Alternative Therapies for Healing the Spirit in Addiction Recovery

What we call our ‘spirit’, or life force, manifests in us physically as an electromagnetic field that connects us to the energies around us via our central nervous system. Since the nervous system is profoundly impacted by addiction, healing from addiction requires attention to this aspect of our being. The good news is that modern non-12-Step addiction treatment offers an array of therapies aimed at doing just that, by reconnecting you with your vital internal energy so you can use it as a powerful tool in your recovery journey. Addiction can cause disruptive energy patterns that lead to issues in other areas of your being. To combat this, energy healing unlocks your self-healing powers by removing these blockages to your energy flow. Here’s a look at a few methods used to achieve this.

Sound Healing: An Ancient Technique for Inducing Positive Brain Changes

Various forms of sound therapy have been used for millennia in traditional cultures around the world. Sound healing has been shown to promote mental and emotional health, as well as foster social connections by improving communication. This powerful technique uses sounds specifically created to produce positive brainwaves. When our brains register sound waves, it triggers a positive response in our energetic system. Sound therapy helps us transition our brainwaves from their normal beta state to alpha, theta, and delta states that allow for deeper modes of relaxation as well as the release of muscular tension and energetic obstructions. Methods can include gong meditation, singing bowls, traditional instruments, singing, chanting, and more.

Reiki for Recovery

By channeling universal energy through the hands of the practitioner into the recipient’s problem energy centers, reiki promotes a state of harmony and balance. An accessible therapy that can be performed without touching, Reiki can also allow you to process unresolved trauma in a more passive and supportive context, without having to verbalize or re-experience it. Ultimately, Reiki helps bring your mind, body, soul, and spirit back into alignment, enabling you to respond to the challenges in your life from a more centered place.

Acupuncture in Addiction Treatment

A staple of Chinese Traditional Medicine, acupuncture works on your meridians – channels of energy running throughout your body. Acupuncture originated in China in 100 B.C. but has been used in Western alternative addiction treatment for the past 30 years. Says acupuncturist Margarita Alcantara of acupuncture’s effectiveness in addiction recovery programs, “Not only does this system reduce the cravings, anxiety, sleep disturbance, and need for pharmaceuticals, but it helps create a more optimistic and synergistic attitude towards the process of recovery, and has been reported to improve program retention.”

Energy and Spirit Healing in Non-12-Step Recovery

While conventional, 12-Step-based recovery philosophy tells us that addiction is a chronically relapsing disease, the truth is that once we treat its deeper causes, we no longer feel a need to self-soothe with substances. Energy work is a safe, accessible, and highly effective way of shifting our nervous system back into a healthy state and reintegrating our spirit into our holistic self. Here at The Sanctuary, we understand the spirit’s role in both addiction and the process of recovery. As part of our Integrative Addiction Recovery program, our experienced energy healers work with you to address your unique concerns and restore your energy to a healthy state of self-perpetuating wellbeing. Call us at (877) 710-3385 or email us at [email protected] to learn how we can help you reclaim your sense of balance and energetic wellbeing.

He is the Founder, Administrator, Counselor at the Sanctuary at Sedona.

He has a BA in Political Science and is currently Senior teaching staff at Four Winds Society, an international school of energy medicine. His credentials also include being an Ordained Minister; a Certified Shamanic Breathwork® Facilitator; a Founding Member Society for Shamanic Practitioners; a Member of Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology; a Member of the National Institute for Holistic Addiction Studies. [email protected]