Sometimes the fear of the unknown is enough to discourage us from getting help—even when we know we need it. But other times, it isn’t the unknown that scares us. It’s what we think we know that can be problematic.
Avoiding the Unknown
Maybe you have been avoiding a new restaurant in your neighborhood because it serves a style of food with which you are unfamiliar. That is an example of avoiding something because it is unknown. But maybe you are avoiding the restaurant because you have heard from others that the food is not very good or the wait staff is surly or the prices are too high. That is an example of avoiding something because of what you think you know.
Maybe this second kind of avoidance is keeping you from pursuing treatment for a substance use disorder. You might think that residential treatment is overly clinical and inflexible. You may be convinced that the staff of a treatment center will be judgmental and unkind. You could be convinced that you will come out feeling worse—physically and emotionally—than you did when you went in.
If those are the sorts of things you think you know about residential treatment, it is only natural that you would be reluctant to get help. But those things you might think you know?
Well, happily, they are not true—especially at Bel Aire Recovery Center.
A Commitment to Personalization, Compassion, and Hope
The entire staff at Bel Aire Recovery Center is committed to some core principles and approaches. We are committed to listening and learning. We pursue understanding and seek to educate. And we take seriously our responsibility to not only provide tools and resources for recovery, but to also provide hope to every person seeking treatment.
Hope is not something that resides in sterile, clinical approaches to treatment and you can’t find it in places where all you feel is judgment and derision. Instead, hope is found when individuals feel heard and when they get the support they need—physically, emotionally, spiritually, in relationships, or a combination of any or all of those things.
Bel Aire Recovery Center’s integrated and individualized approaches to treatment address all of these issues while providing:
- Physical support for detoxification and healing
- Emotional support for stabilization and a feeling of calmness
- Community support for rebuilding damaged relationships
- Spiritual support for reconnecting with—or discovering—meaning and purpose
Brain-Based and Trauma-Informed Treatment
It is possible that after reading to this point, your concerns have shifted. Before you might have been afraid that treatment would be too clinical. Now, you might find yourself wondering if treatment is clinical enough. Let us reassure you that our commitment to compassion and hope is completely compatible with our equally strong commitment to brain-based, trauma-informed treatment. Let’s take a look at those two ideas one at a time.
Brain-based treatment is grounded in an understanding of how our brains develop and respond to various stressors and traumas we experience. Using drugs or alcohol also impacts the brain, of course, and the development of a substance use disorder is a result of those changes in the brain.
Fortunately, our brains retain a kind of flexibility known as neuroplasticity. In a nutshell, neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to forge new pathways that can replace older paths developed by negative experiences and behaviors—like substance abuse. In treatment, we work on leveraging your brain’s neuroplasticity to build new, healthy habits that will help you get and stay sober.
Trauma-informed treatment approaches acknowledge the huge impact that trauma of all kinds can have in our lives. In fact, trauma is often an underlying cause of or contributor to a substance use disorder, so addressing trauma is absolutely essential to building a foundation for a successful recovery. At Bel Aire Recovery Center, our clinical professionals are trained in and committed to a trauma-informed, strengths-based, culturally relevant approach.
More than that, Bel Aire Recovery Center is also committed to being trauma-responsive—meaning we work to anticipate the existence of trauma so that it can be addressed at all levels of our organization. Trauma-responsiveness is built into every aspect of our organization and is a central aspect of our efforts to provide healing and hope.
Long and Short: We Are Here to Help
We understand that the decision to pursue treatment for a substance use disorder can be a difficult one. You might be embarrassed. You might be scared. You might wonder if treatment can really help you get and stay sober. We want to assure you that everyone at Bel Aire Recovery Center is committed to you—and your health and healing. Working with you, we will develop a personalized treatment plan that meets you where you are and puts you on a path to where you want to be. Overcoming your fears and preconceptions about treatment is the first step to overcoming your substance use disorder. We are ready when you are.
