Friday, January 24, 2014

What's My Treatment Plan?

In my assessment, most problems or individual dysfunctions are a disease of "core pain," "lost selfhood," or "false self." Recovery needs to be complete, addressing the whole person - cognitive (the "head"), the emotional and experiential (the "heart" and "spiritual"), the physical (organic health), and personality (with learned and constitutional factors). 

To treat and heal the "psychological wounding," a process can be started requiring several action steps. These actions are closely related and generally occur in a circular fashion, with work in one area a link to another area.  The "Treatment Plan," which includes tools, vehicles, methods or techniques that help in the healing and recovery, include taking action on the following:

1.)   Complete physical examination (to rule out any medical causation)

*  Unless there is some major brain or organic damage, I don't recommend drug therapy or 
         taking any kind of synthetic drugs for psychotherapy/counseling. Have a right diagnosis
         to rule out any physical/medical causes of your psychological/emotional distress.

2.)   Abstinence, detachment, or detoxification

* ... from whatever person, place, thing, activity, behavior, chemical, or experience that 
            pollute, block, or distract the treatment/recovery plan

3.)   Individual counseling and psychotherapy

*  Regular and adequate attendance and workups, which may include psychological first aid, couple or extended family work, with a therapist/counselor.

*  Process is usually composed of three pillars:  diagnostics, treatment plan, relapse prevention. 

*  Psychotherapy is mostly internal work to finish "unfinished business" or unprocessed pain, which includes areas such as grieving, original pain work, working through the core issues,  doing "personality" work, completing developmental tasks, setting healthy boundaries,  among others. 

4.)   Group therapy or support group

* ... that is specific for type of wounding being treated, such as depression, dysfunctional family, affairs, divorce, alcoholism, drug addiction, sex addiction etc. and depending on person's needs

Group therapy or support group provides emotional and social support. Here, you can hear  others' stories, increase your awareness about what happened, and begin working a 12-step or healing-is-a-choice program.

5.)   Expanding circle of support

*  Regular contact and sharing with one or more trusted and safe friends etc.

*  Starting and cultivating new, healthy friendships, and choosing to connect to a safe community for volunteer opportunities or community involvement.

6.)   Inpatient or other intensive recovery experiences, such as workshops/seminars, weekend retreats etc.

7.)   Adequate self-care

*  "Food therapy" or healthy diet, which includes fruits, vegetables, and natural supplements.

*  Taking up an exercise program, such as running or jogging, to boost brain power and the immune system.

8.)   Self-education on area of psychological/emotional wounding, such as depression, infidelity/ divorce wound recovery, anger management, wounder inner child, toxic parents etc.

9.)   Beginning and/or continuing, conscious contact in a relationship with a Higher Power.

As previously noted, these "treatment plan" steps or actions interact and merge with one another. They are not necessarily distinct or separate areas of the the healing and recovery process.