trauma and addiction Archives - Colorado Medication Assisted Recovery

How Trauma Influences Addiction

Posted on July 13, 2023August 26, 2024 by cmarnew

Trauma can have a profound impact on mental health, even if the symptoms are not apparent for years. Trauma and addiction are often related. However, many addiction treatment programs don’t take past trauma into account. That’s why, if you’re looking into addiction treatment programs, you should look for one that offers trauma-informed care. Addiction and trauma recovery can happen at the same time when trauma is addressed in a safe, supportive way. Trauma-informed care includes therapies and approaches that are sensitive to the impact of prior traumatic experiences and seek to create a safe, non-judgmental space for healing.

At Colorado Medication Assisted Recovery, we will enroll you in a trauma-informed care program that will treat the mental aspect of the trauma along with your addiction treatment. Call 833.448.0127 today for more on trauma-informed care in Colorado.

How Does Past Trauma Affect Addiction?

When someone experiences a traumatic event, it affects the brain in multiple areas. If the trauma happens at an early age, it can affect brain development as the trauma can suppress growth in some regions of the brain. Some trauma treatment programs can help cope with a current trauma, but often this is ignored or covered up by other mental issues, like substance addiction.

There are three areas of the brain that trauma can affect:

The hippocampus – This part of the brain is important for forming memories, and it can be suppressed after experiencing trauma.
The amygdala – This area of the brain is responsible for fight-or-flight responses, and trauma can cause it to become overactive.
The prefrontal cortex – This part helps with decision making, and trauma can make it harder to think clearly.

When you experience a traumatic event, your brain goes into a hyperactive state that suppresses your memory and impulse control. Many people enter a state of shock and cannot react normally, often freezing up and seemingly unable to speak. They are overwhelmed by the event and trying to cope.

Types of Trauma

Trauma can take many forms, from abuse of any kind to the death of a loved one. It can be caused by physical, emotional, or sexual violence; natural disasters; or even witnessing a traumatic event. It’s also possible to experience trauma through indirect means, like hearing about a loved one’s death or bearing witness to a traumatic event without directly experiencing it.

Any kind of trauma can have an effect on mental health and, as a result, addiction. Trauma can lead to feelings of fear and helplessness that drive a person to use drugs or alcohol to cope with the emotions associated with the trauma. If not addressed, this can lead to addiction and other mental health issues. Addiction develops as a result of the brain’s attempt to cope with the impact of trauma, and it can form a vicious cycle.

What Is Trauma-Informed Care?

In a trauma-informed care program, clients will work with a team of professionals to address the issues caused by trauma. Treatment plans are tailored to each individual and focus on addressing the underlying issues rather than just the addiction. The goal of trauma-informed care is to create a safe, supportive environment and guide clients through the healing process.

Therapies used in a trauma-informed care program can include cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychotherapy, and even family therapy. These therapies will help clients understand their trauma, address any triggers, and learn coping skills to manage symptoms.

In a trauma-informed care program, you will see the impact trauma can have on addiction treatment and the need to focus on more than just one area of concern. With time, the participant will begin to feel the positive effects of a comprehensive treatment.

When you first come in and discuss your addiction and trauma treatment, your therapist will sit down with you and go over the best programs to treat your mental health so you can get over your past trauma and learn to control your addiction.

Find the Right Trauma-Informed Care for You at Colorado Medication Assisted Recovery

At Colorado Medication Assisted Recovery, we understand how trauma can affect your addiction and will work with you or your loved ones in their addiction recovery. We provide a safe and encouraging environment that considers the difficulties traumatic events can have on addiction and where you will feel comfortable discussing the trauma driving your addiction.

If you or someone you know is suffering from trauma-related addiction, please call 833.448.0127 or reach out to our team online today and schedule an appointment with one of our therapists.

What Is Trauma-Informed Care?

Posted on May 31, 2023August 26, 2024 by cmarnew

When you go to the doctor, the focus is often on figuring out what’s wrong. While your doctor only wants to help, taking a clinical approach that seems to ignore what may be happening beneath your exterior can feel impersonal. Those who have experienced trauma can face challenges with their mental health. Trauma-informed care focuses less on fixing the immediate problem and more on understanding everything that led to your current issues. It’s a concept that informs the way everyone at Colorado Medication Assisted Recovery helps patients. If you’re looking for trauma-informed care in Colorado, contact us today at 833.448.0127 or fill out our online form.

What Is Trauma-Informed Care?

When people experience trauma because of neglect, abuse, discrimination, violence, and other adverse experiences, they often turn to risky behavior like drug and alcohol abuse. Someone who comes into the ER because of an opioid overdose may have started using the drugs to get away from memories associated with the experience of trauma.

Using a trauma-informed care approach to individuals seeking treatment for mental health or substance use disorders helps doctors, addiction specialists, and other medical professionals understand more about the experiences that led to a patient’s current state. Trauma therapy makes a big difference to a person when someone tries to understand what happened to them. Some important tenets of trauma-informed care include:

Understanding how much trauma impacts people
Looking at the way trauma affects a person’s ability to achieve recovery
Recognizing signs of trauma in patients and those close to them

Learn how to avoid creating situations that might inadvertently remind patients of past trauma

Understanding the role of resiliency in helping patients move forward

At Colorado Medication Assisted Recovery, our doctors and specialists take a trauma-informed care approach while providing treatments for addiction and mental health disorders. We believe that understanding how past experiences have impacted someone’s life is essential to creating an effective treatment plan for recovery.

How Can Trauma-Informed Care Help with Addiction?

Colorado Medication Assisted Recovery believes that taking a trauma-informed approach in all aspects of treatment helps our patients achieve better outcomes. Addiction and mental health disorders are complex issues that can’t be handled with a one-size-fits-all approach to treatment. By taking the time to understand what patients are going through, we can develop more effective approaches to addiction and mental health care.

The main principles that drive trauma-informed care include the following:

Empowering patients – We focus on a person’s strengths and use them to help them progress through treatment
Giving patients choices – Patients respond more positively when they feel they have a choice when it comes to their treatment
Collaborating with patients – Everyone at Colorado Medication Assisted Recovery works with the patient and their family to obtain the best outcome
Making patients feel safe – We want patients to feel secure in their environment when they come to Colorado Medication Assisted Recovery for treatment
Earning the trust of patients – Patients can expect complete transparency and clarity when it comes to the treatments offered at our facility and the kind of care they can expect

It’s important to note, though, that trauma-informed care is not a one-time solution. It’s an ongoing process of understanding and support to help heal trauma.

What Are the Benefits of Trauma-Informed Care?

We’ve found that trauma-informed care benefits both patients and the staff at Colorado Medication Assisted Recovery. Those who come to us for help can learn how to rebuild fractured relationships or focus on building new ones with people supportive of a patient’s recovery journey. Trauma therapy is also a chance for you to have a voice regarding getting help for issues driving your addiction or mental health crisis.

Trauma-informed care gives staff the chance to understand our patients’ issues on a deeper level. That helps build trust both ways and makes us more empathetic to the challenges our patients go through as they work to improve their long-term physical, mental, and emotional health.

Some other benefits of trauma-informed care include:

Being able to recognize and respond appropriately to signs of trauma while addressing underlying issues related to addiction or mental health disorders
Creating a safe and supportive environment for patients to feel comfortable with the help they’re getting
Offering different approaches to treatment that can address a wide range of symptoms

Trauma-informed care is the gold standard in modern addiction and mental health treatment. Colorado Medication Assisted Recovery is proud to offer this approach to all of our patients.

Experience Trauma-Informed Care at Colorado Medication Assisted Recovery

Colorado Medication Assisted Recovery maintains a safe, therapeutic environment for patients looking for help with mental health or addiction issues. Treatments and programs offered at our facility include:

Contact Colorado Medication Assisted Recovery at [Direct] if you want to learn more about how we can become your partner in overcoming problems that may be holding you back in life.

How Trauma-Informed Care Could Be the Answer

Posted on July 4, 2022 by cmarnew

Trauma is the result of a single or ongoing event that causes significant stress to the point that it can hinder the emotional development of children and adults. A traumatic event can be anything from a car accident, family conflicts, wartime, or social pressure to fit in. Trauma-informed care is the best way to treat addiction and other types of mental health illnesses that are directly related to the trauma that is affecting your health and happiness.

At Colorado Medication Assisted Recovery, we provide men and women from all walks of life with trauma-informed care at our private outpatient treatment center. We offer a wide range of behavioral therapies and medication-assisted treatment to reduce withdrawal symptoms and cravings and allow for true healing to begin. Continue reading to learn how trauma-informed care can benefit your recovery. When you are ready to make a positive change in your life, call 833.448.0127 to speak with our friendly staff.

What Is Trauma-Informed Care?

Trauma-informed care is a type of therapy that addresses a single or multiple traumatic events that are causing emotional harm. It helps patients process their feelings in a healthy way instead of turning to drugs and alcohol for temporary relief. If left untreated, trauma can lead to worsening depression, PTSD, and addiction and put them at extreme risk of self-harm or suicide.

The three types of trauma that can affect men and women include:

Acute – a single traumatic event, such as a car accident, injury, or death of a loved one.
Chronic – Repeated traumatic events such as domestic violence, school bullying, or emotional abuse from a parent, sibling, or spouse.
Complex – This type of trauma involves varied and multiple traumatic events over an extended period of time. Examples of complex trauma include incest, kidnapping, or grooming.

At Colorado Medication Assisted Recovery, we help men and women who have experienced a traumatic event. Our therapists have experience working with people from all backgrounds and types of trauma and can teach them how to process their feelings in a healthy manner.

The Benefits of Trauma-Informed Care

There are many benefits of participating in trauma-informed care for patients whose life is fractured by a traumatic event. They learn how to talk about their feelings effectively while developing new skills that promote healthy thoughts and behaviors.

Just some of the benefits of trauma-informed care include:

Rediscover their power to change – Trauma makes people feel powerless, which is one main reason why they turn to drugs and alcohol instead of asking for help and appearing weak. Trauma-informed care works to remind patients of the power they have to change their thoughts and how they view the world around them.
A safe space to confront their trauma – Patients work with therapists in a safe and private space where they can talk about their feelings without judgment. Therapists work with patients in group and one-on-one therapy to develop healthy coping skills.
Prevention of re-traumatization – Trauma-informed care helps patients learn to stand up for themselves and reduce the risk of putting themselves in the same situation that led to the traumatic event.

Colorado Medication Assisted Recovery: Your Best Choice for Trauma-Informed Care

What is trauma-informed care, and is it right for you? At Colorado Medication Assisted Recovery, our certified behavioral therapists will diagnose your condition and create a custom treatment program based on the traumatic event and severity of the addiction. Patients learn to confront and process their emotions without causing any negative feelings or emotions contributing to substance abuse.

When you are ready to regain control of your life, call 833.448.0127 or fill out our online form today for more information about our outpatient addiction treatment center.