How Creativity Aids Detox and Recovery

When someone goes into an addiction recovery program, they open themselves up to alternative methods designed to achieve a new life free from substance abuse. Because addiction is a mental illness, it is often difficult for sufferers to express the feelings or thought processes driving their compulsion to abuse alcohol or drugs. Creative therapies such as art therapy in recovery provide patients with the tools to express themselves through methods other than medical treatment or psychotherapy.

Here, we take a closer look at the different creative therapies available in drug and alcohol detox programs for well-rounded approach to addiction treatment.

Art Therapy

Everyone assimilates emotional experiences differently and for many, exploring emotions through creativity is very rewarding, particularly if involved in creating something with our hands. Art therapists use a variety of tools to teach patients to create both two-dimensional and three-dimensional artwork that is tactile, abstract and representative of their mental state. Art therapy explores the use of color and explains how it plays an integral part in our well-being so that addicts can find the right colors to represent what it is they are feeling inside. Art therapy provides another layer to alcohol and drug detox treatment that can be translated into other areas of a recovering addict’s life to create a radiating healing effect.

Dance Therapy

Much in the same way as art therapy, dance therapy is used in addiction treatment as another method of communication outside vocal expression. Dance provides another platform for recovering addicts to use their energy creatively and through physical expression. The energy spent in dance movement also increases the body’s production of endorphins, which increases your sense of well-being. Dance is also a primitive method of human expression that patients can use to verbalize difficult or complex emotions.

Music Therapy

Music therapy relies on non-verbal communication in the same way as art and dance programs. Instead, the emphasis of music therapy is on listening to music and creating unique melodies as a form of addiction treatment. Most people find listening to certain types of music to be a therapeutic experience and creating it also opens new channels of communication that is hugely beneficial to someone in addiction treatment.

Boosting Creativity leads to a More Rewarding Life in Recovery

Creativity and detox often go hand-in-hand in well-rounded addiction programs and Capo Canyon Recovery has a number of creative therapies to offer you as an integral part of addiction recovery. The skills you learn in creative therapy are valuable coping mechanisms you can use to prevent relapse when you have finished your treatment program in Laguna Niguel, CA. It is important to remember that there are other forms of expression beyond conversation and learning how to communicate effectively is crucial to a successful life in sobriety. Find out more about how creative therapies can help you and contact Capo Canyon Recovery in confidence today.