Vicky Dulai discusses currently accepted methods of treating substance use disorder and other addiction issues consist of cognitive behavioral therapy, medication assisted therapy, or a combination of both. But with addiction being such a complex issue, holistic therapies are becoming more popular every year.
Vicky Dulai says that many holistic therapies are becoming more commonplace to aid CBT and MAT, such as yoga and meditation, psychedelic therapy, and music therapy. These forms of therapy focus on physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing versus just addressing the physical or mental symptoms that go hand in hand with addiction, says Vicky Dulai.
There are a wide range of benefits relating to
modern holistic treatments that should not be overlooked when considering how to tackle the complex issue of addiction.
Yoga And Meditation
It’s no secret that exercise is effective at combating disorders like anxiety and depression that coexist within people that experience addiction issues. Vicky Dulai discusses how yoga and meditation are examples of physical and mental exercises that have been around for thousands of years, and have more recently been used in the treatment of addiction disorders.
Yoga promotes physical wellbeing through stretching and breathing exercises that address the pain related physical symptoms that are known to be factors in addiction. According to Vicky Dulai, when paired with meditation, this multimodal approach also incorporates mindfulness practices that are proven to help with the mental and spiritual causes of addiction.
Meditation has grown extensively within treatment centers as well as 12 step programs. Meditation has been used to calm and focus the patient’s thoughts, which is very effective within group talk therapy or other situations where anxiety can prevent them from being able to do so, explains Vicky Dulai.
Psychedelic Therapy
Incorporating psychedelics into traditional modalities of treatment like individual and group talk psychotherapy is not a new idea, but it has only recently begun to gain traction throughout the United States and Europe.
Vicky Dulai states that traumatic events can cause the brain to attempt to change or block out undesirable memories as a survival technique.
Vicky Dulai says psychedelic therapy consists of using substances such as entheogens or pharmaceuticals that allow the patient to achieve a mental state that allows them to access certain traumatic events that would otherwise be blocked out, to get to the bottom of mental health disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and depression explains Vicky Dulai.
Substances such as ketamine, psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA are all proving effective as treatments in the underlying disorders that are so commonly found to coexist with addiction.
Historically, Vicky Dulai discusses that this method of treatment has been contested due to the legality of some of these substances throughout the world. Psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA are all currently listed as Schedule 1 substances by the Drug Enforcement Agency.
This means that they are deemed to have a high potential for abuse as well as no accepted medical uses. Vicky Dulai says that this makes research into using these substances as psychotherapeutic aids very hard to do.
Cannabis is another example of a Schedule 1 substance that has been legalized and adopted by many states to combat medical disorders despite its federally illegal status, according to Vicky Dulai.
Music Therapy
Music based therapies are also not new but have steadily gained traction within the past 20 years. Vicky Dulai explains that music has long been known to have the ability to affect emotion and cognitive states, which is why it is being used to combat the mental health aspect of addiction.
A common problem associated with addiction is reinforcing new, stimulating, and constructive behaviors, to replace the void left in addicts' lives after they have decided to seek out treatment states Vicky Dulai.
Music has proven successful in providing the patient with the ability to channel the negative feelings associated with addiction into a medium that has proven to aid mental health.
Music therapy has become very common among inpatient addiction treatment centers as well as a part of intensive outpatient programs (IOP). Vicky Dulai states that even after physical symptoms of addiction have subsided, there are lingering mental and spiritual issues that need to be addressed.
Final Thoughts
Vicky Dulai explains that addiction is a complex issue that requires the patients’ physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing to be addressed. Holistic approaches to addiction have proven quite successful when paired with CBT or MAT, which don’t necessarily address all the factors that feed into addictive behaviors.
This list of holistic treatments is far from exhaustive, but it highlights some of the successful companion treatments that have complemented more traditional forms of treatment, according to Vicky Dulai. Humans are very complex creatures, and each have their own reasons for struggling with addiction.
There is no “one size fits all” answer for treating addiction. This is why a more comprehensive and personalized approach to combating addiction proves more effective than blanketing all addicts with the same treatments.
