If any good thing has arisen from the collective trauma that we are all experiencing through the spread of COVID-19 and subsequent prevention methods, it is a spotlight on just how much we need each other especially when it comes to addiction treatment and beyond. Throughout the last six months, our ability to adapt to…
Addiction impacts the entire family system. The addict typically experiences feelings of despair, hopelessness, guilt, shame, loneliness, and worthlessness. The family also experiences similar feelings. Families may have increased anxiety, loss of their own identity, diminished work functioning, isolation, and an overall decrease in life satisfaction. Working with families while patients are in treatment is…
By Timothy L. Hook, LMSW, CSAT-C, Primary Therapist at The Ranch Trauma and PTSD can devastate individuals. It also pulls families apart. I know this all too well, not just as a counselor at The Ranch, but as someone who’s been exposed to it through childhood trauma and military deployments. You’d think that 14 deployments…
By Megan Repass, MS, LADAC-II, CCM, EAGALA-C, Director of Adventure and Equine Therapy at The Ranch Ana was in treatment for drug addiction and working on her tendency toward morbid rumination. Obsessive thought overwhelmed her, making it almost impossible for her to get out of her own head. But as someone who’d spent much of…
By Alisha Irby, MS, Primary Therapist, Men’s Co-Occurring Disorders Program at The Ranch I am passionate about working as an addiction treatment therapist at The Ranch. My work is always changing because I believe there is no black-and-white approach to therapy. There are multiple ways to solve a problem and sometimes I use many different…
By Rodney Robertson, D. Min., M.A., M.Div., Director of Family Services at The Ranch Deborah was devastated when she lost her job at age 42. She blamed herself for not being capable enough and went from her usual schedule of getting up for work to barely leaving home. She dwelled on all the things that…
By Bethany Winfield, MFT, MA, EMDR I & II, Trauma Therapist at The Ranch Studies show childhood trauma is at the root of many addictions and can also lead to other mental health disorders. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is one of the ways we help people uncover and heal traumatic memories that have…
By Rodney Robertson, D.Min., M.A., M.Div., Director of Family Services at The Ranch The person who comes into a drug rehab program for treatment is the “designated” or “identified” patient, but the truth is addiction is a family affair. Although one person is identified as having a problem, the family is a system of interconnected parts…
By Danielle Sukenik, LMFT, EAGALA Certified, Equine Therapist at The Ranch Some imagine equine-assisted psychotherapy is about galloping through the woods with the wind in their hair; however, it is actually a therapeutic process that is very different from a recreational trail ride or a visit to a dude ranch.
By Gina Marchando, DMFT, LMFT, CHT, CIT, Clinical Director at The Ranch The media’s various portrayals of people with dissociative identity disorder (DID) have one thing in common: They get much of it wrong. Dissociative identity disorder, formerly classified as multiple personality disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, is usually far…