Minneapolis VA Health Care System – VAMC

Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a chronic, progressive condition involving the excessive and compulsive consumption of alcohol. This overconsumption leads to physical dependence and alcohol addiction. Alcohol rehab in Minnesota offers resources to help individuals recover from alcoholism and maintain a sober lifestyle. Treatment typically involves a three-step process that begins with supervised detox, followed by behavioral-based rehab, then continues with sobriety maintenance.

Drug Addiction

Drug addiction is defined as an inability to stop using drugs even though it causes negative consequences in your life. Drug rehab in Minnesota provides treatment for drug addiction in a variety of settings including inpatient treatment and outpatient treatment.

Dual Diagnosis

Dual-diagnosis addiction treatment in Minnesota emphasizes integrated care for individuals with co-occurring substance use disorders and mental health conditions. Their specialized programs offer outpatient, inpatient, partial hospitalization, and intensive outpatient levels of care. Therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy, or dialectical behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based therapy, and experiential therapy help clinical experts to treat both disorders and promote mental health and well-being. Additional services like medically assisted detox, 12-Step recovery, and aftercare support may be available to further support you in sustaining your recovery.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse

If you’re in Minnesota and looking for mental health and substance abuse treatment, you may find the most effective treatment is in a dual-diagnosis program. Specialists treat both mental health conditions at the same time through individual counseling, group therapy, behavioral therapies, and holistic approaches such as mindfulness practices and recreational activities. You’ll also learn vital skills to reduce stress, increase coping skills, and develop a supportive recovery community, setting you up for long-term recovery.

Opioid Addiction

Opioid rehabs specialize in supporting those recovering from opioid addiction. They treat those suffering from addiction to illegal opioids like heroin, as well as prescription drugs like oxycodone. These centers typically combine both physical as well as mental and emotional support to help stop addiction. Physical support often includes medical detox and subsequent medical support (including medication), and mental support includes in-depth therapy to address the underlying causes of addiction.

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Outpatient

Outpatient rehabs typically provide a full continuum of care both for clients in early recovery and for those who are well advanced in their recovery journey. Their levels of care typically include partial hospitalization (PHP), intensive outpatient (IOP), sober living/halfway housing, and standard outpatient programming. Many outpatient facilities offer evening, night, and weekend services, including addiction counseling and recovery-focused life skills training, to accommodate clients’ work and family schedules.

Inpatient

Residential treatment programs are those that offer housing and meals in addition to substance abuse treatment. Rehab facilities that offer residential treatment allow patients to focus solely on recovery, in an environment totally separate from their lives. Some rehab centers specialize in short-term residential treatment (a few days to a week or two), while others solely provide treatment on a long-term basis (several weeks to months). Some offer both, and tailor treatment to the patient's individual requirements.

12-Step

12 step programs support long-term recovery through personal growth. Participants are expected to regularly attend 12 step meetings, which are free, anonymous, and accessible 365 days per year in most communities. They are also mentored by self-selected sponsors who help guide them through the steps of recovery, which are rooted in spiritual principles and designed to foster self-awareness, forgiveness, accountability, and acceptance. Religious affiliation is not required and specialized formats, including age and gender specific meetings, are available.

Aftercare Support

Completing a drug or alcohol rehab program shouldn't spell the end of substance abuse treatment. Aftercare involves making a sustainable plan for recovery, including ongoing support. This can include sober living arrangements like halfway houses, career counseling, and setting a patient up with community programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA).

Partial Hospitalization Program

A partial hospitalization program (PHP) can provide supportive and structured care to those who don’t require 24/7 supervision. It can be used as a “step-down” option after you’re released from the hospital or a residential program. PHP treatment integrates evidence-based therapies, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). The duration of a partial hospital program is tailored to meet your specific needs and goals but averages 90 days.

Intensive Outpatient

Intensive outpatient programs (IOP) provide one of the highest levels of care available in an outpatient setting and are designed for clients who require robust support. Many intensive outpatient rehabs offer personalized treatment plans and a variety of services, including individual, group, and family counseling, recovery-focused life skills training, holistic therapies, and medication assisted treatment (MAT). Clients typically receive between nine and 20 hours of care weekly.

Medically Assisted Detox

Withdrawal from alcohol and drugs can be uncomfortable - even dangerous - without the proper medical supervision. The safest way to remove addictive substances from your body is with a medically supervised detox where a team of on-site medical professionals can monitor your health and progress 24/7, then administer medications (like Suboxone or Vivitrol) if necessary to mitigate symptoms of withdrawal.

Assertive Community Treatment

Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) is a structured way of helping those with major mental illnesses and/or substance abuse by bringing services directly to the patient in home. Instead of hospitalization or an outpatient program, staff members like social workers, psychiatrists, and counselors come directly to the patient’s house for treatment. ACT is used primarily for those with severe and persistent mental illness like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, some of whom also contend with substance abuse. ACT can be short- or long-term (months to years), and provides the same multidisciplinary, 24/7 staffing of a psychiatric unit, but in the comfort of the patient's own home and/or community.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a therapy modality that focuses on the relationship between one's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It is used to establish and allow for healthy responses to thoughts and feelings (instead of unhealthy responses, like using drugs or alcohol). CBT has been proven effective for recovering addicts of all kinds, and is used to strengthen a patient's own self-awareness and ability to self-regulate. CBT allows individuals to monitor their own emotional state, become more adept at communicating with others, and manage stress without needing to engage in substance abuse.

Couples Therapy

Whether a marriage or other committed relationship, an intimate partnership is one of the most important aspects of a person's life. Drug and alcohol addiction affects both members of a couple in deep and meaningful ways, as does rehab and recovery. Couples therapy and other couples-focused treatment programs are significant parts of exploring triggers of addiction, as well as learning how to build healthy patterns to support ongoing sobriety.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a modified form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a treatment designed to help people understand and ultimately affect the relationship between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. DBT is often used for individuals who struggle with self-harm behaviors, such as self-mutilation (cutting) and suicidal thoughts, urges, or attempts. It has been proven clinically effective for those who struggle with out-of-control emotions and mental health illnesses like Borderline Personality Disorder.

Electroconvulsive Therapy

ECT is a form of treatment in which controlled electric currents are passed through the brain, sometimes causing short seizures. Treatments are done under general anesthesia. ECT appears to change brain chemistry for the better, and has been shown to provide fast and sometimes dramatic improvements in severe mental health conditions that can exist alongside addiction, including depression, bipolar disorder, psychosis, and suicidality. ECT is also often used by those who prefer it to taking medication.

Experiential Therapy

Experiential therapy is a form of therapy in which clients are encouraged to surface and work through subconscious issues by engaging in real-time experiences. Experiential therapy departs from traditional talk therapy by involving the body, and having clients engage in activities, movements, and physical and emotional expression. This can involve role-play or using props (which can include other people). Experiential therapy can help people process trauma, memories, and emotion quickly, deeply, and in a lasting fashion, leading to substantial and impactful healing.

Family Therapy

Research clearly demonstrates that recovery is far more successful and sustainable when loved ones like family members participate in rehab and substance abuse treatment. Genetic factors may be at play when it comes to drug and alcohol addiction, as well as mental health issues. Family dynamics often play a critical role in addiction triggers, and if properly educated, family members can be a strong source of support when it comes to rehabilitation.

Fitness Therapy

Fitness therapy blends exercise with psychotherapy for a fun, inspiring, and effective way of treating addiction and other issues. By incorporating movement into counseling sessions, clients become more empowered, motivated, and goal-oriented, all while strengthening their bodies and becoming more flexible. Fitness Therapy is usually used to complement a course of treatment (inpatient or outpatient) to make it even more successful. Increasing the connection between a patient’s mind and body helps both with healing as well as in creating new, healthy habits.

Group Therapy

Group therapy is any therapeutic work that happens in a group (not one-on-one). There are a number of different group therapy modalities, including support groups, experiential therapy, psycho-education, and more. Group therapy involves treatment as well as processing interaction between group members.

Individual Therapy

In individual therapy, a patient meets one-on-one with a trained psychologist or counselor. Therapy is a pivotal part of effective substance abuse treatment, as it often covers root causes of addiction, including challenges faced by the patient in their social, family, and work/school life.

Life Skills

Life skills trainings involve all the skills a person must have in order to function successfully in the world. These include time management, career guidance, money management, and effective communication. Truly successful addiction recovery is based on the ability to not only live substance-free, but to thrive. Life skills teaches the practical necessities of functioning in society, which sets clients up for success in life, and therefore sobriety.

Motivational Interviewing

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a clinical approach to helping people with substance abuse issues and other conditions shift behavior in positive ways. It is more goal-oriented than traditional psychotherapy, as MI counselors directly attempt to get clients to consider making behavioral change (rather than wait for them to come to conclusions themselves). Its primary purpose is to resolve ambivalence and help clients become able to make healthy choices freely.

Nicotine Replacement Therapy

Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) is a way of getting nicotine into the bloodstream without smoking. It uses products that supply low doses of nicotine to help people stop smoking. The goal of therapy is to cut down on cravings for nicotine and ease the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal.

Nutrition Therapy

Nutrition therapy, aka medical nutrition therapy (MNT), is a way of treating physical, emotional, and medical conditions through diet. Specific dietary plans are designed by professional nutritionists or registered dietitians, and patients follow them in order to positively affect their physical and mental health.

Rational Behavior Therapy

Rational Behavior Therapy (RBT) is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy meant to be short-term and comprehensive. It was intended to help clients become more self-sufficent and move forward without the need for expensive, ongoing therapy. It includes an emotional self-help method called “rational self-counseling,” the purpose of which is to give clients all the skills needed to handle future emotional issues by themselves, or with significantly less professional help.

Recreational Therapy

Recreational therapy (aka therapeutic recreation) uses creative and fun activities to help with addiction recovery. Recreational therapists lead patients in entertaining and engaging activities like sports or games; art (drawing, painting, sculpture); drama, music, and dance; and/or community outings (field trips) to improve patients' physical, social, and emotional well-being.

Trauma Therapy

Trauma therapy addresses traumatic incidents from a client's past that are likely affecting their present-day experience. Trauma is often one of the primary triggers and potential causes of addiction, and can stem from child sexual abuse, domestic violence, having a parent with a mental illness, losing one or both parents at a young age, teenage or adult sexual assault, or any number of other factors. The purpose of trauma therapy is to allow a patient to process trauma and move through and past it, with the help of trained and compassionate mental health professionals.

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