When you arrive at Cirque Lodge’s exclusive facilities, we assign you a personal counselor to work with you throughout your stay.

Every personal counselor is a Master’s level professional. Your personal counselor works with you to design your individual treatment plan. After this, you will have several one-on-one sessions with them each week. In these sessions, they will help you address the underlying causes and concerns of your alcohol use. Individual counseling may focus on:

• Your reasons for alcohol use
• Strategies to reduce or stop using alcohol
• The areas in life that may make it more difficult for you to stop drinking
• Identifying your strengths and discussing how to use them in the treatment process
• Teaching on personal, family, school, or professional directives
• Assignment work where you can apply and reinforce the skills you develop in therapy

At Cirque Lodge, we take full advantage of the beautiful and serene surroundings and hold many sessions outside. Sessions can take place in mountain meadows or while on a hike. You can tap into the healing properties of nature as you take part in therapy, and benefit from a holistic and spiritual recovery experience.

“We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness.” – The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

The 12-steps are a program of spiritual development that began almost 100 years ago and is practiced in Alcoholics Anonymous and other Fellowship groups. It is one of the most well-known and trusted methods for recovering from alcoholism.

The 12-steps center around your personal growth and the healing power of supporting one another. They are a powerful tool for accepting your addiction, learning to overcome it, and maintaining a joyful life free from addiction.

At Cirque Lodge, the 12-steps underpin our entire treatment rehab program. We introduce them in our counseling sessions, and we encourage you to practice them when you leave.

The 12-steps are reinforced and strengthened through other treatment approaches, including enriching experiential activities and individual therapy.

“If you change your thoughts, you’ll change your actions.” Anon.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is based on the idea that our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors all influence each other. You can change your actions by modifying certain feelings and thought patterns.

CBT helps you to identify the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that underlie your addiction. It enables you to develop the skills to overcome them and to build new and healthy habits.

A fundamental part of this is learning to cope with triggers. Triggers are certain cues in your environment that give you the urge to drink. They may include a place you usually drink, friends you drink with, or seeing alcohol around you.

In CBT sessions, you work with your therapist to learn how to avoid or respond differently to these situations. You may develop coping strategies or relaxation techniques. National Institute of Drug Abuse research suggests that skills learned through cognitive-behavioral therapy stays with you long after the end of your treatment.

In group therapy, you work through a broad range of issues with others recovering from alcohol addiction.

Group therapy allows you to learn from each other’s experiences and find acceptance in your shared experience. It is also a place to learn how to communicate honestly and fairly.

Group sessions cover topics like addiction, family, self-esteem, and recovery. You support each other as you process information and develop skills. In group sessions, you realize that you are not alone in your struggle.

Group counseling helps you develop the skills to build healthy relationships of mutual

support. These skills are fundamental for your recovery once you have left the center. They help you to build reliable support networks that can guide you and give you strength for the rest of your recovery journey.

Alcohol addiction is a family struggle. Drinking affects others around us as well as ourselves, and especially our family members.

Cirque Lodge is a family-owned, family-run addiction treatment center. We dedicate our program to healing the entire family. We help you heal your relationships, learn to support one another, and develop skills to cope with challenges in the years ahead.

We invite the family to our rehab center for four days of every three-week program to participate in Family Week. We hold family therapy sessions where you learn more about alcohol addiction and how you can support each other to heal your relationships. We work with you to develop honest and effective communication skills that will help you throughout the recovery process.

Family counseling is available over the phone and via video calls if your loved ones cannot come to the center. You can also return to the center for Family Week at any time if your family cannot attend during your treatment program.

Your recovery does not end when you leave our center.

Sometimes the most difficult challenges come in the years after alcohol addiction treatment. At Cirque Lodge, we provide you with an individualized aftercare plan to guide you through the rest of the healing process. We connect you with online and local support groups, including 12-step peer support. If required, we arrange for you to attend outpatient treatment to continue taking part in individual and group therapy sessions.

We can also partner you with a mentor from your local area to help you transition back into everyday life as part of our alumni program.