Addiction Recovery therapy

Strong For Life Addiction Recovery Therapy Programs provides individualized substance use disorder (SUD) and / or addiction therapy based on evidence-based best practices. Therefore, all clients in our Strong For Life Addiction Recovery Therapy Programs receive dual diagnosis treatment. This is because SUD and / or addiction are not a singular problem, rather one of comorbidity, which means that a mental illness typically coexist with SUD and / or addiction. It is also known as co-occurring disorders. For example, you may suffer from both mental illness and SUD, either alcohol- or drug-related.

Among the most common mental health disorders that coexist with substance use disorders are:

• Depressive Disorders: 
  • Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): Intense sadness, loss of interest, fatigue, sleep/appetite changes, lasting at least two weeks.
  • Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia): Chronic, low-grade depression (sad, empty, irritable mood) for at least two years. 
  • Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD): Severe, persistent irritability and frequent temper outbursts in children/adolescents.

• Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders:
  • There are three schizophrenia spectrum disorders:
    • Schizoaffective disorder: Similar to schizophrenia with major mood episodes (major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder)
    • Schizophreniform disorder: Identical to schizophrenia, but the duration of symptoms is less (longer than a month but less than six months)
    • Schizotypal personality disorder: Similar to schizophrenia, but episodes are not as frequent, prolonged or intense. Individuals can usually be made aware of the difference between their distorted ideas and experiences, and reality.

• • There are 5 other psychotic disorders:
    • Brief psychotic disorder: Classification used when psychotic symptoms come on suddenly and only last less than a month
    • Delusional disorder: An individual displays one or more delusions for at least a month. This is different from schizophrenia, as functioning is generally not impaired and behavior (other than the delusion) doesn’t appear “odd”. There are several different types of delusional disorder, including: grandiose, jealous, persecutory, somatic, erotomaniac, and mixed
    • Shared psychotic disorder: One person in a relationship has a delusion, and the other person adopts the same false, fixed belief
    • Substance-induced psychotic disorder: Characterized by hallucinations and/or delusions due to the direct effects of a substance, or withdrawal from a substance
    • Paraphrenia: Similar to schizophrenia but starts later in life.

• Personality Disorders:
  • Personality Disorders exist on a spectrum, representing extreme, rigid, and enduring variants of general personality traits rather than distinct, black-and-white illnesses. This spectrum ranges from mild, nonclinical traits to severe, debilitating functional impairments in thought, emotion, and behaviour. They are categorized into clusters A (odd), B (dramatic), C (anxious), and Dissociative Disorder (Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). 
  • The understanding of these disorders is shifting from rigid, categorical diagnoses to a more flexible, dimensional, or “spectrum” approach that better captures the nuance of human experience.

• Bipolar I & II Disorders:
  • Alternating episodes of depressive episodes and manic (Bipolar I) or hypomanic (Bipolar II) episodes (elevated mood, high energy).

• Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD):
  • Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) exists on a spectrum of severity, ranging from subthreshold, mild symptoms to severe, chronic, and complex cases (CPTSD) with high comorbidity. The spectrum includes varying levels of trauma exposure, acute stress reactions, and long-term consequences, often manifesting as intrusive memories, avoidance, hyperarousal, and mood changes.
  • The spectrum often involves comorbidities like mood disorders, anxiety, or substance abuse
  • Understanding PTSD as a spectrum helps clinicians address the full range of reactions, from immediate acute stress disorder to long-term chronic impairment.

• Conduct Disorders:
  • Conduct disorder (CD) is a spectrum of severe, repetitive behavioural disorders in children and teens, characterized by aggression, destruction of property, theft, and rule violation. As part of the disruptive behavior disorder spectrum, CD ranges from mild to severe, often evolving from Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and sometimes preceding antisocial personality disorder in adulthood.

These conditions have a detrimental effect on a person’s feelings, behaviour, interactions with others, and perceptions of the world. Consequently, many individuals resort to substance use (illicit drugs, subscription drugs and / or alcohol) as coping mechanisms, however dysfunctional, to cope with the painful symptoms of mental illness.  Unfortunately, this type of abuse increases addiction risk.

However, the opposite is also apparent. Often, substance use disorders trigger mental illnesses – or worsen existing mental illnesses as a result of their repeated use.

Additional behavioural disorders such as gambling addiction, sex addiction, and shopping addiction are also common among people with mental illness.

Although mental illness and addiction treatments are still considered separate systems of care, studies reveal that individuals with co-occurring disorders need integrated therapies or dual diagnosis therapies as a specialised therapeutic intervention. This is because there is a strong correlation between the two disorders, which increases the likelihood of relapse unless both disorders are treated simultaneously.

By treating both mental health illnesses and substance abuse disorders simultaneously, the chances of long-term recovery are increased, resulting in a better quality of life and stability.

For this reason, our Strong For Life Addiction Recovery Therapy Programs integrate dual-diagnoses to provide holistic treatment that addresses the whole individual: physically, psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually. As a result of our individual-centered approach, we enable clients to cope with and overcome dual diagnoses in order to lead meaningful and substance-free lives.