Why Mental Health Care Must Be Central to Addiction Treatment
Trauma alters brain regions critical for emotional regulation and decision-making, increasing vulnerability to addiction and complicating recovery. Studies show trauma-informed care reduces relapse and improves engagement by creating safe, supportive environments that foster healing (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2023).
Yet, despite this evidence, many addiction treatment programs still treat mental health as an afterthought. Detox and abstinence alone do not address the root causes driving substance use. Integrated care models that simultaneously treat addiction and mental health conditions are essential for sustained recovery.
As a counselor and person in recovery, I’ve seen how sidelining mental health care undermines progress. Recovery requires healing the whole person—mind, body, and brain.
How are you incorporating trauma-informed, integrated mental health care into your practice or organization? Let’s share strategies to improve outcomes for the people we serve.
Here is a sneak peek at this weeks post on my Blog at https://progressisprogress.substack.com/
If you would like a free paid subscription contact me....
Why Mental Health Care Can’t Be an Afterthought in Addiction Treatment
Hook — Let’s Bust This Myth Wide Open
If addiction were just about willpower, we’d all be sipping cocktails on a beach instead of fighting cravings in our pajamas at 2 am. Yet, somehow, the myth that “just quit” or “just try harder” works still hangs around like a bad party guest no one wants but everyone has to deal with. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t work. Not for most people, anyway.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth nobody likes to say aloud at family dinners or in some treatment programs: addiction and mental health are freakishly tangled up together like the worst kind of headphones in your pocket. Ignoring mental health in addiction treatment isn’t just a minor oversight — it’s like trying to put out a forest fire with a squirt gun.
Why Mental Health and Addiction Are Like Those Dysfunctional Friends You Can’t Unfriend
If you’ve ever tried to untangle a necklace chain that’s been in a pocket with keys, you get the frustration of disentangling addiction from mental health issues like trauma, anxiety, and depression. They’re so intertwined, it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.
Trauma—whether childhood abuse, neglect, violence, or systemic oppression—reprograms the brain’s stress and reward systems. It hijacks emotional regulation, leaving anxiety and depression to tag along like clingy shadows. This tangled web creates a breeding ground for addiction, because substances often feel like the only way to mute the noise or escape the pain...............https://progressisprogress.substack.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment