There are several reasons why people fall victim to drug and alcohol addiction, and no one is an exception to the rule. Whether they're teenagers succumbing to the force of peer-pressure, parents taking prescribed drugs to cope with the hardship of their lives, or thousands of homeless people trapped in a world of "street drugs," drug and alcohol addiction can happen to anyone. According to a recent in-depth analysis of addiction treatment in America, more than 23 million people "aged 12 or older needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol abuse problem... " Surprisingly, a little over 11 percent of these people actually received it at a rehab facility (Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Survey on Drug Use and Health). Drug rehabilitation facilities offer clients a wide-range of different treatments, including: in-patient or residential treatment, out-patient treatment, intensive outpatient care, local support groups, recovery houses, and medical care. All forms of addiction treatments carry beneficial therapeutic values for drug and alcohol addicts.
In-Patient/Residential Treatment
When a client receives care from licensed therapists at a rehab center, he becomes a "patient" of the facility. A residential patient, or an inpatient, is someone who lives in a treatment facility for 24 hours a day, for as long as weeks or months. Living in a treatment facility allows the patient to free his mind from external problems, and focus only on recovering. Residential drug therapy is designed to help addicts understand the necessary changes they need to make in order to quit abusing drugs and lead healthy lifestyles. An inpatient will receive services such as individual therapy, group therapy, detox, art therapy, yoga, meditation, the 12-Steps, and physical exercise as part of their regimen. In the initializing process, licensed physicians and therapists conduct medical examinations, medical history evaluations and psychological evaluations in order to assess the severity of the patient's addiction. Based on this information, physicians are able to decide what medications are required and the therapists create the program that best fits the patient's treatment plan. The addiction therapy plan takes into account the patient's family health history and any mental health disorders that could be affecting the patient, the physical and mental condition of the addict, and evaluation of his or her personality traits.
Outpatient treatment is the treatment provided to those who periodically visit the treatment facility in undergoing "outpatient treatment". Patients will only receive therapy as recommended by a licensed therapist, allowing them to attend to his or her day-to-day responsibilities-such as attending to work or school. Outpatient treatment includes individual therapy, group therapy, relapse intervention, family counseling, the 12 steps, and after-care programs on "need basis". The 12 Steps program has shown to be a successful treatment method because for decades, it has helped addicts accept their drug or alcohol problem, come to admit that they're drug addicts, and find faith in God in reaching sobriety. Outpatient treatment is recommended for patients who are able to balance their daily day-to-day activities with clinical interventions and therapy sessions.
Intensive Outpatient Care:
Intensive outpatient care is a treatment program that does not require patients to participate in drug detoxification, but still requires individual therapy, group counseling, psycho-educational group therapy, self-management support, and useful methods such as the 12 Steps. It usually serves as a follow-up to residential care and detoxification services. Sessions usually range from 8 to 14 hours a week depending on what is recommended by their personal recovery specialist. Like outpatient care, the patient can still perform his daily activities, outside of their treatment facilities, and visit their counselors either in the morning or at the end of the day. The goal in intensive outpatient care is to generate relapse prevention techniques and develop stress management skills for the recovering addict.
Local Support Groups:
Local Support Groups are a form of group therapy, where patients are able to share and talk about similar experiences about their drug or alcohol addiction. Its benefit comes from addicts working with one another to cope with the emotional turmoil of drug addiction (whether it's a matter of talking about financial issues, family relationship problems, or the physical pain endured during withdrawal). The benefits of participating in local support groups are establishing sympathetic discernment from others, developing social networks, and understanding the experiences of other addicts. Ultimately, the goal of local support groups is to help the addict build a greater understanding of their addiction problem through the integration of social networking.
When a drug addict is consumed by the problems caused by drug addiction (whether it is financial, emotional or physical), they often forget what life was like before the addiction-like how to enjoy a family 'get together,' manage responsibilities with work or school, or how to lead productive lives. The proper treatment for such alienated behavior is to "re-acquaint" the addict with the reality of social living. Recovery houses solve that problem. A recovery house, or a sober house, is a treatment program that requires daily intensive individual and group counseling for residential patients and detox. Recovery houses are recommended for drug addicts who cannot manage their lives alone, and need disciplinary teachings in order to re-acquaint themselves with society's way of living. In recovery houses, with the aid of intensive individual and group counseling, drug addicts learn to take control of their urges and refrain from taking drugs and drinking alcohol. More importantly, addicts learn to re-integrate themselves with society and become productive members of the community. Most health insurances cover the cost of staying at a recovery house, so make sure to ask about it upon deciding a treatment plan.
Medical and Mental Health Care
In all drug and alcohol rehabilitation, health practitioners, licensed physicians and doctors work together to provide the best possible treatment program for every individual addict. There are times that an addict cannot recover without the aid or use of medical drugs. Pharmacotherapy means providing 'treatment for a disease through the application of prescribed medical drugs by health practitioners.' As stated earlier, upon entering treatment, a personal physician or medical examiner will evaluate the patient's medical history-checking for any striking family health problems, mental health disorders, and the physical and mental condition of the patient. This information is then assessed as to what type of treatment the patient will receive. Licensed physicians determine what kind of medication is necessary (or not) for the patient's recovery program, and soon after the detoxification begins. When a personal physician administers medical drugs to an addict, the purpose is to help lessen the pain of withdrawal symptoms and aid in relapse prevention.
There are numerous approaches to drug and alcohol rehabilitation that one can take. Psychiatrists, behavioral psychologists, and health practitioners work round-the-clock to improve the therapeutic effects of drug rehab. Indeed, every addict lives in his or her own world of problems like many non addicts. The call for treatment can save lives.
