Substance Abuse and Addiction Treatment

Addiction becomes a life consuming activity. Everything that was once of importance to a person is lost due to the need to fuel the addiction. Despite the downward spiral of addiction, and beyond the loss of family, friends, financial security, and career, an addict will continue to use until the addiction is arrested through some type of intervention.

How can a Substance Abuse Program Help?

Substance Abuse Treatment

The ultimate goal of all drug and alcohol addiction treatment programs is to provide the patient with the "tools" necessary to achieve long-term abstinence. In order to achieve this goal, addiction treatment programs:

• Address your medical and psychiatric needs
• Provide nutritional and medical management counseling
• Facilitate family healing through a family program
• Work on the development of interpersonal relationships
• Improve daily living skills
• Maintain attendance at 12 step support groups
• Provide addiction education
• Develop a relapse prevention plan
• Formulate a workable aftercare plan

Alcohol and drug detox can be a challenging process, but it is not a substitute for an addiction treatment program. Research indicates that transitioning directly into a drug rehabilitation program following drug detox provides the addict with the greatest opportunity for recovery. Almost all quality addiction treatment programs will ensure that its medical drug detox program is designed to ensure your safety and prepare you for ongoing addiction treatment.

What to Expect?

Addiction treatment centers provide a variety of services for those who need help conquering their drug and alcohol addiction and addictive behaviors. The services can vary in intensity, types of therapies used, and the experience of substance abuse counselors, doctors, nurses and clinical staff. The duration of treatment can also vary depending upon psychological needs, physical needs, insurance coverage, and one's ability to self-pay.

There are different types of substance abuse programs. Each drug and alcohol addiction treatment program will vary in its treatment philosophy, services, and targeted population. Some will handle seniors, dual diagnosis, specialty programs or adolescent treatment. Some treatment programs will handle psychologically based addictions and or process addictions such as overeating, compulsive shopping or pornography addiction.

In a quality treatment facility, there will be several different components of treatment such as a medical component and an addiction component.

The medical component will include:

• 24 hour on site medical supervision
• Certified addiction medicine physicians and supporting staff
• Comprehensive psychiatric evaluations by experienced psychiatric and addiction nurses
• Medication management
• Ongoing evaluations and individualized treatment plans
• Interdisciplinary team approach
• Master level therapists with addiction expertise

The addiction component will include a range of therapies which include:

• Individual and group therapy (this can include many different treatment approaches such as CBT, REBT, EMDR, Psychotherapy, etc.)
  • Dual diagnosis treatment program
  • Family Therapy
  • Trauma groups
  • Vocational rehab groups
  • Relationship groups
• Addiction education lectures
• Life skills training
• Nutrition and exercise counseling (including alternative therapies such as yoga)
• Spiritual groups (religious tract, 12 Step meetings, meditation)
• Alternative therapies (art therapy, music therapy, journaling)
• Relapse prevention education
• Individualized aftercare planning

Levels of Care at Inpatient Drug Rehab Facilities

The average length of stay for private insurance in an inpatient drug rehab facility is approximately 15 days but some can offer treatment for up to 6 weeks. A residential treatment center that is federally funded may have a length of stay that is approximately three to six months but these subsidized treatment facilities usually have long waiting lists.

Once an addict has been stabilized medically and psychiatrically, they can move into an inpatient drug rehab facility that provides them with structure and monitoring.

• Inpatient Detoxification (detox)
  Inpatient detox may be done in a facility that only provides detox services, in a separate unit that is part of a substance abuse rehabilitation facility, or in a general medical hospital. Generally, these units are part of a medically based treatment program. Both alcohol detox programs and drug detox programs will be used as part of the evaluation for the next phase of early alcohol treatment or drug treatment. The shift from inpatient detox to inpatient residential treatment provides for a smooth transition in early recover.

• Inpatient Rehabilitation Treatment
  Inpatient substance abuse treatment programs for alcohol and drug abuse can last from several days to several weeks, depending on the needs of the patient. They are structured inpatient units with medical supervision and constant monitoring. These programs provide several types of therapies that work together with a formal individualized treatment plan for each patient. The addict who completes the inpatient treatment program can transition to a partial hospitalization program (PHP) or to an intensive outpatient program (IOP).

• Residential Rehabilitation
  Once an addict has been stabilized medically and psychiatrically, they can move into a residential treatment center that provides them with structure and monitoring. They live in supervised facilities and engage in extensive addiction treatment addressing the role that drugs and alcohol have played in their lives.

Levels of Care at Outpatient Drug Rehab Facilities

• Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) or Day Treatment Program
  Partial hospital or day addiction treatment programs meet 5-7 days per week for approximately 6-8 hours per day. PHP is not a substitute for inpatient addiction treatment. Patients who participate in PHP may live at specified sober housing or live at home.

• Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)
  For most addicts early in recovery, traditional outpatient treatment does not offer enough treatment to sufficiently help the addict or alcoholic stay clean and sober. Generally, intensive outpatient programs last from 3-7 days a week requiring attendance at group therapy and individual therapy 3 hours a day. This level of treatment is considered to be intermediate and not appropriate for moderate to severe drug and alcohol abuse.

• Traditional Outpatient Programs: The traditional approach to therapy can take two forms. If a person seeks help from a psychiatrist, treatment will usually occur once a month for approximately one hour (sometimes more, sometimes less). Or if the person seeks help from a social worker or family therapist, he or she will generally be seen once a week. In either case this form of treatment may not be comprehensive enough for those wishing to stop using drugs or alcohol.

Without getting to the underlying causes for the addiction the addict or alcoholic runs a greater risk of relapse. A comprehensive addiction treatment program can provide the new recovering addict or alcoholic with the tools, the knowledge and the courage to stay abstinent and learn to live one day at a time clean and sober.

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