A Brain Rewired For Recovery: How Neurotherapy Changes Addiction Outcomes

How Does Neurotherapy Help With Addiction?

What if cravings weren’t a character flaw but a circuit problem you could retrain? We open the door to a brain-first view of addiction that explains why even the most motivated people can struggle, and how targeted neurotherapy helps calm the stress-reward loop so real recovery work can stick. From easing early detox jitters to restoring sleep and sharpening focus, we break down the physiological shifts that create room for change.

Together we explore the often-missed overlap between ADHD and addiction and why that combo makes long-term sobriety tougher. You’ll hear how neurotherapy supports frontal networks for inhibition while dialing down limbic overdrive, giving you more control over impulses and better access to therapy when it matters most. We also discuss insights from inpatient settings that track outcomes with tools like PHQ-9 and GAD-7, showing faster improvement, longer treatment retention, and fewer returns to crisis when neurotherapy is part of the plan.

If you’ve tried everything and still feel stuck, this conversation offers practical hope grounded in neuroscience. We keep it real about when inpatient care is essential, how neurotherapy complements talk therapy and EMDR, and why early wins like better sleep can change the trajectory of recovery. Subscribe, share with someone who needs encouragement, and leave a review to help others find brain-based tools for healing. Ready to take the next step? Book a free consultation at TransformativeNeurotherapy.org or call 412-204-7397.

To learn more about Transformative Neurotherapy visit:
https://www.TransformativeNeurotherapy.org
Transformative Neurotherapy
570 Lincoln Ave.
Bellevue, PA 15202
412-204-7397

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to the Transformative Neurotherapy Podcast with your host, Dr. Heather Putney, founder and executive director of Transformative Neurotherapy. This is the place where healing happens faster. Because let's face it, your brain doesn't come with an owner's manual until now. Here we take a holistic approach to brain health, bringing together science, mind-body harmony, and the tools you need to optimize your well-being. Whether you're a high performer, executive, athlete, longevity hacker, or just someone tired of your brain working against you, Dr. Putney is here to help you unlock your full potential. From brain fog to chronic stress, we're covering it all. So you can finally experience brain health, mind harmony, and total well-being. Ready to get on stock? Let's get started.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Addiction recovery isn't just behavioral, it's neurological. Dr. Putney explains how neurotherapy supports healing by rewiring the brain stress and reward systems. Welcome everyone. I'm Julie Schwenzer, co-host and producer in the studio with Dr. Heather Putney, founder and executive director of transformative neurotherapy. Dr. Heather, thank you again for being here. Let's talk about addiction. How does neurotherapy support recovery?

ADHD Overlap And Sobriety Challenges

SPEAKER_02 1:28

Yes, neurotherapy is it's amazing to help people with addictions, both behavioral and substance addictions, to help the healing process. And um one of the other things that I noticed with my clientele that caused me to get into this is that the addicts that I were working that I was working with that I felt were really doing good recovery. They were following the things they were supposed to be doing, attending the 12-step groups, you know, doing the doing the correct work with therapy and still struggling with long-term sobriety, you know, it felt like they were a little brain stuck. You know, I was I was kind of at a loss because I I didn't, I really felt that they were being genuine in their attempts, but they just couldn't, they just couldn't heal. And one one of the things that I found as I looked deeper at that subset of the clients is those clients actually had ADHD in addition to addiction. And so when you layered that addictive piece plus the ADHD piece, it was much harder for them to get it to get sober than my other clients. So the so when you add that impulsivity in addition to that tendency, it was kind of a double whammy. And so those clients needed addictional support to try to help them heal and to actually get to long-term sobriety. And our last podcast focused on how neurotherapy helps ADHD. So someone interested in this can kind of get a little bit more insight into that. But there is a there is kind of an overlap in the profiles in the brain with addiction and ADHD. And so um we, you know, we can kind of treat those those similar similarly.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

And then like like you're mentioning too in the last podcast, what you do to you work with other providers to also help with ADHD. What other treatments um complement what you do with neurotherapy when it comes to uh you know addiction and like are using medication-assisted therapy, or do they come in and they're already on it? And you know, how do you work with that?

Scope Of Practice And Referrals

Inpatient Data And Measured Outcomes

How Neurotherapy Eases Detox

Retention, Relapse, And Regulation

SPEAKER_02 4:08

Those are great questions. I tend to work more specifically with people with behavioral addictions. You know, they might lean a little too heavy on marijuana or a little too heavy on alcohol, but they're not reaching the more severe level of addiction in those areas because I'm not CAADC trained, which is a person that is a therapist that specializes in substance abuse and addictions. And so if somebody comes in and they are reaching that level, then they need to go inpatient to help to help do this work. Fortunately, one of the reasons I know so much about how neurotherapy helps addiction is that Nicholas Dodress, who's also the founder of Neurofield Neurotherapy and the innovator for a lot of this stuff, actually also works at a substance, an inpatient substance addiction treatment center. And he works heavily with this population. So what I speak to that's not behavioral addiction is actually going to be things that I've learned from him, you know, about how this helps clients heal. And he uses it. And I wish I could, and I'm gonna actually maybe invite him to the podcast one day, but because I can't present his data. But what they have found is that as a you know, like I said, it's a multiple addictions inpatient clinic. And so what they found is that, you know, they'll come in and they will get their PhQ9 and their GAD7 scores. So that's basically your depression and anxiety scores, you know, and when they start and when they add neurotherapy treatments, so they they basically tested clients where they had um, and this is a wonderful facility he works at, and they and they did clients that chose to do neurotherapy plus all the other great stuff, you know, talk therapy, maybe EMDR and all the other good stuff that that group therapy that you do on an inpatient setting. And I should I need to reiterate, if clients are medically detoxing, they need to be inpatient. You know, we can maybe help people as when they get out, you know, as far as it and that piece is being managed by somebody that has the right treat, you know, the right treatment. So if you're dealing with, like I said, chemical substance abuse, you want to go inpatient with some place where you can where they can help you detox and heal. But what they noticed is for the as they had some some controls, people that chose to do neurotherapy and those that didn't, and they had different types of primary addictions, whether it be alcohol, benzos, opiates, amphetamines, right? And they got their their their depression and anxiety scores before, you know, and then you know, after so many treatments. And then they compared it to the controls. Now, the controls did improve with treatment at the facility, but the difference between the groups that did neurotherapy and the controls was just massively different. And every subset group, alcohol, benzos, you know, uh, um amphetamines, all that type of stuff, they all like they all improved and they all improved statistically significantly amounts when they added the neurotherapy. And the other cool thing was is they were able to stay, they tended to stay in treatment longer. One of the reasons why is it is that the neurotherapy treatments that they utilize can help reduce cravings, can help reduce some of those jitters, and it can make the detox easier so that they're able to kind of then then, you know, if you're not so physiologically overroused or in so much pain, because when you're detoxing from an opioid or, you know, from some of these other medications, like it, it you tend to feel a little bit like a raw nerve. You tend to feel, you know, feel really painful. Well, when I'm in pain, how much can I think about other things? How much can I let in this amazing therapy, even if the best therapists are in the world are there, if I, you know, if I'm so physiologically distressed? But the neurotherapy can help balance the autonomic nervous system. We talked about the parasympathetic, sympathetic uh things with, you know, vagus nerve stimulation. We can cause we can also kind of help with the pain, you know, the pain, the reward systems in the brain. Uh sometimes that like inability to tune out pain kind of gets locked, it gets locked off. So then that they all they're the pain is kind of ever presence. But that ability to like tune in and tune out from the pain, you know, we can kind of strengthen some of those centers and that switch so that they can, you know, start to feel more normal. And then, like I said, once they get a little bit more physiologically more centered, then they can let in all these other things. And so that they these clients that did that that uh engaged in neurotherapy tend to stay in treatment longer than the ones that didn't. And then they also tend uh tended to have less recidivism, which is they're less likely to bounce back into therapy later because they just go out, they get, you know, they slip back into old habits and bounce back in. They're actually more regulated, their brains are more calm and so forth. And so they don't have that same driver behind them that makes them want to use in the same way.

SPEAKER_01 8:55

Okay, thank you for explaining that. Um, the the last question I have for you is what would you say to someone who's skeptical about this, uh, the brain-based approach? Because maybe they have, like you mentioned, they've they've they've been on different medications or they try different things or they're afraid they're gonna relapse. What would you say to them?

Addressing Skepticism And Next Steps

SPEAKER_02 9:14

Um I I I guess I see what's the harm and giving it a try because what you're putting in your body, what you do to your body is so much worse than what we could be doing, like, you know, calming your nervous system, giving it a little bit of extra blood flow, this, that, and the other. I say, I say try it. I mean it's definitely a lot less dangerous or a lot less whatever. And the proof is in the pudding. You know, a lot of these clients are so over aroused they can't sleep. So one treatment in and they're sleeping better, you know, or they or they can notice a general shift. So, like, what do you gotta lose? You really have nothing to lose. You you know, try it and see for yourself. Proof is in the pudding.

SPEAKER_01 9:51

That's that's true. And you know, your last uh the client that was on two podcasts ago, she was just talking about how much better she was sleeping, you know, who was your patient. So um that that's proof right there. Absolutely. Well, uh, thank you, Dr. Heather, for sharing that insight. We always appreciate it. And uh, we'll catch you next time. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 10:16

You've been listening to the Transformative Neurotherapy Podcast with Dr. Heather Putney. Remember, your brain isn't supposed to hold you back, it's supposed to power you forward. So stop letting it crash your party and start letting it do its job. If you're ready to optimize brain health, sharpen your focus, and age like a fine wine, schedule your free consultation today at Transformative Neurotherapy.org. Or call us at 412-204-7397. Because here, healing happens faster. See you next time.