Louisville, Kentucky Detox Recovery Treatment Center Wilderness Therapy

What is a Wilderness Therapy Program for Addiction Treatment?

As long as addiction continues to be a struggle for individuals, professionals will be working to develop new and effective approaches that can be used during addiction treatment. You may find yourself wondering, what is wilderness therapy? Wilderness therapy programs in Kentucky have been gaining recognition for their approach to addiction treatment. 

Wilderness therapy programs use many of the clinical interventions and approaches that are commonly used in a traditional addiction treatment program setting. The main difference is its location. Wilderness therapy programs often take place outdoors compared to inside a rehab facility.

The clinicians who work in wilderness therapy programs are trained and experienced in the typical addiction treatment approaches. Wilderness programs still use evidence-based approaches in their treatment of addiction. This includes various therapies, assessments, and interventions.

What Is The Wilderness Program?

What is a wilderness therapy program compared to a wilderness experience program?

Wilderness experience programs work with teenagers and young adults who are in trouble frequently, act out, and have a hard time managing their emotions. These individuals may have legal troubles, be in trouble at school frequently, and have behavioral concerns at home.

Impact IOP Integrates the Wilderness into Therapy and Healing ​

Impact IOP is an outpatient drug and alcohol rehab program in Kentucky. We offer outpatient addiction treatment for Louisville, KY, and the surrounding area. Many of the individuals that we work with do complete an inpatient rehab program or a partial hospitalization before coming to treatment at our facility.

When you begin your treatment with us at Impact IOP, you will first meet with a member of our clinical team for your intake interview. During this time, our counselor will spend time learning about you and your addiction. This often includes how long you have been using, the consequences you have experienced as a result of your addiction, and your goals for recovery. We like to know about who’s important to you, your interests, work or school, and your motivation for getting clean. We will ask if you have struggled with any mental health concerns such as trauma, depression, anxiety, and PTSD.

This information helps us make a treatment plan for you and see if there are any alternative approaches that you would benefit from. For example, if you share that you have been struggling with anxiety or depression, we would want you to meet with a member of our medical team to talk about treatment options. This opens the door for you to have a holistic treatment approach, which will likely benefit your recovery. Mental health concerns can often become an internal trigger for addicts and alcoholics, so learning to cope and manage your symptoms can have a significant impact on your recovery.

Once you have completed your intake interview, our staff begins working on your treatment plan. Before you leave, you will be given a treatment schedule and have an opportunity to ask questions about the plan that has been made for you. Our plans when you begin treatment are not as personalized as they will be later in therapy because our main goal at this point is to support you in your early recovery. 

We recognize that there are individual differences within addiction and that there will be individual differences throughout your treatment experience. Because of this, we can tailor your treatment to any specific needs you have. This would include personalized treatment options for men and women. Your individual sessions each week will be an opportunity to focus on you and concerns that may not have been addressed in your group sessions. This can be a great time to work on mental health struggles, trauma and abuse you have experienced, and the chaos you experienced in active addiction.

After completing our IOP program, you are then able to transition into our outpatient treatment program. In IOP, we work to develop strong relapse prevention skills and increase your sober support so that when you move on to our outpatient treatment program, we are able to address other areas of your life. 

This can include working to improve your ability to communicate your thoughts and emotions effectively with those around you. It could also be working to improve relationships with those who are important to you. Some individuals experience problems at work and school as a consequence of their addiction and need to focus on getting into better standing. Whatever your treatment goals may be, we will support you in working toward them. 

Our clinical team is trained and experienced with addiction treatment and only uses approaches that have been proven effective with addiction treatment. Group therapy has been proven to be effective in addiction treatment for several reasons. First, it helps you work on your social skills in a safe setting. Addiction is an isolating disease, so it is not uncommon for individuals in recovery to be uncomfortable in social settings. Group therapy also gives you an opportunity to relate to others and observe similarities between your addiction and behaviors, which may provide you with a sense of validation. Seeing that you were not the only person to struggle can be powerful. 

At Impact IOP, we are able to combine our top-of-line addiction treatment program with wilderness therapy.

What to Expect From Our Wilderness Therapy Program ​

Now that we have covered what wilderness therapy is, let’s get into its benefits of it! For many of us, our “normal” day is on the go, moving from one task to the next. This can begin as soon as we wake up and continue until we finally close our eyes. Becoming consumed by work responsibilities, school, caring for children, and caring for pets can lead to us putting ourselves on the back burner. As a result, we often neglect our own emotional needs. For many, this can lead to our emotions being an internal trigger and increasing drinking and using behaviors. 

Wilderness therapy works to help us take time in our on-the-go lifestyle, and slow down. This allows us to be more present in the moment, and aware of our own needs. Maybe you have feelings of sadness bubbling under the surface that needs time to be processed. Learning to recognize our emotional needs in the moment is an invaluable life skill. Wilderness therapy removes all the external stimuli in your treatment environment that may be distracting for you. You are exposed to nature and can use this in grounding exercises. 

As a result, you can increase your ability to recognize your emotions at the moment and cope in an effective way. This can help you cope with internal emotional triggers better than before. By learning to check in with yourself during treatment, you are more likely to continue doing so throughout the rest of your day when you are not at treatment.

Learning to be in the moment can also help you communicate better. You will be more aware of your emotions and thoughts, which would allow you to reflect on them while you are communicating. For example, if something is making you sad, you can use that in the conversation to explain how something is impacting you.

Wilderness therapy programs in Kentucky can also help you find new leisure activities you can enjoy. Addiction is time-consuming and eventually leads you to step away from your hobbies and interests. We recommend avoiding boredom in early recovery, and a common struggle is for individuals to not know what they could do to enjoy their downtime. Wilderness therapy will expose you to outdoor activities, such as nature walks and hiking, that you can enjoy in your recovery.

Impact IOP’s Wilderness Therapy Program in Kentucky ​

Impact IOP offers outpatient alcohol and drug treatment programs in Louisville and the surrounding area. We are passionate about what we do, and work to provide you with compassionate and supportive care. If you or a loved one are struggling with an addiction to drugs or alcohol, we invite you to call us at (502) 912-1038 to learn what wilderness therapy is in Kentucky.