, colleagues, employers, etc. This also helps you to take responsibility as well as a dependable network of people who know what you are going through.

Advantages of Addiction Counselling

Specialist addiction therapy has a grounding in science and research. It provides a confidential and empathetic space where someone caught up in addiction can take the lid off the can and delve into why they are using drugs and alcohol. It will help to deal with triggers, cravings and withdrawals. It can assist with low mood, stress, anxiety and unresolved trauma.

Types of Addiction Therapy

There are different types of addiction therapies:

  • Individual Therapy : Here the client works, on an individual basis, with a addiction specialist therapist. Commonly used techniques include motivational interviewing and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
  • Group Therapy: This is where a group of people, caught up in addiction, work in sessions led by a trained addictions therapist. While everyone has different experiences of addiction and what led them to seeking help, the same goal is shared by everyone: Recovery. Role play is often used. This approach fosters a sense of community and demonstrates that you are not alone.
  • Family Therapy: Involving loved ones in therapy can help to repair the damage done to relationships through addiction. There will be elements of psycho-education where the family can learn about the origins of the persons addiction and the need for clear and structured boundaries so that recovery remains the goal.
  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: A structured, research based approach that identifies and challenges negative thought patterns. This can help to identify triggers, tackle harmful beliefs, and strengthen positive ways of dealing with cravings, preventing relapse and addressing mental health conditions.
  • 12-Step Programmes: For nearly 100 years, 12 step programmes have helped millions of people across the world to achieve and maintain sobriety and abstinence.
  • Dual Diagnosis Therapy : It is common for someone in addiction to have a mental health condition such as anxiety, depression and PTSD. Dual diagnosis therapy can play a vital role in recovering from these conditions.

Addiction Therapy and Counselling

At Find Me a Rehab we have a collection of experienced addictions clinicians who have worked in the majority of rehab centres in the UK, as well as private and statutory outpatient provision. Our advice is free, confidential and impartial. For Free 24 Hour Addiction Help or just Free Clinician Drug Advice: Call.