Clinical Services

Here at Retreat at Sky Ridge, we are huge believers that blending holistic treatment and clinical services is a key to helping people recover from drug or alcohol addiction. In addition to our holistic treatment offerings, we have a comprehensive lineup of proven clinical services delivered by licensed counselors, therapists, and other professionals.

Addiction is a disease. It affects both the brain and the individual’s behavior. Clear cut neuroscientific evidence says that brain and body chemistry change with addiction.

We deliver an addiction education that provides clients with an easy to understand look at the chemical impact that alcohol and drugs have on the body and mind – such as increased tolerance, cravings, and associated withdrawal symptoms.

We place a strong emphasis on the client’s understanding of where they feel most vulnerable and how they can utilize the tools they are given in rehab to prevent a relapse. Clients will obtain practical knowledge of how this disease expresses itself in the body, in mind, emotionally, and spiritually.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a short-term, goal-oriented treatment that takes a hands-on, practical approach to problem-solving. Our goal is to change patterns of thinking or behavior that tie into the individual’s difficulties and change the way they feel.

A significant advantage of CBT is that it tends to be short, taking 5 to 10 months for most emotional problems. Counselors and clients work together to understand what the issues are and develop new strategies for tackling them.

CBT introduces clients to a set of principles that can be applied as needed – ones that are critical to long-term recovery.

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a type of cognitive-behavioral therapy designed to help individuals accept and regulate their emotional responses. DBT aims to improve daily life skills so that the individual is more well equipped to deal with issues they will need to face during recovery from alcohol or drug addiction.

The goals of the therapy are to:

• Build self-esteem
• Improve interpersonal relationships
• Ultimately, to enjoy a better quality of life.

Often, addictive behaviors are rooted in some form of trauma. This trauma could be emotional or physical abuse or the death of someone close. When an individual turns to alcohol or drugs to numb pain or grief, proper healing from the event is postponed and leads to increased dependence on those substances.

Substance abuse is not a remedy for the negative feelings that result from trauma. Through various types of therapy (such as CBT) at Retreat at Sky Ridge, clients process trauma-related memories and feelings so they can learn to regulate negative emotions and start trusting again.

A key to relapse prevention is understanding that relapse begins weeks, sometimes months, before you pick up that first drink or drug. There are often specific triggers or warning signs present long before someone starts to abuse substances again.

In relapse prevention, clients learn about the many steps to relapse, so they can be aware of it and prevent it before it occurs. We introduce tools and techniques in both our Residential Treatment program and Relapse Track that help clients be better prepared to face these warning signs and ultimately prevent the relapse.

The Internal Family System (IFS) psychotherapy model offers a clear and empowering method of understanding problems. It also provides a forum for both counselor and client to establish a relationship in which real healing can occur.

IFS views the individual as an “ecology” of many parts or sub-personalities, each playing an essential role within each of us. Due to life experiences – such as trauma, domestic violence, or sexual abuse – these different parts are sometimes forced to disorganize in unhealthy and conflicting ways. IFS was designed to reorganize and resolve these conflicts.

A form of therapy that explores internal motivations, Motivational Interviewing (MI) aims to resolve any ambivalence to help to elicit change by meeting a “client where they are at.”

MI can be useful in treating addictions as it ignites incentives and initiates change. A counselor is a person of support who works closely with a client to change through empathy and supporting self-efficacy. MI does not employ confrontation, but rater validates an individual to see the discrepancy between their current situation, past behaviors, and future goals.

Counselors use reflective listening, which fosters an element of respect and trust to allow one to see their conclusions on change and fear personally. Ultimately, motivational interviewing brings self-empowering positive transformations that help to provide for long-term recovery.

Other clinical support services that are part of Residential Treatment program here at Retreat at Sky Ridge include:

• Physician-approved admission
• Comprehensive nursing exam upon admission
• Biopsychosocial Assessment
• Assessment and treatment of adults with substance abuse disorders or addicted individuals with co-occuring acute biomedical and/or emotional/behavioral disorders.
• 24-hour physician availability
• 24-hour primary nursing care and observation
• Monitoring of medication, as needed
• Medication administered in accordance with the substance-specific withdrawal syndrome(s), other biomedical or psychiatric conditions, and recognized detoxification procedures
• Professional therapeutic services
• Health care education services
• Services for families and significant others