Recovery isn’t just about stopping substance use. It’s about restoring balance in every area of your life. At All In Solutions, our holistic therapies help you reconnect with your body, reduce stress, and support lasting healing. Clinical addiction treatment may treat the psychological and behavioral aspects of addiction, but sometimes recovery needs more.
That is where holistic treatment can fill the gap. At All In Solutions, holistic therapies are integrated within clinical treatment plans because we believe that recovery from addiction or mental health issues is not complete without addressing every aspect of the person.
What Is Holistic Substance Abuse Treatment?
Recovery from addiction means more than just abstinence from drugs or alcohol. It means rebuilding a life that you want to live. Addiction takes a great deal away from people in a way that can’t be documented on an intake assessment — your sense of peace, your ability to enjoy quiet moments without feeling the need to reach for some substance, and the realization that you are more than your addiction. Holistic therapy exists to give those parts back.
Holistic modalities are alternative treatments that differ from traditional methods like talk therapy or medication, and provide an expanded level of support for healing. At All In Solutions, we are committed to treating the whole person, not just the addiction.
How Holistic Addiction Treatment Works
Each holistic modality below addresses a different aspect of the recovery journey. Whole-person healing through holistic therapy has a broader range of tools and can be used in conjunction with traditional treatment modalities to improve overall well-being.
Yoga Therapy
Yoga therapy uses breath, movement, and mindfulness (the practice of purposely focusing attention on the present moment—thoughts, emotions, and sensations—in a non-judgmental way to enhance well-being and reduce stress) to assist with physical, emotional, and mental health during the recovery journey. Addiction has been shown to have a profound impact on the body by disrupting natural sleep rhythms, depleting physical health, and developing patterns of chronic tension and dysregulation of the nervous system. Yoga therapy addresses the physical and mental effects of addiction and develops the mindfulness and coping skills to prevent triggers and cope with cravings, which supports long-term recovery.
Studies have shown that regular yoga practice can reduce stress hormones, improve mood, and help restore the brain’s natural neurotransmitters that have been depleted by chronic substance use.[1]
Art Therapy
Art therapy uses creative expression as a healing tool and provides a non-verbal means of expression for those who have difficulty expressing their feelings and experiences through talk therapy. The most significant difficulties many people face in their recovery journey are associated with shame, grief, trauma, and loss of identity — and they may struggle to describe those experiences or articulate their feelings.
Through working with a registered art therapist, clients use various creative modalities, including drawing, painting, and collaging, to complete projects in their structured treatment program. The creative process serves as a form of therapeutic treatment, and the finished art pieces become a basis for therapeutic discussion and reflection, as well as externalizing internal experiences that create insight and emotional processing.
Narrative Therapy
Narrative therapy helps clients examine and rewrite their life story. Addiction creates very destructive narratives for many clients — “I am an addict,” “I have ruined my life,” “I can’t change.” These narratives shape how the person behaves, how they see themselves, and how they subsequently sustain their addiction or believe that recovery is unreachable.
Narrative therapy’s goals are to separate the person from the addiction, understand the context of how the person arrived at or became addicted, and how they are able to separate their addiction from their identity. Narrative therapy enables the client to create their own story rather than allow their story to be authored by their addiction.
Motivational Interviewing
Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a method that promotes the client’s own desire and willingness to change by focusing on their personal reasons for wanting to get better, rather than feeling that they have to change for others. MI is most effective when it is introduced early in the course of treatment or at times when a client’s motivation is struggling. MI can also be used as a complement to both traditional clinical treatments and holistic modalities.
Mindfulness Practices
Mindfulness practices are incorporated throughout the holistic treatment process at All In Solutions — breathwork is started in all group therapy sessions, and formal mindfulness-based practice is an integral part of individual therapy.
By using these practices, clients can explore their thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations and learn to observe them without judgment or reaction. The ability to apply this skill is very beneficial in managing cravings, reducing impulsive behavior, coping with uncomfortable situations, and breaking the habitual behaviors associated with substance use.
The Efficacy of Holistic Therapy in Addiction Recovery
The body of literature supporting the use of holistic treatment methods for addiction recovery continues to grow. Holistic and mind-body interventions like yoga, mindfulness, and breathwork have been found to produce significant reductions in substance use, better treatment retention rates, and, in clients with co-occurring disorders, improved mental health outcomes when compared to conventional treatment without holistic components.[2]
Research on the efficacy of yoga for addiction treatment has shown that yoga eases anxiety and depression while reducing cravings for drugs and improving the physical well-being and quality of life of participants.[3] Studies on art therapy in addiction and mental health treatment settings have shown that it improves emotional regulation, self-esteem, and engagement in treatment, particularly for people with a history of trauma who may find it difficult to process their thoughts and feelings verbally.[4]
The research findings are consistent in that holistic treatment methods do not replace traditional clinical treatment but significantly enhance it. Clients who pursue holistic treatment along with clinical treatment typically achieve more favorable outcomes across a variety of areas than clients who use conventional treatment alone, likely because holistic methods address the aspects of recovery that traditional clinical treatment does not fully address.[5]
What to Expect From Holistic Therapy at All In Solutions
When participating in holistic therapy, clients participate in a structured format provided by trained and experienced facilitators, many of whom are credentialed by their respective clinical organizations. Holistic therapy is usually integrated into the treatment routine and scheduled to complement individual and group therapy, as well as other clinical treatment methods.
Procedure and modalities offered can vary between clinics, but clients can typically expect the following:
- Regularly scheduled holistic therapy sessions are essential components of their treatment plan, not as optional extras
- Individualized recommendations for which holistic therapy methods they will participate in, based on their clinical evaluation and their own unique needs, preferences, and goals. Not all clients will participate in all holistic therapy methods. Rather, each will have a selected combination of methods specifically tailored to meet their needs
- Holistic therapy facilitated by practitioners specifically trained and experienced in the method being used, working in coordination with other clinical staff
- Gradual skill development as clients build mindfulness, creative expression, and physical health skills to use independently after completing their formal treatment program
- Insights and experiences that can be integrated into clinical treatment during individual and group therapy sessions
Holistic Therapies at All In Solutions
At All In Solutions, holistic therapies are offered at all levels of care, including our detox, residential, and outpatient programs. All holistic therapies are delivered by qualified practitioners and incorporated into recovery alongside clinical treatment to help achieve overall recovery goals and wellness.
The particular holistic therapy modalities available differ by location and level of care, but offerings may include:
- Yoga therapy
- Art therapy
- Narrative therapy
- Mindfulness-based practices
- Motivational Interviewing
The clinical treatment team evaluates, selects, and combines holistic modalities in accordance with each client’s individualized treatment plan as well as any co-occurring conditions or other unique needs, ensuring that all holistic treatments are as customized as any other element of treatment at All In Solutions.
