Life Skills Therapy in Tennessee
When a substance use disorder is occurring, an individual is bound to experience multiple repercussions of that use. Most obviously, these repercussions can include physical effects such as vital organ damage and psychological effects like unpredictable mood swings. And while these issues are certainly extremely important to focus on, it is also just as imperative to pay attention to the other ways in which a substance use disorder can impact other areas of one’s life.
For example, someone who is addicted to drugs and/or alcohol can struggle tremendously in keeping with all of the elements that keep his or her life moving along in the right direction, like paying bills on time, washing dishes and doing laundry, being on time for appointments, and so on. For some, these skills were once included in his or her life, but as a result of substance use disorder, they remain long forgotten. For others, these skills were never implemented in their lives, as their substance use disorder began when they were young, and they were never expected to do things such as these. Whatever the reason for why someone with a substance use disorder is lacking basic life skills, it is critical that he or she include them in his or her life in order to sustain a successful recovery.
What is Our life skills Therapy Program?
It might sound odd that there is therapy offered for those who are not participating in effective, healthy life skills, as the majority of people have some semblance of how to maneuver through their lives with little drama or chaos. However, this is a real problem for those who have finally ended their substance abuse and who are working their way into recovery.
Life skills therapy is a form of psychotherapy that helps clients learn basic life skills, how to conduct them, how to implement them into a schedule, and how they can benefit from them in their everyday life. When attending an addiction treatment program such as residential treatment or an intensive outpatient program, clients will be offered the opportunity to add life skills therapy into their care, serving as a supplement to the other forms of therapy they are participating in. Life skills therapy sessions will focus on helping clients incorporate life skills into their daily lives, which can be extremely beneficial for those who are feeling lost in regards to how to operate their everyday lives.
Types of Life Skills Offered
Our Tennessee life skills therapy program places a strong focus on helping clients include multiple different skills into their lives so that they benefit the most from their participation in this type of therapy. Some of the life skills that are most commonly offered include those below.
Financial Skills
It is extremely common for those who are recovering from substance use disorders to have poor financial management skills. In fact, many clients come into treatment with little money to their name, if any. Therefore, clients will learn financial basics, such as maintaining a checking and savings account, utilizing checks and balancing them, controlling credit cards, and so on.
Hygiene Skills
When someone is enmeshed in a substance use disorder, it can be hard to focus on anything else but using. As a result, dishes can pile up in the sink, laundry might not get clean, and one’s personal showering habits can slip, for example. Life skills addiction therapy works with clients to show them how to do things such as wash and fold laundry, clean a house, and maintain proper personal hygiene habits.
Nutritional Skills
With substance use disorder tends to come extremely poor eating habits. However, eating well is extremely important, especially when recovering from substance use disorder. Consuming good food can increase one’s energy, mental acuity, and overall sense of wellbeing. Therefore, not only will clients learn about what kinds of foods are healthy and which ones are not, but they will also learn how to cook for themselves.
Communication Skills
Communication is key when it comes to being able to navigate life, but when one’s communication skills are poor or non-existent, life can become much more difficult to manage. Our Tennessee life skills therapy program shows clients the importance of communication, along with specific skills that they can utilize when in the presence of others. When an individual builds a strong foundation of these specific skills, he or she can continue to improve upon his or her communication for long-term success.
Benefits of Life Skills Therapy in Treatment
As previously mentioned, life skills tend to fall to the wayside when a substance use disorder is occurring. However, when someone is in treatment for addiction, he or she is striving to change his or her lifestyle for the better. Including life skills therapy into that change is majorly beneficial, and in the following ways:
- Putting in place a schedule and a sense of structure
- Reducing internal chaos by having things in place (both figuratively and literally)
- Promoting a sense of self-confidence and self-worth
- Improving upon physical and psychological wellbeing through diet and exercise
- Being able to support oneself financially
The benefits of implementing effective life skills into one’s life are endless, as clients can continue to build upon these skills and achieve greater success along the way. JourneyPure’s life skills therapy can help guide clients towards a lifestyle that is more organized and more functional than what he or she was used to during his or her active addiction.
Do You Need Help?
If you are addicted to drugs and/or alcohol, do not let one more second pass you by. The longer that you allow your substance use disorder to continue, the more likely you are to suffer significant consequences that can jeopardize your life. So, do not be ashamed of your addiction. You are one of the millions of people who are experiencing the same disease. Reach out to our life skills therapy in Tennessee for help right now to get started on your road to recovery.