Creative Therapy
At Deslongchamps Recovery, we know that healing from addiction isn’t only about talking—it’s about safely expressing what words can’t always reach. Many people in recovery struggle at first to verbalize emotions, trauma, guilt, or hope. That’s where evidence-based creative therapies come in.
Research in addiction and trauma recovery consistently shows that expressive and creative therapies reduce stress, improve emotional regulation, strengthen self-awareness, and support long-term sobriety by engaging the brain in nonverbal, integrative ways. These therapies complement traditional counseling and help you process experiences without becoming overwhelmed.
Creative Therapy for Recovery
You are invited to explore the form of creative expression that fits you best. All activities are guided with therapeutic intention and recovery goals in mind.
Art-Based Therapies
Art Therapy
Pottery, Clay Work, Sculpting & Ceramics
Paper Mâché & Rock Painting
Photography
These modalities are shown to help individuals in recovery:
Safely process trauma and emotions
Reduce anxiety and cravings
Improve focus, patience, and self-esteem
Rebuild a healthy sense of identity beyond addiction
Writing & Journaling Therapy
Guided journal keeping
Reflective and recovery-focused writing
Writing therapies are widely supported in recovery research for improving emotional clarity, accountability, relapse prevention, and insight into behavioral patterns.
Music Therapy
Music therapy has strong clinical backing in addiction treatment for mood regulation, stress reduction, emotional release, and reconnecting with joy and motivation in sobriety.
Vision Board Therapy
Every guest creates:
A personal vision board for their room, reflecting recovery goals, values, and the life you are building
A family vision board, expressing shared hopes for healing, communication, and connection
Vision boards are grounded in cognitive-behavioral and motivational research, helping keep recovery goals visible, concrete, and emotionally meaningful.
Individualized Themes
Your therapy themes and creative projects are shaped around your personal recovery goals, family dynamics, and hopes for the future. We actively invite your ideas—because recovery works best when you feel ownership of the process.
Learning to express yourself honestly and fearlessly—in ways that support your recovery and your relationships—is a powerful protective factor against relapse. Along the way, you also take home meaningful creations that represent growth, resilience, and progress.
Autobiography Therapy:
Your Story, Your Legacy
At Deslongchamps Recovery, we also offer Autobiography Therapy, a deeply personal and clinically supported process often used in trauma recovery, grief work, and identity rebuilding.
Together, we gently document your life story through:
One-on-one interviews
Writing (self-written or dictated)
Voice recordings
Video storytelling
You choose the format that feels safest and most natural.
The core theme:
“What I want my family and friends to truly know about me.”
This process allows you to:
Make meaning of your life experiences
Release unresolved thoughts or emotions
Clarify what you want your loved ones to understand
Strengthen self-compassion and closure
Everything is completely confidential. You control what is created, what is kept, and what—if anything—is shared. No copies are kept by anyone other than you.