Existential Therapy for Addiction Recovery

Therapy plays a major role in the process of an addiction rehab program. Across the country, recovery programs combine therapeutic modalities with proven treatment for a complete care plan. The overall purpose of existential therapy is to allow clients to explore their lived experience honestly, openly and comprehensively. Through this spontaneous, collaborative process of discovery, clients are helped to gain a clearer sense of their experiences and the subjective meanings they may hold.

Drug addiction doesn’t just affect people physically. It also seriously impacts them emotionally, to the point where many develop a severe existential crisis. This serious condition can cause depression, anxiety, increased addiction dependency, and even suicidal thoughts. Thankfully, existential crises and drug addiction can be addressed with a process called existential therapy.

What Is Existential Therapy?

Existential therapy addresses your mental health concerns and your drug addiction by examining your life and your life choices, centering on several different aspects, including:

  • Personal values
  • Deepest desires and dreams
  • Mortality/death
  • Personal isolation
  • The meaning (or meaninglessness) of life
  • Personal responsibility for your life
  • Freedom of choice in sculpting the direction of your life

Existential therapy focuses on multiple very serious aspects of your life and can be an emotionally difficult and wildly probing treatment method. However, tackling these big questions can help you get a grip on your life, find out what truly matters to you, and help steer you away from an existential crisis and back to a deeper understanding of reality.

How Does Existential Therapy Work?

The key goal of existential therapy is to create “personal authenticity” in your life. Essentially, it helps you realize when you are deceiving yourself, why you are deceiving yourself, and why your life keeps falling into a rigid series of unfortunate actions. You and a therapist will discuss these difficult subjects and identify actions and beliefs which block your true nature and lead to the compulsive actions that have derailed your life. Raising your awareness of your behavior and guiding you away from them is essential to existential therapy.

How Does Existential Therapy Help With Drug Addiction?

People are creatures of habit and often allow for their minds and behaviors to be dictated by whatever feels comfortable and normal, no matter how harmful the result of said behaviors. This is true even of drug addiction: people addicted to drugs often feel more comfortable and “normal” when high. They are suffering from an existential crisis: they no longer understand reality and cling to any type of comfort they can find. Existential therapy will take the comforting behavioral blanket of addiction, tear it from your hands, and give you the freedom you need to regain control of your life.

Contact Us For Help & Free Consultation

If you need more information about this potentially life-saving therapy, please get a hold of us today. Our Oak Forest Recovery rehabilitation experts can give you a more in depth explanation and Contact us today at 1-888-597-6257 or submit the form below to begin your journey.

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Life Changing Recovery for Individuals Struggling with Addiction & Alcoholism

RJ Elizarraz

Life Changing Recovery for Individuals Struggling with Addiction & Alcoholism. Both an all male and all female facility that is absolutely dedicated to the mission of lasting sobriety with all its clients.

Our Treatment Center and New House is open, Call and schedule a tour today!!

Oak Forest New House

You have the opportunity to live your greatest life yet, don’t give up, reach for something higher, something better.


Only with a solid foundation are we able to achieve Greatness.

Fishing with the Boys

Team Work makes the Dream Work

If you or a loved is struggling, call us today – we are here to help!!
1-888-597-6257

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Oak Forest Recovery is a structured sober living for men located in Southern California

sober living home

Oak Forest came to Mad Rose for help after the brand had been launched. The company had earned a reputation for strong ethics, consistent structure and a culture of compassion. The team at Mad Rose was struck by the good work that Oak Forest was dong in the community and voted to work pro bono on the account.

The goal of the campaign was to increase awareness beyond the local area in which the facility operated. A 4 minute “culture” video was produced for the web-site, YouTube & Vimeo. Its as promoted through the social channels and distributed directly to influencers through text.

Mad Rose also produced a series of “Impact Clips” (short, hard hitting video segments) that were posted regularly on Facebook & Instagram.

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Oak Forest Recovery in Agoura Hills, meet the Founder & Owner RJ Elizarraz

RJ Elizarraz

Oak Forest Recovery

Oak Forest Recovery in Agoura Hills, meet the Founder & Owner RJ Elizarraz

Interview with RJ Elizaraz where RJ discusses his personal experiences in recovery and how they have shaped his business, and the principles that guide him as a leader.

Describe your business

What differentiates us really is the fact that Oak Forest has a really incredible structure. The structure is entirely created out of my own recovery and those recoveries that I’ve seen and admire most. We have a brotherhood here, and it’s an all male facility. Were gender specific, which I think is also very important because it creates a really cool camaraderie and that camaraderie is all being facilitated in the high structure environment that we have created here. We get guys up at 5:30 am, which is early, but what we find is that when you’re around 15 other guys going through the same struggles, waking up at the same time and meeting in the kitchen to have breakfast together with not only myself, but also Gerry and Marcos, it’s not so much of a chore to wake up anymore. It becomes like a fun summer camp, where these guys are waking up on their own and having fun in the kitchen at 5am before the sun is even out yet. Then after breakfast we go to a 7am meeting and after the meeting, we head to the gym for about an hour and a half to two hours. The gym is mandatory. Sometimes you get push-back from guys the beginning, but there is a male camaraderie that happens and its only facilitated through these structured events that happen. Getting up in the morning, going to the meeting together, going to the gym together, training together, playing basketball together and doing fun things creates a male bond where these guys are pulling each other through the fears. We put a lot of care into making sure that the clients that do come here are getting the right treatment. What also makes us unique is that we have an entire network of intensive outpatient programs, psychiatrists, doctors and therapists so we can really cater to the needs of our clients. Not only are they getting these men into a routine here and getting male camaraderie, but we are also setting them up with the right resources that allow for the best recovery.

Oak Forest Recovery

What made you decide to open this business?

My recovery journey started when I was about 20. I turned 21 in my first rehab in Utah. I went to a 45-60 day in patient treatment center and then went to a all male sober living in Salt Lake City. I connected so well with the guys there. I got into going to the gym, I got into fitness, I got into healthy eating, and healthy habits. I felt a camaraderie and brotherhood that I had never experienced before. I stayed sober fro 4 years from that and then I relapsed. Following my relapse, I started a tour of several other treatment centers and rehabs. I wanted to recreate what I found in my first sobriety but make sure to add the principles of spirituality and the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. That is what I set out to strive to do and I think we achieved that.

What has surprised you most when owning a business?

I think the biggest surprise of running and owning a business has been the deep relationships that are created with the people I work with. One of the most important things to me is that anyone that I work with or that works for me feels like family. I didn’t expect it to be to the level that I have now found in running and owning a business, but the guys that work with me, I would lay my life on the line for. I think a business is only as good as the relationships that are created in it.

What is something most people don’t know about the business?

My life is totally transparent to everyone that is here. People don’t really understand the depth of that until they live here. There is noting in my life that is secret. It has created such an incredible wellspring of trust and relationship building. These guys can track where I am 24/7. They know every move I make whether I’m here, not here, where I go, who I see. They know everything. Its cool because it allows me to expect from them, the same level of transparency that I give to them. I am leading by example.

What are your goals over the next year?

Right now we’re an all men’s house, I would love to see a women’s house open or a second men’s house open. What we’re really good at here is the high structure, family environment. I want to recreate that for women and expand my capacity for men. I always want to use our local community for resources as far as therapists, doctors and psychiatrists and I plan to continue utilizing our outreach for our expansion moving forward.

How long have you lived in the neighborhood?

I was born in Los Robles Hospital. I grew up all over the Conejo Valley, Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Agoura and Newbury Park, but mainly in Westlake Village.
I had the unique opportunity of going to Westlake High School, Oak Park High School and Newbury Park High School. I can definitely say I loved my experience at all 3 schools.

What do you love most about the neighborhood?

I started a business here because I love this area. Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, the entire Conejo Valley – it’s one of the most incredible places to raise a family and raise kids. I grew up my entire life living in Westlake. I grew up my whole life in Westlake. I was a little kid running the street in Westlake and not once did I ever feel worried or scared. I never want to leave, I want my kids to grow up here.

What do you want to see improve the most in this neighborhood?

I would love to see more things for young kids to do in the later evenings. With the recent open of Dave and Busters in our area, everyone seems to be going there and loving it. I haven’t been there yet, but it’s just nice to see something that these young people are getting excited about.

What’s the most memorable experience you’ve had working with a customer?

There was a kid who came into Oak Forest and he was 20. He celebrated his 21st birthday here. He had never had a license, he had never worked a job in his life, he never paid bills and he had never had a normal life. Today is a year and a half later. He has a license, he bought his own car, him and his family are a part of my family now, his family fully trusts him. He also has a full time job working in treatment and getting paid about 20/hour and fully supports himself in only a year and a half. He is someone that will be part of my life forever and these are the experiences that are priceless.

Anything exciting going on that customers should know about?

Oak Forest is continuing to grow. We are looking for another house and are hopefully going to expand our capacity and offer services like this for women in the future.
I also started a media company called Mad Rose media which is a full production business. We do video production and high end content creation for corporate business needs.