Grief Therapy in Southern California
an introduction
Thousand Oaks Grief Therapy
A period of grieving is common in the aftermath of a serious personal loss. That’s especially true when someone close to you dies. While it comes with notable feelings of distress, grief is natural. With help from friends and family, most people recover from its most intense effects as time passes. However, you may need professional help to cope with grief. That need is even more apparent if you remain affected for extended periods and your mental health suffers.
Researchers have identified a connection between intense, harmful grief and drug and alcohol use. If you enter substance treatment, you may need some form of grief therapy. The treatment you receive can help you overcome prolonged grief. In turn, it may make it easier for you to reach sobriety and maintain it over time.
Looking for grief therapy in Southern California that also provides you with resources for substance recovery? Call on the outpatient rehab professionals at Absolute Recovery Therapeutic Solutions. Every day, The ARTS’ team of in-house specialists relies on customized therapy options to support effective treatment. Those options include therapy for grief that lingers and damages your sense of well-being. With our help, you can process your grief and continue your progress toward your recovery goals.
The ARTS is an intensive outpatient program in Los Angeles. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help with comprehensive addiction treatment care.
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Understanding Grief and Its Potential Effects
Grief is the accepted term for the anguished state associated with a loved one’s death and other major life losses. It’s similar to mourning and bereavement. However, experts distinguish it from these two states. Specific reactions characteristic of grief include:
- Mental or emotional distress
- Confusion
- Anxiety
- Obsession with the past
- Fear of the future
The grieving process is often profoundly painful. However, most people navigate their way through it by doing things such as:
- Talking things through with their family and friends
- Seeking help from a grief counselor or a pastor, priest, rabbi, imam, etc.
- Practicing regular self-care
- Doing things to honor the memory of those who died
However, grief doesn’t always fade away, even when these steps are taken. Instead, some people experience what’s known as complicated or prolonged grief. These are names for a grieving process that continues for extended amounts of time without any significant resolution.
If your grief persists for a year or more, you may qualify for a diagnosis of prolonged grief disorder. This condition produces symptoms that can include:
- Extreme, painful emotions associated with someone’s death
- An inability to fully believe that their death actually occurred
- Loss of a sense of personal meaning
- Profound feelings of loneliness or social detachment
- Unusual lack of access to your emotions
- Problems returning to various aspects of daily life
- A strong urge to avoid anything that reminds you of someone’s death
Up to 10% of all adults will go through these kinds of reactions at some point in their lives.
For more information on grief and prolonged grief, talk to the helpful staff at The ARTS today.
Grief therapy in Southern California may play an important role in your treatment for drug or alcohol problems. Why? There is a two-way interaction between prolonged grief and substance abuse/addiction. If you misuse drugs or alcohol prior to experiencing a serious loss, your risks for this harmful form of grief increase. In turn, existing prolonged grief can make you more susceptible to alcohol problems, in particular.
Untreated, prolonged grief can potentially interfere with your substance recovery. That’s true because lasting grief can lead you to rely on ineffective coping strategies such as:
- Withdrawal from social contact
- Harsh self-criticism
- Wishful or magical thinking
As a result, you may have a harder time identifying and using beneficial coping strategies. You may also find it harder to meet your short- and long-term treatment goals.
Consult us today to find out more about the potential need for therapy for grief in substance rehab.
What We Offer
Grief Therapy Techniques and Goals
Grief therapy is not the name of a specific method for overcoming prolonged grief. Instead, the term refers to any form of psychotherapy that can help you recover from grief. That psychotherapy is typically rooted in the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
The general aim of CBT is helping you change your thought processes in ways that support well-being instead of harming it. To achieve this aim, your ARTS therapist must first help you spot harmful distortions in your everyday thoughts and emotional responses. We then help you modify those thoughts and responses. In CBT for prolonged grief, the two chief goals are helping you:
- Accept the fact that your loss is real
- Rebuild your routine and re-engage in day-to-day life
The grief therapy techniques we use at The ARTS might also help you in other ways.
You may participate in grief group therapy as part of your recovery process. You may also participate in individual therapy. In addition, we may ask you to join a support group for those affected by lingering grief.
Have questions about grief group therapy and your other treatment options? Contact us today to get them answered.
Grief and Addiction Treatment
Should Grief Therapy Form Part of Your Rehab Plan?
Should you seek grief therapy near you as you recover from drug or alcohol problems? This question isn’t always easy to answer. If you receive a diagnosis of prolonged grief disorder, then grief therapy in Southern California is essential for area residents.
The ARTS offers both addiction and mental health services in the San Fernando Valley. We routinely screen for various mental health issues when you enter treatment. This screening helps us make any needed recommendations for grief therapy. It also helps us start the process of picking your specific therapy options. Consult our team of professionals today for more details.
We Can Help
Seek Substance Rehab and Grief Therapy in Southern California at The ARTS
Lingering, unprocessed grief can increase your risk for substance problems. In turn, existing drug or alcohol problems can increase your future exposure to lingering grief. With help from grief therapy, you can work through your grieving process as you recover from substance abuse/addiction.
The rehab specialists at The ARTS understand the potential impact of prolonged grief on your treatment outcomes. That’s why we include grief therapy among our many mental health options for those in recovery. Want to know more about the potential benefits of grief therapy for local residents in Southern California? Just contact us today by email, phone, or our online form. We’re also here to assist you when the time comes for enrollment in one of our three outpatient programs.
