Trauma Healing Retreat using Experiential Therapy to Combat Addiction
Trauma Healing Retreat using Experiential Therapy to Combat Addiction
If you’ve read our blogs for any length of time, you know that something we pride ourselves on here at the Iris Healing® Retreat is the sheer number of therapy modalities we offer. When you come to us, no matter your addiction, one of our professionals sits down with you and figures out the right kind of treatment for your addiction. For many of our clients, this involves a combination of modalities: many include cognitive behavior therapy, twelve-step programs, and the like. One we’re using more and more is called “experiential therapy.” We’ve seen quite a bit of success in using this therapy to help with addiction and other issues at our trauma healing retreat.
Experiential Therapy
If you say the word “experiential” out loud, you might hear yourself say the word “experience.” That’s a big part of what this therapy is: a series of experiences. When we tend to think of therapy, the image that comes to mind is from TV and movies: a wood-paneled office, a patient lying back in a chair, a therapist asking them questions, bookshelf in the back. Experiential therapy is the opposite of that. Experiential therapy brings experiences into the therapy. So, in this therapy, it might involve the patient playing various sports. Really. It might also include something like role-playing, where the patient will pretend to be a different person or play a role where the therapist does as well. Additionally, it can include activities as diverse as caring for animals and guided imagery. You might be reading all of this and think: “OK, that sounds like quite a bit of fun, but is it actually therapy?” Yes. In the right hands, it is.