Cognitive Skills Classes

Substance and Addictive Disorders Evaluations

Cognitive Skills Classes are designed for a higher level of care for individuals facing serious issues in life. The program is a commitment of 12- 24 weeks of group therapy that addresses faulty thinking and assists with thought and behavior restructuring. Here at AACS Counseling we would be lying if we did not say that this was our favorite class.
Clients in the cognitive skills classes are urged to process lifelong traumatic issues within a group setting with a specialized therapist. Most clients benefit tremendously from the therapeutic process and begin realizing self-actualization, independence, and happiness.

The goal of Cognitive Skills Classes is to help modify behaviors that have hindered growth and personal development.

One key ingredient in the Cognitive Skills Classes is the power of the group to help each other. Cognitive Skills Classes can help someone who is suffering from feelings of isolation and terminal uniqueness see reflections of themselves in the people around them. Cognitive Skills Classes are a comprehensive program that is catered to getting to the root of the problems in our lives as opposed to simply dealing with the surface level issues. Let’s take a look at substance use issues so I can explain what I mean.
Cognitive Skills Classes
Let’s suppose you have never used any substances in your life and have made it all the way to 21 without even having your first drink. Your friends take you out to a club for the first time, and you are extremely nervous because you are worried about how you’re going to feel, act, look, dance, etc. You get there and you realize why you had never gone to one of these things before: because it absolutely terrifies you. But your friends are not having it and drag you in, sit you down at the bar, and order you your very first shots. You nervously throw one back and now you know why people always grimace in the movies because this tastes awful! Suddenly you feel a little warmth in your belly right as your friend hands you another, and another, and another.
You find yourself feeling pretty loose and you’re swaying to the music when an attractive individual catches your eye, and without hesitation you introduce yourself and within minutes you are on the dance floor with your new partner. The entire time you are thinking to yourself how much fun this is and why you never wanted to do this before. You realize something pretty big: you didn’t realize how big your anxiety issues were until they magically disappeared.

This is because unlike what some people might have you believe: Alcohol is not the problem. It is the solution to your problem. It isn’t until 10 years down the line after many blackouts and DUI’s that somehow you forgot and started thinking if only you got rid of the alcohol how much better your life would be! This leads you to quit unexpectedly and you find yourself feeling worse than you ever have in your entire life because not only was alcohol NOT the problem, but now you are left with the original issue in all its horrifying glory and unbridled intensity.

The truth is that everyone is addicted to the same thing: we want to feel better than we do. Some individuals choose the socially acceptable versions of addiction like relationships, Facebook. Zero’s in their bank accounts, purses, cars, titles etc. These are not deemed unacceptable because they don’t typically kill you or land you in jail, but they are solutions to the inherent problem all the same. As human beings we’ve been taught that feeling uncomfortable is a bad or even negative thing when it reality those kinds of judgments come specifically from within you and have no actually merit on what reality holds.
Here’s an example: Diane is getting divorced and is telling her friend that it is the most awful thing she has ever had to deal with and that she thinks divorce IS AlWAYS awful.
Her friend looks at her and tells her that her parents getting divorced was the best thing that ever happened to either of them. Maybe you are in traffic on the freeway and are honking your horn and cursing the universe, but you look over and the person sitting next to you is smiling and singing at the top of their lungs. They are ecstatic that they get some free time to themselves for a little while.
The problem isn’t the thing that you are dealing with or the stuff you have done. The problem is one of perception and action. Identify your judgments and ask yourself a simple question: Is this useful for me? How would I feel if I didn’t think/believe/support/deny that?
Cognitive Skills Classes can be the beginning of tremendous insight into your own version of the world and how that creation can be changed at any time for a more beneficial and useful view.
Call Now