Recovering from addiction is an experience of human restoration and requires an approach that is beyond symptom management. Recovery, by definition, is the retrieval or reclaiming of something that has been lost. Addiction Recovery is a process of extracting resistance that is manifested in many forms.
All human dimensions must be intimately interconnected to reach states of serenity and equanimity. Enhancing inner capacities in addition to external modifications fuels the healing process. Addiction is a form of “Doing” something about the “Being”, aimed at inflating pleasure and/or deflating pain. Recovery is a process of incorporating the being and the doing.
More insight is available on the process of integrating the human dimensions under the PUBLICATION tab on this site.
I am a fully licensed professional counselor (LPC), a certified advanced alcohol and drug counselor (CAADC) in the state of Michigan and obtained my Master Addiction Counselor (MAC) credential from the national Certification Commission for Addiction Professionals. My experience encompasses servicing clients in outpatient clinical settings, private practice, and (inpatient) residential/correctional and hospital treatment settings.
Treatment Approach: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
The core conception of ACT is that psychological suffering is usually caused by experiential avoidance (compulsive escape from suffering) and cognitive entanglement (overattachment to conditioned thinking). This results in psychological rigidity.
ACT utilizes various principles to help individuals develop psychological flexibility: Cognitive de-fusion, emotional purging, acceptance, mindfulness, self-observation/self-actualization, value clarification, and commitment to vitality.