• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

FHE Health - Addiction & Mental Health Care Homepage

Drug, Alcohol and Mental Health Treatment

ContactCareers

Call for Immediate Help (833) 596-3502

MENUMENU
  • About
        • About FHE Rehab
          • About FHE Health
          • Our Staff
          • Locations We Serve
          • Testimonials
        • Our Campus
          • Gallery
          • Our Videos
          • The Health and Wellness Center at FHE Health
        • Our Locations
          • Alcohol Rehab
          • Detox Center
          • Drug Rehab
          • Mental Health Center
          • Outpatient Rehab
        • Careers at FHE Health
          • Employment Opportunities
        • Our Expertise
          • Accreditations
          • Educational Opportunities
          • Community Impact Award
          • First Responder Families Podcast
          • First Responder Paws
          • Education Scholarship
  • Addiction
        • Treatment Programs
          • Treatment Program Overview
          • Alcohol Addiction
          • Drug Addiction Treatment
          • Behavioral Addiction
        • Levels of Care
          • Continuum of Care
          • Addiction Detox
          • Inpatient Addiction Treatment
          • Outpatient Addiction Treatment
        • What We Treat
          • Alcoholism
          • Amphetamines
          • Benzodiazepines
          • Cocaine
          • Heroin
          • Opioids
          • Sedative
  • Mental Health
        • Mental Health Rehab
          • Mental Health Rehab
          • Onsite Psychiatric Care
          • Dual Diagnosis
        • Levels of Care
          • Residential Mental Health Care
          • Outpatient Mental Health Care
        • What We Treat
          • ADD & ADHD
          • Anxiety Disorders
          • Bipolar Disorder
          • Depression
          • Eating Disorders
          • Personality Disorders
          • PTSD
          • Schizophrenia
          • Substance Use Disorder
          • Trauma
  • Programs
        • FHE Programs
          • Specialty Program Overview
          • Restore (Mental Health)
          • Empower! (Women's Program)
          • Shatterproof FHE Health(First Responders)
          • Compass Program
        • Support Programs
          • Alumni
          • Family Support
        • Therapies
          • Acupuncture
          • Breathwork Therapy
          • CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
          • DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy)
          • EMDR Therapy
          • Expressive Arts Therapy
          • Individual Therapy
          • Group Therapy
          • Gambling Therapy
          • Massage
        • Medical Care
          • Medical Integration
          • Ketamine Infusion
          • IV Vitamin
          • Fitness & Nutrition
          • Medication-Assisted Treatment
          • Medication Management
        • NeuroRehab Services
          • Neuro Rehabilitation
          • Neurofeedback Training
          • Neurostimulation Therapy
          • EEG Brain Mapping
          • Insomnia Treatment for PTSD
  • Resources
        • FHE Guides
          • Understanding Drug Abuse
          • Signs of Addiction
          • The Disease of Addiction
          • Confronting Addiction
          • Staging an Intervention
          • Rehab Success Rate – Does It Really Work?
          • Withdrawal Timelines
          • Life After Rehab
          • LGBTQ+ Community Resources
          • Veteran Resources
          • FHE Podcasts
          • Remote Resources Toolkit
        • Learning Center
          • Help for You
          • Help For Loved Ones
          • Help For Alcoholism
          • Help With Substance Abuse
          • Behavioral & Mental Health
          • Life in Recovery
          • Rehab Explained
          • Addiction Statistics
          • Our Research Articles
          • View All Articles
        • The Experience Blog
          • Addiction News
          • Alumni
          • Community Events
          • Expert Opinions
          • FHE Commentary
          • FHE News
          • Treatment Legislation
          • View All Articles
  • Admissions
        • Insurance
          • Blue Cross Insurance
          • Beacon Health / Value Options Insurance
          • Cigna Insurance
          • Humana Insurance
          • TRICARE Insurance
        • Admissions
          • Steps to Addiction Help
          • Will Insurance Cover Behavioral Treatment?
          • Self-Pay Rehab
        • FAQ
          • Keeping Your Job in Rehab
          • Example Day in Rehab
        • Contact Admissions
          • Contact Us
          • Secure Payment Form
  • Contact
  •  
Home > Featured in Experts > How “Neuroplasticity” Works in Addiction Recovery

July 25, 2022 By Kristina Robb-Dover

How “Neuroplasticity” Works in Addiction Recovery

Neuroplasticity's Role in Addiction Recovery

This article has been reviewed for accuracy by our peer review team which includes clinicians and medical professionals. Learn more about our peer review process.

The term “neuroplasticity” is often used to describe the brain’s remarkable ability to learn, heal, and recover in the aftermath of traumatic injuries like drug addiction. Today, thanks to innovations in brain health, this natural and innate capacity for regeneration can be optimized to achieve a faster, more comprehensive recovery from addiction and other mental health conditions. FHE Health has been at the forefront of using these newer, cutting-edge technologies to boost and enhance neuroplasticity—but what really is “brain plasticity,” and why is it relevant to discussions of addiction and recovery?

For help with these and other frequently asked questions, we turned to Dr. Rachael Bishop. Dr. Bishop is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in neuropsychology and a member of FHE Health’s Neuro Rehab team. In the following Q&A, you’ll hear from Dr. Bishop in her own words. You’ll also gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of your brain’s unique superpower (plasticity) and its role and function both in the development of addiction and the recovery process.

Brain Plasticity – What It Is and Its Benefits

Q: What is neuroplasticity?

Neuroplasticity what is itA: “The psychiatrist Norman Doidge once said: ‘Nature has given us a brain that survives in a changing world by changing itself.’ Doidge’s words help capture the essence of neuroplasticity, which at its core is the brain’s ability to change continuously throughout a person’s life and form new connections and pathways and change how the circuits are wired.

In other words, [neuroplasticity] relates to our ability to learn. With every repetition of a thought or an emotion, we reinforce a neural pathway. With each new thought, we begin to create a new way of being. Neuroplasticity is the ‘muscle-building’ part of the brain: The things we do often we become stronger at. Connections in the brain are constantly becoming stronger or weaker.

By harnessing neuroplasticity, we can improve what we do and think. Neural pathways are created in your brain based on your habits and behaviors. As you participate in new activities, you are training your brain to create new neural pathways.

Q: What are the benefits of neuroplasticity?

A: Without neuroplasticity, our brains would not be able to develop from babies to adults. Neuroplasticity allows neurons to compensate for disease and injury, and adjust their activity in response to new experiences, and changes in environment, behavior, thinking, and emotions. Neuroplasticity allows us to learn new things, recover from injuries, increase cognitive abilities (such as memory), boost brain fitness, and strengthen areas and connections/communication between areas.

Neuroplasticity and Addiction

Q: What’s the role of neuroplasticity with respect to substance abuse and the development of drug and alcohol addictions?

A: Neuroplasticity is a double-edged sword. Neuroplasticity following repeated drug use leads to more habitual and more compulsive drug/alcohol use. Neural pathways are strengthened if they are important to us and reinforced as we practice or repeat them. Pathways that are ignored may be “pruned” if unused.

When addiction occurs, the brain’s reward pathways are hijacked by the substance use. They overstimulate neural pathways in the brain’s reward center and create a “superhighway” to the drug of choice. But it is possible to create new neural pathways that bypass the ones corrupted by substance abuse. In conjunction with counseling and healthy living behaviors, training in neuroplasticity can help the brain learn to find pleasure in healthy lifestyle choices.

Neuroplasticity and Addiction Recovery

Q: How does neuroplasticity work in addiction recovery?

Exposure to habits - neuroplasticityA: By changing our existing brain activity, we can make healthy behaviors and positive emotions easier to access. We know that the brain is malleable, neuroplastic, and influenced by one’s social environment. This means therapeutic and other interventions can enhance mental health functioning and recovery.

Enriching one’s environment increases neuronal connections and neuroplasticity. Remember again, though, that neuroplasticity is a double-edged sword. Exposure to social deprivation, neglect, and stress negatively influences the brain and changes and inhibits brain processes (inducing adverse neuroplasticity and changing the brain for the worse).

Supportive and enriched social environments can lead to adaptive neuroplasticity, on the other hand. The principles of neuroplasticity underlie many cognitive behavioral interventions—restoring and enhancing neural connections through repeated practice of cognitive exercises in a supportive social environment. In terms of mental health, neuroplasticity means that the brain can become happier, healthier, and better adjusted in the face of life stressors and underlying mental health symptoms.

How Neuro Rehab Works with Neuroplasticity to Boost Recovery

Q: How does neuro rehab boost neuroplasticity?

A: Neurotherapy induces neuroplasticity—it puts the brain in a malleable, easy-to-train state. Neurotherapy can pull the brain out of its habitual pattern or state, which may be a “stuck” state or a maladaptive pattern that in turn leads to different behavioral and emotional symptoms of that dysregulation. Then the brain’s natural propensity for self-regulation, or self-balancing, kicks in. Neurotherapy is how the dysregulated brain learns to correct itself, make new connections, and encourage better communication between its different regions.

Neuroplasticity Exercises for Addiction

Q: Are there specific neuro rehab and/or other exercises that are especially helpful?

A: There are many activities that one can engage in to encourage neuroplasticity to occur. Yoga, exercise, and meditation can all promote neuroplasticity. Practicing a novel task (learning) can also give way to neuroplasticity. Other examples include making music, using the “wrong” hand, traveling, taking a walk through a new neighborhood, going for a hike, and making art. Proper nutrition is also important.

As previously mentioned, neurotherapy induces neuroplasticity. After a neuro session, neuroplasticity continues for approximately 90 minutes. This is the best time for therapeutic work. During this window, a person is more likely to retain information and learn faster.

Engage in any of the activities listed above to optimize the neuro benefits. Practice coping skills, relaxation skills, and stress management skills. Change negative thinking. Practice being honest. Practice and repetition are key. After all, the brain is a muscle and the more you use it and practice, the stronger it becomes. Pathways get stronger with repetition until the behavior is the new normal. Every time you learn something new, you are harnessing the power of neuroplasticity.

Filed Under: Featured in Experts, Expert Columns

More Questions about Treatment?

More Questions about Treatment?

We offer 100% confidential and individualized treatment

Contact Us

About Kristina Robb-Dover

Kristina Robb-Dover is a content manager and writer with extensive editing and writing experience... read more

Primary Sidebar

The Experience Blog

  • Addiction News
  • Alumni
  • Community Events
  • Expert Columns
  • FHE Commentary
  • FHE News
  • Treatment Legislation
  • All Articles

Sign up for the Blog

Our Facilities

Take a look at our state of the art treatment center.

View Our Gallery

Learning Center

  • Help for You
  • Help For Loved Ones
  • Help For Alcoholism
  • Help With Substance Abuse
  • Behavioral & Mental Health
  • Life in Recovery
  • Rehab Explained
  • All Articles
Contact Us
  • Call Now:
  • Best Time to Call:

Footer

FHE Health

© 2025 FHE Health

505 S Federal Hwy #2,
Deerfield Beach, Florida 33441
1-833-596-3502
youtube facebook instagram linkedin twitter
  • Contact
  • Careers at FHE Health
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
A+ BBB and Top Places to Work - Sun Sentinel

Copyright © 2025 · FHE Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}

The FHE Health team is committed to providing accurate information that adheres to the highest standards of writing. If one of our articles is marked with a ‘reviewed for accuracy and expertise’ badge, it indicates that one or more members of our team of doctors and clinicians have reviewed the article further to ensure accuracy. This is part of our ongoing commitment to ensure FHE Health is trusted as a leader in mental health and addiction care.

If there are any concerns about content we have published, please reach out to us at marketing@fhehealth.com.

833-596-3502

Text/Call Me