Alcoholism Dual Diagnosis

Many individuals struggling with alcoholism also suffer from conditions such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, or post-traumatic stress disorder. These conditions can all serve as major triggers for relapse and left untreated, will usually prevent a successful recovery. When multiple conditions or disorders exist for a patient, this is considered to be a dual diagnosis. Proper diagnosis and treatment is essential. At the Delray Center for Healing, we recognize the complexities of identifying and treating clients with multiple conditions and disorders. We offer a specialized and comprehensive approach to treatment incorporating input from our multi-disciplined team of Doctors and Therapists and the very latest in medical science. Each unique treatment program is tailored to the needs of the client, not the condition or disorder, providing for a simultaneous and complete recovery. Treatment is incorporated into a fully comprehensive outpatient alcoholism dual diagnosis program which includes:


  • Every client receives individual attention from a specialized treatment team of highly qualified and experienced professionals

  • All programs are designed to flow seamlessly into our relapse prevention aftercare programs

  • Clients have access to a full range of services that address all of their physical, mental and spiritual needs

  • Delray Center clients that have completed one of our comprehensive programs experience a high rate of long-term success

Staying Sober Through Your Outpatient Alcohol Treatment Florida Program

When you first stop drinking, it’s usually best if you don’t spend any time around other people while they’re drinking at all. In fact, we recommend to the clients in our outpatient alcohol treatment Florida program that they stop spending time with anyone who isn’t supportive of their recovery. But it’s not fair to ask all your friends and loved ones to stop drinking too just because you’re going through our outpatient alcohol treatment Florida program. At some point during your time in our outpatient alcohol treatment Florida program, you’re going to have to go to an office party or social function where others will be drinking. How will you resist the temptation to drink?

Have a Plan

Resisting the temptation to drink in social situations is easier when you have a plan in place beforehand. You may want to talk to your counselor in our outpatient alcohol treatment Florida program about your personal relapse prevention plan in social situations where others are drinking around you. Read on to learn more about how you can stay sober in the face of temptation.

The worst thing you can do when you’re still in our outpatient alcohol treatment Florida program is go into a situation where you know people will be drinking without a plan to keep yourself safe. You should be using your time in our outpatient alcohol treatment Florida program to learn the coping skills that will keep you sober for the rest of your life. If you’re going into a drinking situation during your time in our outpatient alcohol treatment Florida program, know what nonalcoholic beverage you’re going to drink, how long you’ll stay, and when and how you’re going to leave.

Focus on Being Present

The reason you’re in our outpatient alcohol treatment Florida program to begin with is because alcohol has prevented you from being truly present for yourself and others in your life that you care about. Focus on being with your friends and loved ones and co-workers – that’s more important than drinking.

Have Someone to Call

You can’t be successful in our outpatient alcohol treatment Florida program unless you have support for your recovery goals. Have someone you can call – a 12-Step sponsor, a graduate of our outpatient alcohol treatment Florida program, or a counselor from our outpatient alcohol treatment Florida program – if you feel like you can no longer resist the urge to take a drink. Having someone to talk you through your craving and remind you why you entered our outpatient alcohol treatment Florida program in the first place can be crucial to your long-term outcome.

Learn How to Say No

Knowing how to turn down a drink is one of the hardest parts of being in our outpatient alcohol treatment Florida program. Should you explain to the person offering the drink that you’re a recovering alcoholic taking part in our outpatient alcohol treatment Florida program? What will people think if they know you’re going through our outpatient alcohol treatment Florida program?

While these are common worries for everyone who goes through our outpatient alcohol treatment Florida program, the good news is that you don’t have to volunteer any information about why you’re refusing a drink. In fact, instead of explaining to a co-worker or a stranger at a social event that you’re a recovering alcoholic in our outpatient alcohol treatment Florida program, it’s often easier to just say, “No thanks, I’m not drinking tonight.”

Qualifying your statement with the word “tonight” might feel like a lie, but it’s not – we encourage people going through our outpatient alcohol treatment Florida program to take sobriety one day at a time, after all. It also has the advantage of saving you from having to explain yourself – people will just assume that “I’m not drinking tonight” means you’re on medication, have to get up early tomorrow, or are a designated driver. Unless the person in question is someone close to you, there’s no need for him or her to know you’re in an outpatient alcohol treatment Florida program.

If you’re ready to quit drinking, our outpatient alcohol treatment Florida program can help. Call 888-699-5679 to learn more about entering our outpatient alcohol treatment Florida program as rehab aftercare or as a primary form of treatment.

Five Tips to Stay Drug Free After Our Outpatient Detox Delray Program

Our outpatient detox Delray Beach program is the first step towards a drug free life. Entering our outpatient detox program is an achievement. If you’re like most people who finish our outpatient detox program, you’ll be feeling hopeful and optimistic about the future – ready for a brand new start.

Drug addiction is a chronic disease with a high relapse rate – just like diabetes or any other chronic disease, it’s not something that you can simply cure with treatment in our outpatient detox Delray Beach program. Beating addiction takes tremendous will power and courage, but our detox program will allow you to start your journey strongly. You’ll have to manage your condition for the rest of your life. You will be able to stay drug free once you finish our outpatient detox Delray Beach program, and the longer you stay drug free, the easier it gets.

Of course, there will be temptations once you leave our program or other treatment. Follow these tips to resist the urges to return to drug use once you finish our outpatient detox or any other addiction treatment:

Have a Relapse Prevention Plan Before You Leave 

As part of our outpatient detox Delray Beach program, you and your counselors will develop a relapse prevention plan. For at least the first 12 months after you leave our detox program, you need to follow your relapse prevention plan to a T. If you follow your plan carefully, you’ll be able to recognize the warning signs of impending relapse and head them off before they lead you back to drug use.

Practice Good Self-Care During and After 

You should make taking care of yourself a priority both while you’re in our outpatient detox Delray Beach program and after you leave it. That means you should eat regular, nutritious meals, exercise regularly and get plenty of rest. You also need to look after your emotional and spiritual needs. Hunger, fatigue, anger, stress and loneliness are triggers that are capable of driving you back to drug use. If you feel like giving up and using again at any point during or after your time in our outpatient detox Delray Beach program, ask yourself if you’re feeling hungry, angry, lonely or tired instead – and if so, take care of that feeling. You’ll find that your urge to use drugs quickly recedes.

Stay Busy

When you enter our outpatient detox Delray Beach program, there’s a good chance you’re going to have to stop hanging around with your old drugging friends. Hanging out with them will only make you feel tempted and perhaps pressured to start using drugs again, and in any case, you’ll probably find you don’t have much in common with them now that you’re making an effort to change your life in our outpatient detox Delray Beach program. You’re going to have a lot of time on your hands, now that you’re not busy using drugs all the time.

Start building friendships with the other people you’ve met in our outpatient detox Delray Beach program. They’ll support your recovery goals and you’ll come to depend on one another during the rough times. Find new hobbies – having things you are passionate about can give you a reason to say drug free and help you cope with stress and cravings.

Build a Support Network

You should start building your social support network before you leave our outpatient detox Delray Beach program. Everyone needs a social support network, but as a recovering addict, yours is particularly important. Your support network can consist of your new recovery friends, other new friends you may meet, old friends who don’t use drugs and who support your recovery goals, and your family. Recovery support groups are a great way to get social support during and after our outpatient detox Delray Beach program.

Stay in Therapy After You Leave

The biggest mistake you can make is to assume that just because your outpatient detox Delray Beach program is over, you don’t need any more addiction counseling. You should continue to seek addiction counseling from a qualified therapist for at least a year after you leave our outpatient detox Delray Beach program – but preferably longer. Many former graduates of our outpatient detox Delray Beach program remain in counseling for years or even the rest of their lives.

If you want to live a drug-free life, our outpatient detox Delray Beach program can help. Call 888-699-5679 today to learn more.

How to Set Recovery Goals for Your Outpatient Addiction Treatment in Delray Beach

As you transition into an outpatient addiction treatment Delray Beach program and begin the work of building a sober foundation for your new life, you’re going to need to set goals for your recovery. Your recovery goals go far beyond attending your sessions for outpatient addiction treatment Delray Beach and staying sober. Your recovery goals for your outpatient addiction treatment Delray Beach program will include achieving emotional sobriety, addressing the psychological and emotional roots of your addictive personality and rebuilding your relationships.

During your outpatient addiction treatment Delray Beach program, you will also want to learn how to figure out what you want from life and how to achieve it. Learning to set goals during your outpatient addiction treatment Delray Beach program will ultimately help you find fulfillment and self-actualization. Read on to learn more about how to set goals for your recovery and your outpatient treatment Delray Beach program.

Take Care of Your Needs First

Before you can begin working towards the things you want, you must secure the things you need. Your needs include food, shelter, clothing and safety for yourself and your family. If you don’t have these things before you enter our outpatient addiction treatment Delray Beach program, you should figure out what it will take to get them and work towards it.

Figure Out What You Want

The first step in setting goals during your outpatient addiction treatment Delray Beach program is to figure out what you want. You will share many of your goals with others in your outpatient addiction treatment Delray Beach program. These shared goals will include things like repairing your marriage or primary relationship; becoming a better parent; and getting a job or performing better at your current job. The counselors you speak with in your outpatient addiction treatment Delray Beach program will help you clarify these goals and can help you understand how to achieve them.

However, after some time in your outpatient addiction treatment Delray Beach program, you’ll want to focus on setting goals that are unique to you, that will help you achieve what you want out of your new life. Set aside some time alone regularly during your outpatient addiction treatment Delray Beach program to think about what you want out of life. What will make you happy? Where would you like to be in five or ten years? You may find it helpful to take time during your outpatient addiction treatment Delray Beach program to brainstorm things you’d like to do with your life. Don’t push yourself into making a decision. Let your ideas crystallize slowly.

Setting Attainable Goals During Your Outpatient Addiction Treatment Delray Beach Program

When you first begin working towards setting goals for your recovery during your outpatient addiction treatment Delray Beach program, you’re going to want to work on keeping your goals attainable. Avoid overwhelming yourself; focus on achieving one small goal at a time. Think of the acronym SMART when you set goals. In order for a goal to be effective, it should be:

  • Specific – Think “lose ten pounds” instead of “lose weight”
  • Measurable – You should be able to tell if you’re making progress
  • Attainable – Especially early on in your outpatient addiction treatment Delray Beach program, work on setting goals you can easily achieve
  • Relevant – Have a good reason for setting the goal
  • Timely – You should be able to set a specific timeframe for goal attainment

When you first start working on your goal-setting abilities during your outpatient addiction treatment Delray Beach program, focus on setting goals that you know you can achieve. Easy successes will build your confidence and give you the momentum to achieve even greater successes. As you progress through your outpatient addiction treatment Delray Beach program, you can begin working on larger goals. Think about breaking your larger goals down into smaller achievements. As you progress in your outpatient addiction treatment Delray Beach program, your goal-setting abilities will get better.

Are you ready to break free of addiction and build a better life? Our outpatient addiction treatment Delray Beach program can help. Call 888-699-5679 to learn more.

How a Delray Beach Psychiatrist Can Help Your Addiction Recovery

If you’re struggling with addiction, especially if you have a dual diagnosis, a Delray Beach psychiatrist can be a vital member of your treatment team. Our Delray Beach psychiatrist oversees the medical detox of all addicts, and treats recovering addicts who are coping with mental illness symptoms. A Delray Beach psychiatrist will take the time to evaluate your psychiatric and medical needs and give you the personalized treatment you need.

What Is the Difference Between a Delray Beach Psychiatrist and a Psychologist?

There’s one simple difference between a Delray Beach psychiatrist and a psychologist, and that is that a psychiatrist is a doctor with medical school training. A psychologist has advanced training in the science of psychology, but no medical training.

That’s why our Delray Beach psychiatrist should be present during your medical detox. Our Delray Beach psychiatrist has the medical training and knowledge to understand the risks of your particular detox, and to administer the treatments necessary to see you safely through your detox. A psychologist cannot recommend or prescribe medication, since he or she is not a doctor.

How Can a Delray Beach Psychiatrist Treat Addiction?

Our Delray Beach psychiatrist specializes in addiction psychiatry, a subspecialty of psychiatry that has to do with drug addiction and alcoholism as well as gambling and sex addictions. Our Delray Beach psychiatrist knows how to administer treatment for addiction.

Many people who seek the help of our Delray Beach psychiatrist suffer from a dual diagnosis – that is, they’re struggling both with addiction and another mental disorder, like depression, anxiety or an eating disorder. You may be suffering from a mental disorder and not realize it. While mental illness does not cause addiction or vice versa, the two things can exacerbate one another. If our Delray Beach psychiatrist determines that you are suffering from a mental illness, you’ll need treatment for your mental illness in order to recover from addiction.

Our Delray Beach psychiatrist may prescribe psychiatric medications, such as anti-depressants or anti-anxiety drugs, to treat your mental illness symptoms. It is important that you take the medications our Delray Beach psychiatrist prescribes, even if you are in recovery from addiction. Taking medications prescribed by our Delray Beach psychiatrist is not the same as abusing drugs. If you have a psychiatric condition that requires medication, taking that medication is crucial to the success of your recovery – otherwise, your mental illness symptoms could push you into relapse. You should continue taking any drugs our Delray Beach psychiatrist prescribes until such time as our Delray Beach psychiatrist decides that you may not need them anymore. However, many mental illnesses require the use of medication to treat symptoms long term, especially if there is a risk of addiction relapse.

What Other Treatments Will Your Delray Beach Psychiatrist Recommend?

As a medical doctor, our Delray Beach psychiatrist will recommend fitness and nutritional therapy to help your body heal physically from addiction. If you are suffering from an eating disorder, our Delray Beach psychiatrist will recommend intensive eating disorder treatment.

Healing from addiction and mental illness is both physical and psychological. Our Delray Beach psychiatrist will recommend psychotherapy in addition to the nutrition and fitness therapy necessary to heal your body. You will probably be asked to attend individual and group therapy sessions tailored for the treatment of your specific mental illness, as well as psychotherapy for addiction treatment. Psychotherapy treatments our Delray Beach psychiatrist will most likely recommend will include cognitive behavioral therapy, group therapy and family therapy. Your specific treatment plan will depend on what your specific diagnosis is, and upon your personal needs and circumstances.

How Long Will Your Treatment Last?

There’s no cut and dry answer to this question – your treatment will last as long as it needs to. Most people need several months to a year of intensive addiction treatment. Ongoing treatment with a psychotherapist who specializes in addiction is recommended. Attending a recovery support group on a regular basis is also a good idea.

You don’t have to let addiction ruin the rest of your life. You can change. Our Delray Beach psychiatrist can help. Call us today at 888-415-0708 to learn more.