Northern Utah Counseling

Mental Health

When treating substance use disorder and a mental health condition, the best approach is to treat both conditions at the same time. Known as dual diagnosis treatment, this kind of specialized care provides you with 24/7 access to medical and mental health professionals, group therapy in order to provide a supportive peer group, and family therapy which helps to improve relationships with loved ones.

Substance Abuse

In Utah, individuals looking for substance abuse treatment can find several inpatient and outpatient treatment programs. Typically, you can expect the program to include evidence-based therapies such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), psychoeducation, skills development groups, and experiential therapies, like equine therapy, and adventure therapy. By receiving expert addiction treatment and learning new coping strategies, you’ll drastically improve your mental health and the ability to achieve long-term sobriety.

Outpatient

Outpatient rehab programs enable clients to integrate addiction treatment with their routine work and home life. Many facilities offer virtual services and evening, night, and weekend sessions to accommodate clients’ schedules. Outpatient care typically includes rigorous psychotherapy, including group and family counseling. Most programs also prioritize addiction education and recovery-focused life skills training. Medication assisted treatment (MAT) is common for clients with alcohol and/or opioid dependency.

12-Step

Participants in 12 step programs engage in rigorous group counseling, peer coaching, and personal development. Though 12 step recovery is rooted in spiritual principles, religious affiliation is not mandatory. The steps model promotes participants’ emotional and psychological healing, which is presumed integral to sustained sobriety. Regular attendance at group meetings is expected. These meetings are free, anonymous, peer-led, and accessible day and night in most communities. Gender and age-specific programs and other specialized formats are common.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.