Why Our 90-Day Women's Addiction Treatment Program Is So Effective - AspenRidge

AspenRidge North Drug Rehab And Treatment Center Now Offers Specialized Care For Women

Located in the picturesque setting of Fort Collins, Colorado; AspenRidge North offers people seeking recovery with the tools they need to live successful and sober lives while utilizing the latest evidence-based therapeutic methods in a safe, accountable community setting. Now, the premier drug rehabilitation facility is offering an extended care treatment option especially for women. “We are excited to provide the option of an addiction treatment track specifically tailored to women in Northern Colorado,” said AspenRidge Recovery’s Managing Director Cortland Mathers-Suter. “We find that the vast majority of women with substance use disorders have a history of trauma, as well as gender specific needs that are different from men. Our therapies for our women’s program focus on the addiction experience of women, and the trauma-related symptoms and relationship issues that frequently lead them to relapse.” According to Mathers-Suter, “The women’s program will provide a comfortable, family-style home environment and relaxed atmosphere for female patients, in addition to the latest evidence-based therapeutic methods.” AspenRidge North approaches addiction and alcoholism treatment holistically through the implementation of the 12-step model, coupled with engaging mental health and trauma therapies. The treatment center recognizes that individuals, their families, and society at large are profoundly impacted by addiction.

More About AspenRidge North’s Women’s Program

The AspenRidge North women’s program will provide comprehensive services for women, including both intensive outpatient treatment and residence in a sober living environment. The center is now accepting new clients. According to AspenRidge North, “during the 90-day recovery program, patients will participate in individually tailored programming for rehabilitation, have access to mental health, addiction, and trauma psychiatry, family psychiatry, and practical life skills classes to support reintegration to society.” Additionally, “female-specific therapy will address topics such as juggling family life and self-care, and the stresses of family caretaking. The specific therapies offered to women for post-traumatic stress include equine assisted therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), narrative therapies, experiential therapies, and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT).” The AspenRidge North women’s sober living recovery home will house eight women so they can live comfortably in a magnificent setting specially designed to accommodate the needs of women.

How Trauma Affects Women In Recovery

The sad truth is, most women who struggle with an addiction to alcohol or drugs have also experienced a trauma, which is a deeply disturbing or distressing event. Statistics indicate that by the young age of 25, most women have experienced some kind of trauma; including sexual assault by stranger, date rape, domestic violence, or childhood abuse. This information itself is deeply disturbing and distressing. The experience of trauma often results in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Many people mistakenly believe that only combat veterans who have been in a combat zone can experience the debilitating symptoms of PTSD, but this is simply not true. Anyone who has undergone trauma can suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The American Psychological Association reports that while at least half of all people will experience some kind of trauma in their lifetime, “women are twice as likely to develop PTSD, experience a longer duration of posttraumatic symptoms and display more sensitivity to stimuli that remind them of the trauma.” Because women are more prone to trauma than men, and experience it so profoundly, AspenRidge North has tailored their women’s program to meet the special needs of women seeking recovery.

The Link Between Trauma And Substance Abuse

There is an undeniable link between trauma and addiction. Studies suggest that as many as 75 percent of all women who experience PTSD will ultimately develop a substance abuse problem to manage the symptoms – which include anxiety, depression, insomnia, reliving the event, nightmares, and an uncomfortable heightened sense of awareness. When substance abuse and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder are both present, the sufferer is diagnosed with what’s called a “co-occurring disorder.” In order to ensure lasting sobriety, women simply must treat their trauma AND their addiction issues. If the underlying symptoms of PTSD are not managed, addiction is likely to continue to resurface.

AspenRidge North Offers Equine Therapy For Women, A Proven Method For Treating Trauma And Enforcing Recovery

Set in the beautiful and tranquil setting of Fort Collins, Colorado; AspenRidge North is incorporating equine therapy into its new specialized program for women. You may not think that riding or training horses has anything to do with treating trauma and addiction, but it does. Studies show that equine therapy has proven effective for relieving the symptoms of trauma and promoting sobriety.    Trauma creates a sense of mistrust. When you experience trauma, it causes you to question everything you once knew about life and the world you live in. It rocks you to the core of your existence and forces you to retreat into yourself. You lose your faith in people and begin to believe the world is a mean, scary place. When trauma leads to addiction, they work together to wreak havoc on the mind, body, and soul. Where trauma causes you to lose confidence in others, addiction causes you to lose confidence in yourself. It brings about shame and guilt, a loss of self-love, and the degradation of self-respect.     Equine therapy rebuilds confidence in ones’ self, establishes trust with the environment, offers a new perspective, builds love, and reaffirms self-worth. Working with horses creates a strong bond between the animal and the recovering person, which produces unbelievably therapeutic results you can’t imagine unless you experience for yourself. 

EMDR – Another Therapy Promoted By AspenRidge North’s Specialized Women’s Program

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy is the implementation of rapid eye movements in conjunction with past memory recall. It is especially effective in reprogramming the brain and how it relates to trauma. In a typical EMDR session, the therapist will have you focus on something externally – usually his or her finger, which would be several inches from your eyes. As you focus on the finger (or it might be a pen), he or she will rapidly move it back and forth from left to right to create bilateral (side-to-side) eye moments. This stimulates both the left and right hemispheres of your brain. During EMDR, you will complete a guided mental process where you recall traumatic events or perform other exercises. For instance, you might intentionally remember an upsetting memory, and whatever belief or emotions you associate with that memory, and replace it with a new and empowering belief. EMDR is difficult to explain. You really have to undergo the therapy first-hand to experience its healing effects. According to those who have undergone EMDR Therapy, the rapid-eye moment stimulation changes the way the brain operates. It repairs a negative, circular pattern of thinking. Where there once was a “stuck point,” there is a fresh, new way of looking at something – specifically, a traumatic event. If you choose the women’s program at AspenRidge North, you will get the opportunity to heal through EMDR Therapy.

Also Offered By AspenRidge, Cognitive Processing Therapy Is Beneficial For Women Who Have Experienced Trauma And Want To Find Healing

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is a type of talk therapy that requires you to work with a psychotherapist who specializes in this type of treatment. CPT is designed to help people who suffer from PTSD. It teaches you how to reevaluate the disturbing thoughts you have related to the trauma you have experienced. By changing the thoughts you have in relationship to your past trauma, you can learn to change the way you feel. Cognitive Processing Therapy teaches you skills that will help realize there are more constructive ways to relate to your trauma. For example, you will learn and understand that violence perpetrated against you wasn’t your fault and that you were powerless to stop it. This takes away the guilt and self-blame you may have been carrying around about what happened to you. You will learn to identify the facts that relate to the traumatic event or events, rather than staying stuck in the feelings you have about what happened. AspenRidge North’s CPT program is just one more way the women’s program has been designed to heal trauma and break the addictive cycle.

Getting Outpatient Treatment And Staying At AspenRidge North’s Sober Living Facility

If you are a woman who has been struggling with a problem with addiction to drugs or alcohol, the AspenRidge North program might be right for you. AspenRidge North offers a comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation program for men and women and extensive 5-Day IOP services tailored for women. The Intensive Outpatient Program (5-Day IOP) is usually a continuation of inpatient services. The woman’s program consists of the 5-Day IOP program, coupled with a stay at the beautiful all-women sober living house. The program meets several times a week for several hours a day. The sober living house offers a stable, safe, comfortable, sober living environment comprised of women who are looking to build their foundation in recovery while they are attending the 5-Day IOP program. Getting clean and sober isn’t easy. It requires a commitment to recovery and dedication to learning a new way to live. Recognizing the special needs of women, AspenRidge North has facilitated the women’s program to make the journey to recovery as seamless as possible, offering multiple layers of support and specialized therapy to ensure your success in long-term, ongoing sobriety.     For more information about the new women’s program, visit www.aspenridgenorth.com.

0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply