During art therapy, a variety of activities are used to help participants work through difficult emotions and make sense of complex experiences through creative self-expression. Activities used in art therapy include:

• Visually representing an experience through drawing or painting
• Creating an art journal and writing down reflections
• Reducing stress through art-making
• Expressing emotions with color, line and shape
• Looking at and discussing art in a group setting

According to an article published in the American Journal of Health, the benefits of art therapy include:⁽³⁾

• Emotional healing
• Healthier thought and behavior patterns
• Decreased denial and reduced ambivalence toward recovery
• Increased motivation to stay in treatment and recover
• Increased self-awareness
• Reduced stress
• Reduced shame

Music therapy helps address a range of physical, emotional and social needs. During music therapy, participants engage in activities like listening to and discussing music; writing songs or moving to music as a form of self-expression; creating music with instruments or the voice; and analyzing song lyrics.

Music therapy reduces feelings of depression, anxiety, anger and stress. A study published in the Journal of Addictions Nursing found that music therapy improves motivation to change and increases engagement in treatment.⁽⁴⁾ It also helps participants:

• Improve their emotional state
• Express and work through difficult emotions
• Relax and reduce stress
• Open communication pathways
• Improve creative thinking
• Engage in personal change

Horticultural therapy takes place in the garden, where participants learn to plant, nurture, and grow living things. The horticultural therapist helps participants view gardening as a metaphor for taking care of their own essential needs for a higher sense of wellbeing and greater personal growth. Diane Relf, a horticultural professor at Virginia Tech, says horticultural therapy improves self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-control.⁽⁵⁾ A large body of research into horticultural therapy shows that it’s also beneficial for:

• Improving self-awareness
• Improving mood
• Better decision-making and planning skills
• Self-expression and creativity
• Reducing negative emotions
• Relieving stress

Equine therapy involves working with horses, including grooming, feeding, leading and riding them. Horses are pack animals, and they sense and respond to the emotions of other animals, including humans. During equine therapy, the horses serve as a sort of mirror. Participants can evaluate their own emotions and state of mind and get real-time feedback from the horse. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs cites equine therapy as effective for treating post-traumatic stress disorder, which often co-occurs with addiction.⁽⁶⁾ Other benefits of equine therapy include:

• Improved physical and mental strength, balance and coordination
• Development of coping skills that transfer to other areas of life
• Restoring the brain’s compensation and assessment pathways
• Increased self-confidence
• Increased awareness of emotional states

Biofeedback therapy is an effective experiential therapy for reducing stress, which is a major relapse trigger. During biofeedback, sensors are attached to the body, and functions like blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, muscle tension and skin moisture are displayed on a monitor in real time. Participants learn how to reduce their stress through strategies like deep breathing, progressive relaxation and meditation. As they practice these exercises, they watch their body’s stress response diminish on the monitor.

Biofeedback helps people:

• Learn to recognize their body’s stress cues
• Reduce stress and anxiety on the spot
• Develop psychological confidence
• Reduce cravings

Adventure therapy takes place in nature and typically involves activities like climbing, hiking, camping, boating and hiking. Other activities, like ropes courses and zip lines, are also commonly used in adventure therapy.

Adventure therapy focuses on individual treatment goals. A trained adventure therapist monitors participants and ensures each is gaining positive momentum toward specific recovery goals. A study published in the journal Substance Abuse Treatment found that adventure therapy helps participants:⁽⁷⁾

• Reduce the risk of relapse
• Reduce cravings for alcohol
• Reduce negative thoughts
• Reduce stress and the stress response
• Better concentration
• A more positive outlook on life
• Better control over impulses

Yoga is an experiential therapy that combines movement with controlled breathing and meditation. A certified yoga instructor leads participants through a variety of physical poses that increase physical and mental strength, flexibility, endurance and balance. Sometimes, the instructor will incorporate spiritual teachings into the session.

Yoga roots participants in the present moment, where they’re able to better evaluate their thoughts, emotions and bodily sensations. Yoga is used in many treatment programs to help people in recovery achieve:

• A higher level of mindfulness
• Greater self-awareness and body-awareness
• Reduced stress
• Reduced symptoms of PTSD
• Reduced cravings
• Improved stress response

Mindfulness meditation involves sitting quietly and focusing on your breath. As thoughts and physical sensations occur, you regard them neutrally, without judgment, then turn your focus back to your breathing. With regular practice, meditation changes the structures of the brain, increasing the volume of the areas associated with self-concept, emotional regulation and decision-making and decreasing the volume of the areas associated with fear, anxiety and the stress response.

Regular meditation changes the way your body responds to stress, and it reduces the urge to use drugs or alcohol during stressful times. According to an article in the journal Substance Abuse, meditation also:⁽⁸⁾

• Reduces blood pressure
• Relieves pain
• Reduces feelings of depression and anxiety
• Promotes feelings of calm and inner peace
• Helps you respond better to negative external events
• Increases self-awareness and mindfulness