Boating Therapy

Boating Therapy is a Liberating Experience During Drug Rehab

Modern and progressive treatment programs like Nextep in Ft. Myers, Florida include a multitude of therapeutic methods to help clients overcome addiction to drugs and alcohol. Why are many treatment methods necessary? Because recovery isn’t a one-size-fits-all process. Each client’s treatment is approached with his or her individual needs, culture and interests in mind.

About Boating Therapy for Addiction Treatment

Experiential therapies help clients by allowing them to break free of the constraints of office-based or classroom treatment sessions. Clients engaged in experiential methods of addiction recovery are provided with a means of healing and learning through first-hand practice, instead of merely talking and listening.

Boating therapy is one form of experiential treatment, one where clients get out onto the water where much about oneself can be learned while actively participating in psychotherapy groups. In boating therapy, clients have fun in the sun and on the ocean while the experience helps them become less guarded, more open to healing and more in-tune with their true selves.
 
Time spent in control of a boat involves focus. Clients are drawn to the experience of boating and enjoyment of time on the water. But their minds and bodies are able to heal on the ocean’s waves, as clients participate in group therapy, sharing thoughts and feelings and possibly overcoming fears.

How Boating Therapy Works

Therapeutic groups and activities are facilitated on the boat. Being out on the water helps clients learn to develop balance in life, overcome challenges, deal with emotions, develop mindfulness and make logical decisions with awareness of associated consequences of those decisions. Being out of a typical office space or group room helps clients be more open, spontaneous and creative.

A parallel exists between boating therapy and real life in recovery, as clients in their own community and daily living must also face similar challenges each day. So while time on the boat feels like pursuit of fun in the sun, clients are building skills for everyday living and coping with the challenges of sobriety. Clients also learn to live in the moment while out on the water. This translates into focusing on the moment in sober everyday living, being mindful and appreciative of their lives every day.
 
When engaged in a physical activity or learning a new pursuit like boating, emotions suppressed throughout addiction are able to freely rise to the surface. During boating, clients’ brains are deeply focused on the activity and not on maintaining defenses or keeping feelings and thoughts buried. During the activity, clients often realize they have fears or needs that addiction obscured from view. These fears and needs can then be dealt with through talk therapy.
 

Boating Therapy at Nextep in Ft. Myers, FL

Nextep in Ft. Myers, Florida includes boating as one of a multitude of experiential therapeutic approaches to addiction recovery. Clients are treated utilizing individualized plans based upon their unique needs, interests and culture. These plans include evidence-based practices designed to ensure whole-person healing of mind, body and spirit for more complete recovery from drug and alcohol addiction.

If you or your loved one are seeking a more fulfilling and richer life through recovery from addiction to drugs or alcohol, boating therapy may be one form of treatment that helps break through to a deeper connection to self. Call Nextep now at 844-639-8371 to learn more about boating and other methods for healthy recovery from drugs and alcohol addiction.
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