Therapy at Delamere: what to expect

Recovery from active addiction is not just about removing and resisting a substance or behaviour. Long-term recovery and well-being require an understanding of the role that the addictive behaviour may have served in your life. For example, it is not uncommon to use alcohol or other substances to find relief from the pain of past trauma, or as a way to cope with discomfort caused by unhealthy relationships or other stresses in your life. 

Alongside the group education and therapy sessions here at Delamere, each of our guests attend one-on-one sessions with their allocated therapist twice per week. These sessions are designed to help our guests make sense of their experience of addiction and to start to create the conditions that will underpin their long-term recovery and well-being. This may involve developing practices that strengthen emotional resilience and connection with others; starting to heal from past trauma; or gaining awareness of how core beliefs and protective mechanisms can unintentionally form part of the addiction cycle.

We will also encourage you to consider the environment to which you will be returning once you have completed treatment. Often this involves focus on relationships, work and sources of connection and meaning in your life. With your permission we can involve loved ones in your therapy sessions to help rebuild relationships which may have been harmed during active addiction. 

Prior to starting our therapeutic programme, you will be matched with a member of our therapy team depending on your goals for treatment. All members of our therapy team are BACP registered, many of whom have had their own experience of addiction and recovery and so they know what it takes to create the conditions for long-term recovery.

All therapy sessions are tailored to your personal reasons for wanting to make a change in your life and are focused on ways of encouraging ongoing growth and healing. The sessions are confidential and provide a safe space for you to explore healthier, more sustainable ways of living your life. We recognise that the work does not stop when you complete treatment and we can support you to explore opportunities for further therapy to continue your progress post-discharge.

If you or a loved one is struggling with active addiction and would like to find out more about the therapy here at Delamere, please do not hesitate to contact the team. 

About the author: Dr Terry Spokes

Dr Terry Spokes, Outcomes Director and Head of Recovery. Terry, a clinical psychologist tracks outcomes here at Delamere and heads up our therapy team.