Individualised treatment has become increasingly popular in recent years, with many people turning to this type of therapy to help them manage the symptoms of specific mental health issues such as addiction, anxiety, depression, and trauma, to name just a few.
Individualised treatment, also called individual therapy or personalised treatment, customises addiction and mental health treatment to the individual based on their needs, symptoms, predicted responses, and risk of disease.
Those receiving personalised therapy have more choice and control over their treatment than those receiving other types of care, allowing the individual to recover in a way best suited to their emotional, social, and cognitive needs and preferences.
Individualised treatment considers all the various parts that need to be unpacked and worked through for effective, sustainable recovery from emotional issues like substance use disorder and other mental health challenges.
This type of treatment is facilitated one-on-one between you and a therapist, where you can safely explore your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours in a supportive and confidential setting.
This article explores the five benefits of individualised treatment.
In the meantime, do not hesitate to contact us if you want to learn more about our individualised treatment program or have a confidential chat with one of our specialists.
How we can help
Centres for Health and Healing provide comprehensive, individualised treatment programs to clients struggling with a wide range of mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, substance use disorder, and trauma.
Whether you struggle with depression, PTSD, or other emotional challenges, our friendly, supportive team is here to guide you through the process of self-discovery and healing, working with you to create a bespoke treatment program that works for you.
Our individualised treatment program would typically include a combination of the following:
Individual therapy sessions with Guilia Giatti
Guilia Giatti is one of our centre’s specialist addiction and mental health counsellors, providing one-on-one therapy to clients on an inpatient and outpatient basis.
With a natural curiosity and deep empathy, Giulia is dedicated to helping her clients explore their emotional challenges by giving them her undivided attention, care, and support, helping them develop problem-solving skills and self-compassion to prepare them for treatment and sober living.
Medical evaluation and assessment
Centres for Health and Healing offer a thorough medical evaluation and assessment as part of an integrated, individualised program.
This program is particularly beneficial for patients grappling with physical health conditions such as chronic pain or other acute illnesses.
You will be looked after by Doctor Seyedhossein Vahidtari, who specialises in addiction medicine and orthopaedic surgery.
Seyedhossein provides comprehensive medical care to people of all ages and is committed to delivering exceptional care to individuals and families struggling with complex emotional and physical health issues at our treatment centre.
As well as individual therapy and comprehensive medical care, we also provide the following treatments as part of your individualised treatment program:
- Group therapy.
- Family support.
- Cognitive behavioural therapy.
- Trauma-informed treatment.
- Aftercare and support.
To learn more about our individualised treatment program, contact our friendly team for further support and information today.
Five benefits of individualised treatment
As well as those already mentioned, individualised treatment offers many other benefits to those grappling with complex mental health and addiction issues, five of which are outlined below.
1. Enhanced engagement
Since individualised treatment is closely aligned with one-on-one therapy, individuals will likely be more engaged and dedicated to the treatment process.
One researcher defines client engagement as:
The process of creating deep connections with clients that drive decisions, interaction, and participation over time. (What is Client Engagement in Therapy and How to Apply It? Positive Psychology, Madhuleena Roy Chowdhury, BA, 22 October 2019.)
Clients receiving personalised care feel more seen and heard than those engaging in less personalised treatment programs.
This makes it more possible for the individual and their therapist to develop mutual trust and build a more meaningful therapeutic alliance, all factors that lead to long-lasting recovery.
2. Personalised care
Individualised treatment programs are what they say they are; they offer personalised care tailored to each individual’s needs, circumstances, and preferences.
Gone are outdated mental health treatment models that used to focus only on symptom management.
Nowadays, most rehab centres and treatment clinics provide bespoke, individualised programs that ensure greater relevance and effectiveness and are highly compatible with the individual’s beliefs and values.
Put simply, personalised care works.
It gets to the core of a person’s struggles, uncovering underlying health issues and root causes that often cause or worsen mental or physical health problems.
Moreover, personalised care offers the kind of flexibility not observed in other treatment programs.
3. It enables you to address specific issues
Another key benefit of individualised treatment is that clients can target specific issues in a safe and confidential space.
Whether you struggle with addiction, mental health issues, relationship difficulties, or any other concern, individualised treatment provides a focused approach to help you explore and resolve these issues, helping you build resilience, self-compassion, and healthy alternatives to coping.
Unlike group therapy, where others who experience similar issues as you are present, individualised treatment enables you to unpack and explore long-standing issues on an individual basis.
Of course, group therapy has many positive benefits and uses in recovery.
However, due to the nature of the group therapy modality, it cannot always provide people with a personalised approach to treatment like individualised therapy can.
Of course, both treatments have their uses and offer countless advantages to those in addiction and mental health recovery.
The great thing about personalised care is that it allows you more choice and control to customise your treatment program however you want.
4. Flexibility
Flexibility is another critical component of any effective recovery program and is the main ingredient of individualised treatment.
For instance, treatment providers can adjust a client’s treatment based on their feedback, progress, and evolving needs, helping to improve and optimise outcomes for those in recovery.
With individualised treatment, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ paradigm.
Individualised treatment programs can be optimised, modified, and reworked based on how you feel your treatment is going, helping you track and monitor your recovery goals.
This transparent and flexible approach to client care can lead to lower relapse rates, as individuals have more control over treatment and the style of therapy they prefer, increasing the likelihood of its effectiveness.
5. It allows you to explore your unique recovery needs
Another critical benefit to individualised treatment is clients can explore their recovery needs with their therapist as they create their treatment plan.
Primarily, this involves identifying and exploring what may have led to substance use and identifying the various factors that may have contributed to co-occurring conditions like depression and anxiety.
Identifying your needs at the beginning of treatment allows you and your therapist to create a customised treatment plan according to your specific challenges and circumstances.
If you have addiction issues, this may involve:
- Identifying your triggers – this involves exploring what may have caused you to use substances in the first place, such as stress, trauma, family issues, and other environmental factors.
- Identifying other health issues, including co-occurring disorders. Co-occurring disorders occur when a person has an addiction and a mental health disorder at the same time. For instance, they may have an alcohol use disorder and depression. Individual treatment addresses these issues simultaneously, providing a profoundly effective and long-lasting holistic approach to recovery.
- Exploring your history with substance use – this gives your therapist an idea of the severity of your substance use and how it may have impacted your physical and emotional health and well-being over time.
- Assessing your family history and values – you and your therapist will discuss any family issues and your core values to determine how they can help you based on the information you provide.
Other helpful strategies your therapist may suggest
As part of your individualised treatment program, your therapist may also look at your objectives and goals for recovery, integrating them into your treatment plan.
This may involve:
- Identifying any concerns or barriers you may have about your treatment.
- Developing specific strategies or goals to help you manage any issues or setbacks you may face as you navigate the path to recovery.
- Identifying your objectives—You and your therapist may explore your values and goals for treatment. For instance, you may want to improve your relationships or career performance, practise more self-compassion, or achieve sobriety. You may want to accomplish all of the above.
What therapies are involved in individual treatment?
Individualised treatment utilises a wide range of therapies tailored to each person’s specific needs and preferences.
The most common therapies used in individualised treatment include the following:
- Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) – this treatment involves exploring and changing negative thoughts and behaviours that may cause or worsen your addiction or mental health issues.
- Family therapy – brings family members into the therapeutic process, where you get the chance to address any relational issues to help improve family functioning.
- Group therapy – is facilitated in a group setting, where people who have similar issues as you are present. This treatment offers support and feedback from peers who can relate to what you are going through and are often tailored to suit your individualised treatment plan.
- Trauma-informed treatment – involves helping you to process and heal from traumatic experiences you may have encountered in your past. Therapies such as EMDR (eye movement desensitisation reprocessing) are especially effective for helping clients reprocess their trauma and reframe their past experiences in new, more empowering ways.
Other treatments often involved in individualised treatment include:
- Mindfulness-based therapies.
- Motivational interviewing (MI).
- Psychodynamic therapy.
- Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT).
- Biofeedback and neurofeedback.
- Medication management.
- Aftercare and support programs.
Summary
Individualised treatment is a widely used approach in mental health and addiction treatment.
However, it is also utilised in other healthcare settings, such as chronic disease management, where clients receive bespoke interventions that dramatically enhance the effectiveness and durability of their health outcomes, making it one of the most effective approaches in almost all healthcare settings.
To learn more about our individualised treatment program or to have a confidential discussion with one of our counsellors, contact our friendly team at our Ontario recovery centre today, who will gladly help.
We are here and ready to guide you on the transformative journey to lasting wellness and sobriety—a journey explicitly tailored to your needs and future recovery goals.
A brief history of individualised treatment
Although individualised treatment has become widely used in most inpatient and outpatient settings, its roots go back to the 1800s, when the infamous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud treated his patients one-on-one.
Utilising an individualised treatment modality, Freud helped his patients uncover deep-rooted patterns and repressed emotions through techniques such as free association and dream analysis, alleviating their emotional suffering.
Freud’s approach to treating mental illness involved a deep exploration of the unconscious mind to help bring repressed wishes, emotions, memories, and impulses into conscious awareness so they could be resolved.
Moreover, Freud’s therapeutic techniques mainly involved talk therapy, where he would listen to his patients to get a better understanding of their challenges, an approach that’s not too different from how clinicians treat mental illness today.
It appears that even after all these decades, Freud’s theories still offer much food for thought in mental health and addiction recovery, which can only be a good thing.
Additional resources
- Benefits and Options for Therapy, Healthline, Sara Lindberg, 23 October 2020
