Life Skills

Life skills

The American Association of Addiction Medicine describes addiction as “a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory, and related circuitry. Dysfunction in these circuits leads to characteristic biological, psychological, social, and spiritual manifestations. This is reflected in an individual pathologically pursuing reward and/or relief by substance use and other behaviors.”

That dysfunction often includes neglecting education and employment. Those who may suffer from addiction can find themselves caught in a cycle of using, going into withdrawal, craving, and using again.  In this cycle, normal responsibilities are often ignored, if not completely forgotten.

Part of building a life in recovery includes the need to focus on education and employment. Encore’s individual and group therapies integrate a life skills focus. Encore also offers coaching services with trained academic and career counselors.

Life skills Encore Outpatient Services operates intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization programs for substance use disorder and co-occurring disorders in Arlington, Virginia. Encore Outpatient Services employs experienced, licensed psychotherapists and counselors, as well as a psychiatrist, who collaborate to provide each client with highly personalized health services to aid in entering recovery and reducing the symptoms of mental health conditions. We have helped thousands with alcohol and drug addiction treatment. Our Northern Virginia alcohol and drug addiction treatment program emphasizes the importance of thoughtful and attentive case management to help clients navigate the healthcare system and receive the complete range of treatment and services necessary to support recovery and holistic health needed to sustain a healthy lifestyle after treatment. The founders of Encore Outpatient Services were passionate about helping individuals and families and eliminating the stigma that prevents people from seeking care. Our staff of mission-focused and compassionate caregivers ally closely with clients and their loved ones to facilitate lasting change to promote a lifetime of recovery. Clients receiving treatment through Encore’s intensive outpatient and partial-hospitalization programs receive thorough biopsychosocial and nutritional assessments, as well as a psychiatric assessments, if indicated, to determine addiction history and current treatment needs. Our assessments also determine contributing factors, maladaptive behaviors, and underlying health problems that may have contributed to the addiction in the first place. Personalized care plans and aftercare plans are developed to address the issues identified through assessment, and these plans are updated and optimized throughout treatment as new or different symptoms and issues are discovered or arise. Our clinicians deliver therapies geared toward client needs, organize wellness services to support holistic care and coordinate with other specialized care providers when needed to give clients a holistic approach to overall healthcare. The integration of multiple healthcare disciplines and therapeutic modalities is important to treat the interconnected symptoms of addiction and mental health conditions.