Sam Darcy, Executive Director at Vista Taos Renewal Center wrote a great piece for Addiction Professional on Making the Case for Holistic Care in Addictions Treatment.
At Austin Recovery, we believe the best and most effective way to maintain a life of sobriety is to experience the lessons taught in treatment, not just listen to lectures. In treatment, we can talk about connecting to a higher power or digging deep into feelings and emotions, but until clients do it, there is no experience in which to anchor the lesson. We offer many forms of experience-based therapies, including Musical Journey, inner-child work, art therapy, yoga, sweat lodges, organic gardening, cinematherapy, and more.
The article by Vista Taos does a great job in making a case for holistic treatments as being more than a cliche, or tag line about treating the mind, body and spirit, but instead being proven by research to improve treatment outcomes and lasting sobriety. According to the article:
“Research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA), as well as research published during the past few years in The Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, The Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment in addition to a wealth of publications from eminent researchers such as Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, Dr. Jerry Boriskin, Tian Dayton, Dr. Don Meichenbaum and Dr. Colin Ross to name a few, all substantiate that incorporating holistic approaches, along with 12 step recovery and established therapeutic approaches improve patient outcomes” as they help clients “resolve theunderlying issues motivating their addiction and addictive behaviors.”
The article continues to describe the benefits of a few of the holistic, experience-based methods they employe. Click here to access the full article.
Click here to learn more about Austin Recovery’s experiential therapies.