Intensive
Addiction Therapy

What is it and how does it work?

Perhaps you are looking at this website and thinking: What’s the difference between Intensive Addiction Therapy (IAT) and Rehab? Is this programme for me? If so - these are excellent questions and I hope to be able to answer those for you here.

I developed my unique Intensive Addiction Therapy Programme from working for many years as a psychotherapist treating addiction. I have worked for a number of leading addiction treatment companies, both in residential rehabs and out-patient services; I have conducted many assessments and treatment plans for individuals across all addictions. All of that experience has allowed me to hone my own ideas and approach to working with addicts in order to create a programme that I believe encompasses all the essential ingredients for a successful recovery.

Let me start by saying I am a fan of residential rehab. I have seen it work for many people. For some, it is an absolute necessity that they can be separated for a period of time with no possible access to their drug of choice. But for others I believe that a period of confinement isn’t essential, helpful or in some cases viable. I have worked with single mothers who can’t be away from their children, those who have to be physically present for their business. For others, it may be that the structure or particular treatment focus of residential rehab didn’t work for them. Sometimes I have worked with those who have been in residential rehab(s) but have relapsed.

By its very nature, residential rehab removes the individual from their normal activities of work, family and friends for a period of weeks. Apart from the obvious disruption this causes, more significantly, it can present a major challenge of re-adjustment on return to ‘normal’ life. On leaving the safe and closeted world of rehab many find the sudden re-emergence of familiar associations and stresses from one’s old life to be overwhelming. This is very probably why some people relapse in the first few weeks of after leaving.

IAT works in a way which aims to reduce the risk factors in relapse. Think about swimming for a moment: Wouldn’t you agree that that the best place to swim is actually in the water? If you instead learnt in a classroom, the chances are you might really struggle to keep afloat when it came to being in the water! In order to recover from your addiction, it also makes sense to learn to do that in your everyday day life: at home, at work, out and about, amongst friends and family; so that when the challenges present themselves (as they invariably will) IAT deal’s with them head-on in in the here and now. You will start to be able to distinguish between the elements of your life that are really healthy and working for you in your recovery, and those that aren’t. Over time, you’ll begin to change your mind-set and develop an awareness and unerstanding of yourself that will enable you to re-connect to all your resources and strengths.

Ultimately you will establish a tool set of skills and techniques that will help you to respond better to the challenges of your life. So that instead of picking up a drink or a drug you can rely upon yourself - just you without any other crutch - to handle a difficult situation or feeling. IAT teaches you to be in charge of your thoughts, feelings and actions rather than being dictated to by your addiction.

Is it for me, and how long does the programme last?

You will now hopefully understand that my IAT programme is designed to be interwoven alongside your existing life. Occasionally previous clients of the IAT programme initially questioned whether they can find enough time in their life for the programme. Well, let’s say you try and add up all the hours over the last few weeks that you have spent either actually engaged in your addictive behaviour or thinking about, planning, regretting or recovering from it? Chances are, the total comes to more than the 10 – 15 a week we will be spending on your treatment programme. And in fact one of the things I hear most often from clients in the first few weeks of recovery is how much more time they have!

What is essential in determining whether this programme is for you is how much you want this and what you are prepared to do to attain that?

It is perfectly normal when contemplating an addiction-free life for some small sliver of hesitation to linger. All sorts of legitimate concerns - albeit misjudged or inaccurate ones - can abound: will life without it become boring and colourless? Can I really never do it again? Who will I become without it? All these questions will be resolved in time, so try to dispense with the idea that you have to be 100% committed to quitting at the outset of treatment. You don’t. All I need you to be is most of the way there in terms of wanting recovery; the work we do together will mobilise the rest.

The programme is personalised to you and you alone. Once I have conducted a full assessment and we have decided to work together we will then devise the structure and frequency of the contact between the two of us. Nothing is set in stone: the treatment will fit around your existing commitments and the pattern may change as we continue to assess your progress and what you need. We will look the times of the day where you are most vulnerable, and tailor our contact around that. Typically the IAT programme runs for at least a month and ideally three. During the first 4 weeks our contact would be the most intensive: this gives you and your brain time to adjust to life without your drug of choice; thereafter, if you are willing and able to continue and we both feel it is appropriate, we can reduce the contact a little more, although for some people it increases at this point: everyone is different!

Research has shown that the three month mark is crucial in terms of lasting recovery, so where possible, I like to work with individuals until at least this point, but typically at this maintenance stage I might be only speaking to you or seeing you once or twice a week

When we picture an alcoholic many of us might immediately conjure up an image of somebody on a park bench with a can of beer by their side, or someone having a tot of whiskey with their morning cereal. These well-worn stereotypes of alcoholics certainly may exist but in truth they are the minority. Many alcoholics appear to be – on the surface – functioning to some degree: managing to hold down jobs, their relationships or health. That said, the phrase ‘functioning alcoholic’ is a misnomer insomuch as no-one with an alcohol problem is really functioning that well. But perhaps because of the nature of our entrenched relationship of alcohol we often minimise or deny that a problem exists: I often hear protests of “I never drink spirits”, “I never drink in the morning so I can’t be an alcoholic” or “all my friends drink the same as me”. But given that it is estimated that about 10% of the UK population have some form of addiction to alcohol it is highly likely that you know someone with a problem. Maybe that person is you?

Alcohol dependence doesn’t always involve excessive or even daily drinking. If you find that you are sharing a bottle of wine with your partner most nights of the week, or that you are tending to go for a few pints after work - just to ‘relax’ then you’re likely to be drinking at a level that could affect your long-term health. If you find it very difficult to enjoy yourself or unwind without having a drink or you tend to always want another drink after the first one, then it is possible that you are developing a psychological dependency to alcohol. Perhaps friends or family members have started to comment on your drinking? Or maybe you have found yourself thinking about wanting a drink earlier in the day? If you are consuming upwards of 70 units a week (there are about 10 in a bottle of wine, 3 or 4 in a pint of beer) then physical dependence may start to develop too – an indicator of this would be withdrawal symptoms when you don’t drink - such as sweating and nausea, sometimes even shaking.

Addiction can run in families. If one of your parents is an alcoholic then you are significantly more likely to develop alcoholism yourself. Whilst genes certainly play a large part in this other factors are significant too: the environment you grew up in for instance, and your family’s attitude to alcohol, along with any kind of trauma – past or recent.

Those with psychiatric or mental health disorders – particularly post-traumatic stress disorder, psychosis, personality disorders, ADHD and various forms of depression are more likely to become alcohol dependent. Alchohol and/or drugs can be used to self medicate in an attempt to alleviate symptoms.

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT IF YOU SUSPECT AT ALL THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE A PHYSICAL ADDICTION TO ALCOHOL YOU DO NOT ATTEMPT TO STOP DRINKING IMMEDIATELY This can be extremely dangerous and possibly even fatal. Seek medical advice first or discuss with myself, if you are thinking about addressing your addiction. Do not do anything without discussing your plan first.