When you’re living with a substance use disorder and are ready to begin seeking addiction treatment support, there are many therapeutic options to choose from that will support you in overcoming the physical addiction as well as healing from the underlying contributing factors of your substance use disorder. At WhiteSands, we are proud to offer our clients innovative therapy methods including biofeedback therapy that aims to provide you with a transformative healing experience. Biofeedback therapy offers a modernized, noninvasive method to treat and heal substance use disorders that can shift a person’s physiological and psychological addiction to drugs or alcohol and help to reframe someone’s way of thinking and responding to foster life in addiction recovery. 

Introduction to Biofeedback Therapy

As new treatment methods and ideologies continue to emerge in the realm of healthcare and addiction treatment, biofeedback has provided hope for individuals living with a substance use disorder to safely and effectively overcome the impacts of addiction. This therapeutic method invites patients to participate in the healing process alongside WhiteSands skilled addiction therapists and medical staff to begin the process of understanding and addressing the root causes and contributors to addictive behaviors and gain control over your mind and body. 

Biofeedback therapy is an evidence-based therapy approach that works with patients to regulate and optimize their physiological functioning. Biofeedback therapy works by offering patients real-time information about their bodily processes such as their heart rate, skin temperature, and muscle tension. By gaining an understanding of the body’s natural responses and functioning, patients can identify when they are exhibiting heightened states of emotions and elevated responses. These heightened emotional and physiological responses can become triggering and are often a contributing factor to substance use. As patients gain an awareness of these physiological responses, they can gain insight and tools for overcoming these responses by learning what triggers them and developing tools for self-regulation. 

Benefits of Biofeedback Therapy

The benefits of biofeedback therapy have profound effects on patients undergoing addiction treatment. This innovative addiction treatment method has allowed patients to explore and address the impacts of addiction on both mind and body while having long-lasting impacts on maintaining addiction recovery. 

A primary advantage of biofeedback therapy is the influence it can have on reducing stress within a person. When you undergo biofeedback therapy, it provides patients with insight into how stress can manifest within your physiological wellbeing. As you progress through biofeedback sessions, you’ll learn how to identify the physiological responses from stress and identify tools to mitigate the stress responses through effective, holistic calming strategies. Patients who have addressed their stress through biofeedback therapy report that they have developed resilience when faced with life’s challenges and stressors and learned how to embrace a state of calm in the face of stress. 

For patients who are living with mental health disorders such as anxiety or mood disorders, biofeedback has been proven to be an effective tool in managing the symptoms of these disorders. The emphasis on mind and body connection within biofeedback therapy allows patients to understand how these mental health disorders can exhibit symptoms within their physical well-being. During biofeedback sessions, patients can hone in on how their symptoms show up physiologically and learn how to manage those symptoms naturally to promote relaxation and enhance overall health and well-being. 

Some patients enter into addiction treatment who may have begun substance use as a way of self-medicating for chronic pain conditions. The debilitating symptoms of chronic pain disorders can feel unfathomable when you don’t have the proper treatments or support to manage severe, chronic pain. As you experience strong pain signals in your body, many search for fast, easy ways to alleviate the pain to feel a sense of normalcy or reduction from the excruciating pain. Biofeedback therapy offers a holistic method of targeting and treating the onset of chronic pain to help you learn how to navigate your pain without turning to substances as a way to self-medicate. Patients are invited to participate in targeted sessions that teach you how to identify and modify your responses to pain signals through natural, holistic practices. With the support of biofeedback sessions, patients with chronic pain find that they have an increased ability to control pain and, in some cases, reduce the amount of pain medication that they need to take. 

Personalized Therapy Sessions: Tailored to Your Needs

At WhiteSands, we believe that an effective treatment program focuses on your individual needs and personal goals for addiction treatment and recovery. When you’re engaging in biofeedback therapy, we apply the same ideology to your biofeedback therapy sessions. Before you begin your addiction treatment program and biofeedback therapy sessions, our licensed medical professionals and addiction therapists will collaborate with you to gain an understanding of your history with substance use and identify goal areas for your healing process. From there, we’ll create a customized treatment plan that is centered around your individual needs to ensure that you find success in the recovery process. 

Biofeedback therapy is a client-centered therapeutic approach that is designed to treat your identified symptoms and physiological responses. Our team will work with you to establish if you want to have treatment for stress management, pain relief, or improved mental health functioning and center your biofeedback therapy around your identified areas. 

The Science Behind Biofeedback: How It Works

A biofeedback session is a process that is completed with a therapist and the patient. This process involves monitoring a patient’s physiological responses and then offering real-time feedback to patients on your responses. To properly read and measure a person’s physiological responses, patients will have sensors attached to their body that will measure specific physiological functions including heart rate, skin temperature, and muscle tension. As information is being read and measured, it will be displayed for the patient and therapist to see. As your body and mind are exposed to different stimuli, you can monitor how your body responds to the different stressors and learn techniques for mitigating those responses with your therapist.,

After completing multiple sessions, patients begin to learn different methods of controlling those physiological responses by identifying patterns, developing strategies for regulating emotions and responses, and reinforcing positive responses over the time of their sessions. 

Why Tampa Chooses WhiteSands for Biofeedback Therapy

Tampa residents have come to trust and appreciate the innovative and expert approaches to addiction treatment that WhiteSand continues to offer. Through our client-centered and trauma-informed approach to treatment, patients are offered individualized treatment plans designed with you and your healing goals in mind. Each treatment plan is created to assist you in understanding and healing from your contributing factors for addictive behaviors while providing you with the essential tools for maintaining long-lasting recovery. 

Our team of therapists and medical professionals are highly trained and knowledgeable in leading evidence-based therapy methods including biofeedback therapy ensuring that you receive top-quality care throughout your time with us. We believe that you have what it takes to overcome your substance use disorder and we are here to provide you with the necessary tools to take the next steps towards your next chapter in life in sobriety, health, and wellbeing. Call us today to find out more about our programs, have your questions answered, and start your new journey in addiction recovery. 

If you or a loved one needs help with abuse and/or treatment, please call the WhiteSands Treatment at (877) 855-3470. Our addiction specialists can assess your recovery needs and help you get the addiction treatment that provides the best chance for your long-term recovery.