Solution-Focused Therapy for Substance Abuse in Akron, OH

Struggling with addiction? Looking for the right treatment program for your substance use disorder doesn’t have to be complicated. At Skypoint Recovery in Akron, Ohio, we are here to help you find the solutions you need to achieve a life free from substance use.

When you choose to commit to substance abuse treatment, the right steps toward recovery can feel overwhelming when faced alone. No matter where you are in your journey toward sobriety, your time at a treatment center will include a combination of medical detox and mental health therapy sessions. However, when every individual person’s struggle with addiction is unique, it’s important that your rehabilitation process is tailored to your individual needs.

That’s where solution-focused therapy comes in. Solution-focused therapy techniques understand the time-sensitive nature of your stay in addiction rehab. This form of therapy helps you focus on the immediacy of resolving your problems and gives you pragmatic skills you can take with you to your life beyond treatment.

Read on to learn about what solution-focused therapy for substance abuse looks like at Skypoint Recovery Ohio – and how you begin your substance abuse treatment journey today.

What is Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)?

Solution-focused therapy, also known as brief counseling or solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT), was first developed in the 1970s by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg.

During their time together at the Brief Family Therapy Center in Milwaukee, Shazer, Berg, and their team of colleagues worked to strip away a lot of the bigger scope of therapy. Shazer and Berg believed that, while some individuals may have the time and ability to participate in a long-term therapy relationship, more often patients benefit from short-term solutions offered during therapy sessions.

Unlike other therapy structures, solution-focused therapy focuses on solutions instead of presenting problems. In other forms of counseling, the therapist and patient usually spend most of their time talking about the origin of the patient’s individual struggles. However, this can often lead to a negative downward spiral that is hard to pivot back toward more productive dialogue. SFBT encourages both counselors and their clients to focus on the present moment. This means a therapist can more readily help their patient find solutions that they can immediately use in their day-to-day lives. SFBT has been used successfully in both individual therapy and group therapy settings.

Solution-focused therapy has been proven to be one of the top therapy techniques that can be translated across cultures, and it is especially popular among mental health professionals in China. You might end up working with solution-focused therapists if you are struggling with family relationship problems, child behavioral problems, or substance abuse.

Solution-Focused Therapy Techniques

The goal-oriented nature of solution-focused therapy breaks through the negative self-talk of anxiety, depression, and trauma. By focusing on immediate resolutions, SFBT also helps the patient trust that they are the expert of their own lives and the only person capable of enacting individual change.

In individual therapy sessions, a therapist can help a patient accomplish these objectives through the following questioning techniques:

Scaling Questions

Scaling questions are intended to help a patient better understand which of their needs should be immediately addressed. The scaling method usually involves ranking experiences or emotions on a 1 to 10 scale and then reflecting on the assigned ranking.

By pausing to connect a value to their thoughts and feelings, a patient can regain a sense of control in their lives and learn an important coping skill for when they feel stressed or overwhelmed.

Coping Questions

Coping questions can help draw attention to how a patient usually handles their stress and anxiety. This can help motivate a patient to remember how they’ve faced and overcome problems before.

Examples of coping questions include, “How have you solved this problem before?” or “How do you normally cope when you’re stressed?”

The Miracle Question

The miracle question is tailored to help a patient remember they are in the driver’s seat of their own life. These questions can be playful or creative in nature, but miracle questions play an important role in solution-focused therapy. As patients process a potential future that is tailored to their unique wants and desires, they can also better understand what steps they need to take to achieve their preferred goals.

A miracle question can take many forms. Some of the most common examples are, “If a genie granted you three wishes, what would you wish for to make your life better?” or “If you were to wake up tomorrow to your perfect life, what would have to change?”

How Does SFBT Help with Substance Use Disorder (SUD)?

There are two main benefits to solution-focused therapy in substance abuse treatment.

First, most mental health support in addiction rehab is designed to help a person better understand the root cause of their substance use. Instead of focusing on the problem of addiction, SFBT allows a patient in substance abuse treatment to instead shift their energy to practical solutions they can turn to in place of drug use in the future.

Second, solution-focused therapy is intentionally time-sensitive. Especially because a person will not remain at a rehab center forever, even a short amount of time in SFBT will immediately give a patient tools they can use in their transition back to sober living outside of treatment.

Skypoint Recovery Ohio: Frequently Asked Questions

You are not likely to find a substance abuse treatment center as dedicated as Skypoint Recovery anywhere else in Akron, Ohio. Our team of addiction specialists stands apart because we believe in treating the whole person through every step of addiction recovery.

Finding the right substance abuse treatment for your personal needs can feel overwhelming. To help get you started in the right direction, check out these frequently asked questions from our previous clients.

How long does solution-focused therapy take?

One of the best benefits of solution-focused therapy is that it helps a patient remember what resources they already have at their fingertips. For this reason, solution-focused therapy can prove to be beneficial in as little as one session, especially when used in an intervention structure.

What other therapy options are offered at Skypoint Recovery?

Skypoint Recovery is proud to offer a combination of both individual therapy and group therapy options. Through a variety of counseling techniques such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), our patients can address their struggle with addiction and learn healthy interpersonal skills to better avoid substance use in the future.

How do I know if solution-focused therapy is right for me?

If you want to learn how to immediately deal with everyday problems that could lead to substance abuse, solution-focused therapy is a great fit for you. However, SFBT is not a great option if you are interested in better understanding how your struggle with addiction first began in your life.

The Skypoint Recovery Difference

As one of the largest cities in the state of Ohio, Akron is known for its diverse art scene and beautiful historic buildings. But when you choose the road to a sober life at Skypoint Recovery, you will get to enjoy the quiet and peaceful side of Akron culture.

At Skypoint Recovery, we will help you get away from the noise and chaos of your daily life so you can focus on your individual mental and physical needs. Our main goal of Skypoint Recovery substance abuse treatment is to help you take control of your life again!

Contact Skypoint Recovery today to learn how we can best help support you on your journey toward rehabilitation.