Drug Addiction Treatment Blog

Florida alcohol rehab and Florida drug rehab centers should offer a variety of drug treatment programs that can meet individual needs and offer sustained help. Programs may include inpatient, residential, outpatient, and/or short-stay options. While alcoholism and drug addiction progress through predictable stages, each individual’s experience has quite personal and unique characteristics. It takes a trained addiction treatment professional, either a physician or therapist specializing in addictions, to make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe the most appropriate addiction treatment program.

Not all alcohol rehab and drug rehab centers are the same—they can differ significantly in philosophies, teatment program options, credentials, staff skills and qualifications, and cost. The process of selecting the right drug rehab center or alcohol rehab can be confusing. Most of us don’t know exactly what to look for or the questions to ask that will help determine the drug rehab center that’s best designed to meet our needs.

As you research and evaluate potential drug rehab centers, ask however many questions it takes for you to address the following basic considerations—and before you make any final decisions, make sure you feel satisfied that all of your questions have been thoughtfully and thoroughly answered.
What is the Florida drug rehab program’s philosophy on addiction?

What addiction treatment programs are available?

What are the administrators’ and staffs’ credentials in the alcohol rehab?

How does the Florida drug treatment program differ from other drug rehabs?

How much will the drug treatment center cost?

What alcohol rehab services are covered by health insurance?

Do people starting the program come off alcohol and/or drugs cold turkey or does the alcohol rehab center have its own Florida alcohol detox program?

How long will it take to complete the Florida drug rehab center program?

What types of people does the Florida drug rehab center treat (e.g., ages, men and/or women, socio-economic profile)?

What is the degree of family involvement in the Florida drug rehab program?

How is the transition from the alcohol rehab program back into mainstream society structured?

What is the alcohol rehab program’s success rate?

Is the Florida drug rehab program JCAHO accredited?

What continuing care programs are offered at the alcohol rehab?

Choosing a Florida drug rehab program is choosing to begin a new and better way of life. It’s important to remember that, just as alcohol and drug addiction don’t happen overnight, neither does the process of becoming alcohol- and/or drug-free. Recovery is an ongoing process and each aspect of life that is affected by alcohol and drug use must be continuously addressed. Be careful and especially scrutinizing as you determine the Florida drug rehab program that is designed to most completely meet your needs and assist with long lasting success.
 

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Cocaine Addiction Treatment

There has been an enormous increase in the number of people seeking treatment for cocaine addiction since the 1980s. Addiction treatment programs in most areas of the country report that cocaine is the second most commonly cited drug of abuse among their clients. The majority of individuals seeking addiction treatment smoke crack, and are likely to be poly-drug users, or users of more than one substance.

There has been an enormous increase in the number of people seeking since the 1980s. in most areas of the country report that cocaine is the second most commonly cited drug of abuse among their clients. The majority of individuals seeking addiction treatment smoke crack, and are likely to be poly-drug users, or users of more than one substance.The widespread abuse of crack cocaine has stimulated extensive efforts to develop addiction treatment programs for this type of drug abuse. Cocaine abuse and cocaine addiction is a complex problem involving biological changes in the brain as well as a myriad of social, familial, and environmental factors. Therefore, treatment of cocaine addiction is complex, and must address a variety of problems. Like any good addiction treatment plan, drug rehabs need to assess the psychobiological, social, and pharmacological aspects of the patient’s drug abuse.

Through the use of sophisticated technology, scientists can actually see the dynamic changes that occur in the brain as an individual takes the drug. They can observe the different brain changes that occur as a person experiences the “rush and the high” and finally, the craving of cocaine. They can also identify parts of the brain that become active when a cocaine addict sees or hears environmental stimuli that trigger the craving for cocaine. Because these types of studies pinpoint specific brain regions, they are critical to identifying targets for developing medications and treatments to treat drug addiction.

Cocaine Addiction Treatment Program

Cocaine addiction treatment programs are located throughout the states of Florida, New Jersey, New York and Illinois. It is suggested that you take your time in choosing a cocaine addiction treatment program as there are a many cocaine drug rehabs as there are drug rehabs with different addiction treatment philosophies. Florida addiction treatment programs seem to fairly similar with regards to addiction treatment philosophies, while the drug rehabs in Florida are much more creative in drug rehab design than those in New Jersey, New York or Illinois. For more information on the drug rehab model the drug rehabs in Florida utilize, you can call the addiction treatment helpline at 1-800-511-9225.

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TEXAS DRUG REHABS

Texas drug rehab programs offer hope to men and women suffering from the devastating consequences of drug addiction and alcoholism. Deciding to seek recovery for yourself or someone you care about may be one of the most courageous and life-altering steps you’ll
ever take.
Texas alcohol rehabs and Texas drug rehab centers should offer a variety of addiction treatment programs that can meet individual needs. Addiction treatment programs in Texas may include inpatient addiction treatment, residential addiction treatment, outpatient addiction treatment, and/or short-stay options. While alcoholism and drug addiction progress through predictable stages, each individual’s experience has quite personal and unique characteristics. It takes a trained drug rehab professional, either a physician or therapist specializing in addictions, to make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe the most appropriate Texas drug rehab or Texas drug detox program.
Not all alcohol rehabs and drug rehab centers are the same - they can differ significantly in philosophies, program options, credentials, staff skills and qualifications, and cost. The process of selecting the right drug rehab center can be confusing. Most of us don’t know exactly what to look for or the questions to ask that will help determine the drug rehab center that’s best designed to meet your drug rehab needs.
As you research and evaluate potential drug rehab centers, ask however many questions it takes for you to address the following basic considerations - and before you make any final decisions, make sure you feel satisfied that all of your questions have been thoughtfully and thoroughly answered.

Questions to ask about Drug Rehabs and Drug Detox Programs:

• What is the drug rehab’s philosophy on addiction treatment and their dual diagnosis treatment?
• What drug treatment programs are available?
• What are the administrators’ and staffs’ credentials?
• How does their drug treatment program differ from other drug rehabs?

• How much will the drug rehab cost?
• What services are covered by health insurance?
• Does the drug rehab program have a drug detox program?
• How long will it take to complete the drug detox program?
• What types of people does the drug rehab treat (e.g., ages, men and/or women, socio-economic profile)?
• What is the degree of family involvement in the recovery program?
• How is the transition back into mainstream society structured?
• What is the Texas drug treatment program’s success rate?
• Is the Texas drug treatment program accredited?
• What continuing care programs does the Texas drug treatment program offer?

Choosing a Texas drug rehab center is choosing to begin a new and better way of life. It’s important to remember that, just as alcohol and drug addiction don’t happen overnight, neither does the process of becoming alcohol- and/or drug-free. Recovery is an ongoing process and each aspect of life that is affected by alcohol and drug use must be continuously addressed. Be careful and especially scrutinizing as you determine the drug rehab program that is designed to most completely meet your needs and assist with long lasting success.

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People addicted to heroin, alcohol and other drugs of abuse often fail to stay clean because they won’t go to or won’t stay in addiction treatment. Reporting in the January issue of the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, Scott Kellogg, Ph.D., and Mary Jeanne Kreek, M.D., at The Rockefeller University, and colleagues at the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) and at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, show that a drug addiction treatment approach called contingency management improves patients’ motivation to stay in addiction treatment and increases their therapeutic progress.

The new study is one of the largest ever done to examine the merits of contingency management, a positive-reinforcement drug treatment method in which patients are given rewards for constructive actions taken towards their recovery, for treating drug addiction.

“This type of behavior research will help us identify and understand what type of drug rehabs and interventions, often used in conjunction with targeted specific pharmacotherapies such as methadone for opiate addiction, are effective and how they can be translated into real life,” says Kreek, Patrick E. and Beatrice M. Haggerty Professor and head of the Laboratory on the Biology of Addictive Disease in New York.

The Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment paper tells the story of a transformation within the drug rehab system, says Kellogg, who is a clinical psychologist in Kreek’s laboratory.

“We are hoping this study, which describes the experience of using contingency management from the vantage point of each group of participants, will inspire other people to think that this is something that they might want to bring into their drug treatment program or their addiction treatment system,” he says. “To transform the field, we need to have both numbers and the stories. Together, this is a powerful mechanism for change.”

The intervention was first used in the addiction treatment field in the mid-60s with alcoholic patients. The alcohol treatment was partially based on the behaviorist B. F. Skinner’s idea of operant conditioning, which proposes that behavior is more likely to continue if it is reinforced. In the mid-70’s, Maxine Stitzer, Ph.D., from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland and a co-author of this paper, began to test the effectiveness of this theory and intervention method on patients addicted to drugs.

“There was a debate between the scientific and the traditional worlds of a drug treatment program,” says Kellogg. “At first, the traditionalists were not able to take in a behavioral perspective as they saw drug addiction as an innate disease; therefore external circumstances should not affect an addicted person’s behavior. But those ideas are changing now, and that change is part of our story.”

The National Institute of Drug Addiction (NIDA) developed the Clinical Trials Network to both test and publicize various science-based addiction treatment programs, and the contingency management program was one of the first chosen to study. At a conference sponsored by NIDA, Kellogg, who is the scientific director for the contingency management intervention in New York, met Peter Coleman and Marylee Burns, from the Office of Behavioral Health at the HHC, who are contributing authors to the paper. Their meeting produced one of the largest adoptions ever done of contingency management, which involved five drug addiction treatment programs in New York.

“The Health and Hospitals Corporation was already preparing to apply something similar to the contingency management approach,” Kellogg says. “They were thinking of giving people rewards when they reached significant addiction treatment benchmarks, such as holding a job for six months. Using the science of operant conditioning, we suggested to them that you could achieve a better outcome if you don’t simply reward the attainment of goals, but, instead, you reinforce all of the steps along the way.”

“Scott developed the concept of a modified, practical but formal contingency management intervention within a community-based drug treatment setting,” Kreek says, “and he educated people at the HHC so they could implement it.”

Contingency management is designed to reinforce small steps, especially at the beginning, like celebrating each attendance at a group meeting or each drug-free test result. Later, patients can move on to larger achievements like stable housing. Easy-to-earn material goods, such as movie passes and food vouchers, help to both initiate and maintain positive changes. The drug addiction treatment program is not thought of as a substitute for counseling or pharmacotherapy, but something that adds to the therapy.

Documentation for the study included not only collected data, but also letters from patients and videotaped interviews with staff and patients. Kellogg remembers one patient saying, “I felt like I was going down the drain with drug use, that I was going to die soon. This [intervention] got me connected, got me involved in groups and back into things. Now I’m clean and sober.”

“We did have some opposition at first from the drug rehab staff, people who come from different therapeutic traditions,” Kellogg says. “In general, we tend to punish people for doing things that are wrong, so it’s not necessarily intuitive to reinforce positive behavior when it does occur in our patients. But once the patients began to respond to the reinforcements, it changed the counselors. The counselors want the patients to get better, and when they saw the patients get better, it was really persuasive.”

“I’ve heard several patients say ‘My life has changed, I’m feeling better,’” he says. “It is so powerful to hear, so powerful to witness. I would love to see drug addiction treatment in Maryland and New York adopt this intervention.”

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