Individual Therapy for Addiction

Individual therapy, sometimes called talk therapy or psychotherapy, is mental health treatment that takes place in a one-on-one setting. Usually, the two people involved are a therapist and a client. This model works well for almost every kind of therapy, from EMDR to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Experiential Therapy. It may be part of inpatient or outpatient treatment programs or offered as a stand-alone intervention.

Often, different ideas or exercises from many kinds of therapy can be combined during a single session, depending on the client’s goals and the therapist’s expertise.

Individual therapy can be used to treat a variety of conditions, like depression, anxiety, substance abuse disorder, PTSD, personality disorders, and more. It can also be helpful for those who do not have specific diagnoses but who want to talk through relationship problems or feelings like grief, low self-esteem, or stress.

Goal-Oriented

During individual therapy, the therapist and client usually work together to set some specific goals for the therapy sessions. The overall goal is to help clients talk through mental health issues and find healing and restoration with themselves, their world, and their loved ones.

• A client might set more specific goals, which can include things like:
• Understanding specific emotions and where they come from
• Overcoming addiction or substance abuse/use
• Learning new coping skills
• Improving communication skills
• Resolving trauma
• Changing specific behaviors

It is important that these things are SMART goals, which means they are:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time-bound

Having SMART goals makes sure that you are not working without guidance toward things that are not achievable or relevant to your situation. You will know when you’ve achieved your goals and when to change course if you haven’t achieved them by the original date you and your therapist set.

Rooted in Theory and Training

Some people might question why therapy is important or how it is different from talking with a loved one. The important thing to realize is that therapists are trained professionals who can:

Empathize with clients without emotional attachment. This is difficult for your loved ones to do, as they have more invested in your life and behaviors, especially as they may influence you and/or be affected by those behaviors.
Help clients see their blind spots. It is easy for loved ones to either a) only believe the best about you or b) see only your faults.
Help clients see their strengths. Friends and family members may fall into the trap of criticizing, especially if they don’t understand the underlying causes of your behavior.

Individual therapy has been part of treatment plans for many disorders for decades and has proven effective in many cases.

According to American Addiction Centers, “Research indicates that both individual and group therapies are effective in the treatment of substance use disorders and also for a range of co-occurring mental health disorders.”[1]  A study done in 2000 by Hodgkinson et al. found that, “Individual cognitive behavioural therapy can be effective in improving overall mental state and global functioning…”[2]

A third study done in 2024 by Laurila et al. found that “social support experienced by patients … increase[d] after short- and long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy and solution-focused therapy.” When following up years later, the researchers found that the gains the patients had made were retained.[3]

From these studies and many others, it is clear that individual therapy can have long-lasting impacts on individuals with many different conditions.

An individual therapy session usually lasts between 45 and 75 minutes, and therapists and clients usually meet weekly. Certain kinds of therapy might have longer or shorter sessions and meet more or less frequently.

Occasionally, especially at the beginning of the client-therapist relationship, the therapist may be available by phone or text between sessions for additional support. Also, depending on the kind of therapy, “homework” is expected between sessions.

This does not usually mean the client has to complete worksheets as a person would for school. Instead, “homework” might include journaling, writing letters to loved ones (that may or may not be sent), and applying techniques from individual therapy sessions to real-life situations.

The individual needs and goals of the client and the kind of therapy conducted will also dictate how many sessions an individual will go through. Some kinds of therapy are relatively short-term, meeting for six months or less. Sometimes, though, certain conditions require more “maintenance,” and the therapist might meet with the client for years.

At the start of therapy, the therapist will ask about the client’s mental health and medical history to get a better understanding of what kinds of exercises might be most useful to the client. It is essential for the client and therapist to form an alliance or bond so that the client will trust the therapist, making them willing to share confidential information and do the work that the therapist asks them to do.