Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Sessions
Ocean Recovery Centre offers residential addiction treatment, and as part of our inpatient programme, you may gain access to heart rate variability (HRV) therapy.
Heart rate variability is the variation in the time between heartbeats. This can change depending on how you are feeling or the situation you are in, so in HRV sessions you can practice controlled breathing and physiological feedback to become more aware of your responses and learn to regulate them.
HRV therapy is not a standalone treatment and should be used alongside therapy, detox (where needed), and other evidence-based treatment options.
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- What Is Heart Rate Variability?
- What Is HRV Biofeedback?
- Why We Use HRV Sessions in Addiction Treatment
- How Can HRV Sessions Help with Stress Regulation?
- What to Expect from an HRV Session at Ocean Recovery
- Our Rehab Facilities
- Images of Our Facilities
- Facilities at Ocean Recovery
- Give Us A Call
- Addiction Rehabilitation at Ocean Recovery Centre
- Meet the team
- Who May Benefit from HRV Sessions?
- Start Addiction Treatment with HRV Support at Ocean Recovery
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What Is Heart Rate Variability?
Your heartbeat feels like a consistent operation, beating in time at the same speed. Actually, heart does not beat at perfectly identical intervals and there are small variations between each beat.
Whilst you may think that HRV reflects the health of your heart, it tells us more about your autonomic nervous system, which is involved in the stress and relaxation responses. So, your HRV can change in response to breathing, activity, stress and recovery.
HRV reflects how your body adapts. If you can get more control over stress responses in your body, calming your heart rate and breathing, you can achieve better balance in your body.
What Is HRV Biofeedback?
Heart rate variability biofeedback is a technique that helps you see how your body is responding to stress and manage it better.
Physiological information, like your heart rate, is monitored. You then use controlled or paced breathing and can see how your heart is responding whilst you do this. This rhythmic breathing and other techniques can be used as you practise regulating arousal and stress, and seeing with live readings what is helping with your HRV.
Research has found that HRV biofeedback may help with supporting autonomic regulation and that this could be useful in addiction treatment.
Why We Use HRV Sessions in Addiction Treatment
HRV sessions have become a treatment option in private drug and alcohol rehab because there is evidence that they are helpful. Early studies have suggested that HRV sessions may have an effect on reducing cravings when used alongside other more established addiction treatment options.
It is believed to work because stress can often be a factor in bringing on cravings and be a significant relapse risk. If you learn how to better cope with physiological responses to stress and strong emotions, you become better at managing it and riding out hard moments during recovery.
How Can HRV Sessions Help with Stress Regulation?
HRV at first bring awareness. Awareness of how stress is physically affecting you. With this awareness, you can then move on to practising techniques like controlled breathing and seeing how that affects your body after you begin to feel stressed.
HRV sessions are not only about coping in moments of stress but learning how to calm yourself afterwards and returning to a balanced state. These can be used in practical situations after rehab, helping you deal with moments of stress, waiting out times when you feel like you’re going to relapse, overcoming them and moving on after you calm down.
You’ll feel more confident facing these moments if you have techniques you know work when experiencing stress or cravings. Take away the power that stress could have on you and hopefully remove a force that used to drive you to drink or use drugs.
What to Expect from an HRV Session at Ocean Recovery
Typically, in HRV sessions, you’ll first learn about heart rate variability, how it relates to stress and that learning to regulate your responses can support your recovery and overall wellbeing.
During sessions, your physiological responses will be monitored so you can see the patterns emerging. In response to these, you’ll work on guided breathing or other regulation exercises to see how they can change your body’s reaction to stress and other emotions.
Getting feedback is important too, helping you to understand your physiological responses and identify exercises that are helping. Between sessions, you may be asked to practice techniques so you can get better at applying them to daily life after you leave rehab.
Our Rehab Facilities
We’re extremely proud of our state-of-the-art recovery facilities. They provides a space for residents to have the most relaxing stay possible while still receiving the support they need.
Ocean Recovery Facilities include:
CQC Registered
FREE Transportation Included
Medically Assisted Detoxification
Comfortable Communal Lounge
Beautiful Modern Dining Lounge
External Courtyard and Outside Seating Area
12 Months FREE Aftercare
Regular Contact with Loved Ones Encouraged
Double or Single Bedrooms
Rooms with Ensuite Bathrooms
Lounge Areas with Sky TV and a Piano
Nutritious Dining Facilities and an Outdoor Courtyard
Images of Our Facilities
Give Us A Call
Speak to an advisor today to find out more about the rehabilitation programmes we offer at our drug and alcohol rehab centre
Addiction Rehabilitation at Ocean Recovery Centre
At Ocean Recovery, HRV sessions form part of a comprehensive programme. By using a combination of therapeutic approaches, you can address your addiction and recovery from multiple angles, rather than letting one therapy dominate.
Recovery is multi-faceted, and the range of treatments we offer reflects that.
Besides HRV sessions, you may take part in:
- Psychoeducation
- Education on the neurobiology of addiction
- Trauma-informed care
The bulk of your time in rehab will be spent in psychological therapy sessions. Whilst heart rate variability focuses on stress regulation from a physiological standpoint, in typical talking therapies you concentrate on thoughts, emotions, and behaviour that cause these bodily responses.
HRV therapy can help you become more aware of your body in the moment and how it is reacting, which complements well with CBT and trauma work. If you gain more control over how you respond to difficult moments, you’ll decrease the risk of returning to unhealthy coping methods like drinking or taking drugs.
Approaches you may participate in with HRV sessions include:
Meet the team
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John Gillen
DirectorEuropean Pioneer of NAD+ Therapy John has travelled extensively around…
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John Gillen
European Pioneer of NAD+ Therapy
John has travelled extensively around the world, culminating in 19 years’ experience looking at different models. He is the European pioneer of NAD+ (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide) treatment to Europe in 2010; and recently back from the USA bringing state of the art Virtual Reality Relapse Prevention and stress reduction therapy. His passion extends to other metabolic disturbances and neurodegenerative diseases. The journey continues. In recent times, John has travelled to Russia to study and research into a new therapy photobiomudulation or systemic laser therapy working with NAD+ scientists and the very best of the medical professionals in the UK and the USA, together with Nadcell, Bionad Hospitals own select Doctors, nurses, dieticians and therapists. Johns’ passion continues to endeavour to bring to the UK and Europe new developments with NAD+ Therapy in preventive and restorative medicine and Wellness. In 2017 John Gillen was made a visiting Professor at the John Naisbitt university in Belgrade Serbia. -
Madissar Iqbal
Operations ManagerMadissar has a wealth of experience in a managerial position…
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Madissar Iqbal
Madissar has a wealth of experience in a managerial position within substance misuse for over 20 years, working with offending behaviour and criminal justice. Madissar began his career as a prison officer in 2000 and progressed further in the substance misuse field within the prison settings delivering various short duration programmes and linking prisoners to community-based treatment providers before their release. In 2006 Madissar successfully managed to set up the Drug Intervention Programme within Bedfordshire. This later transpired to successfully securing a service manager role and developing the Drug Rehabilitation Requirement Order. Madissar successfully secured various managerial positions within the substance misuse field with joint partnership working with Integrated Offender Management and police in reducing drug-related offending behaviour. Madissar gained extensive experience and expertise working for several organisations, such as Adapt, Rapt, Addaction, Westminster Drug Project, Hertfordshire Couty Council, NHS and Next Step Support. Madissar holds a diploma in level 5 Leadership and Management and has extensive experience in the senior managerial role. Madissar passion lies in supporting services to achieve their goals and objectives. In the last two years, Madissar progressed further in mental health as a senior managerial role, overseeing residential rehabilitation and supporting living accommodations with adults (18+) with a range of diverse complex needs.
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Phil Grimes
Recovery WorkerPhil is an experienced and dedicated recovery worker; he has…
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Phil Grimes
Phil is an experienced and dedicated recovery worker; he has been at Ocean Recovery since 2016. He is passionate about helping others transform their lives, having spent 25 years in addiction himself. He has been clean and living his best life since 2008. He is an experienced group facilitator and qualified life coach who uses CBT, NLP and ACT mindfulness relapse prevention techniques, all of which he is qualified in. He has a wealth of experience, having worked with young offenders, homeless, prolific offenders, and complex mental health needs. Phil thrives in the recovery environment and is a passionate, forward-thinking and realistic member of the team.
Who May Benefit from HRV Sessions?
Not everyone is suited to HRV as part of addiction treatment, but it can be helpful for some. Those who may benefit from HRV sessions include people:
- Who experience high stress
- Notice physical signs of anxiety or tension
- Find that cravings intensify under stress
- Would benefit from additional practical stress regulation strategies
- Want greater awareness of their body’s stress response
Whether we think you need heart rate variability therapy will depend on the assessment you do before treatment begins. Based on this, we’ll figure out your personalised care plan that may include HRV sessions if we think it’ll help you.
Start Addiction Treatment with HRV Support at Ocean Recovery
At Ocean Recovery, we provide treatment suited to the individual that will benefit their recovery goals and needs. If appropriate, heart rate variability therapy (HRV) may be a part of your personalised treatment programme, helping you with stress regulation alongside other talking therapies.
Start your recovery journey today and contact Ocean Recovery to begin the admissions process with a confidential assessment. Call us on 01253847553 today.
John Gillen
- Author
- Last updated: October 20, 2026
John is one UK’s leading professionals in the addiction recovery industry. Pioneering new treatment techniques such as NAD+ and ongoing research into new therapy techniques such as systematic laser therapy, John is committed to providing the very best treatment for people throughout the UK and Europe. During his extremely busy schedule, John likes to regularly update our blog section with the latest news and trends in the industry to keep visitors to our site as well informed as possible on everything related to addiction treatment.
