A Closer Look At Drug And Alcohol Rehabilitation ProgramsDrug and alcohol addiction occurs in all age groups, all levels of socio-economic status and group settings. Success in drug and alcohol rehabilitation greatly depends on the identification and assessment of the extent of these addictions. The more clearly these factors are presented, the higher the chance that the right, or most appropriate, course of action is taken. Drug substance abuse refers to the dependence of the patient on chemical substances to the point of an inability to exist daily without such cravings being satisfied. It is characterized as the compulsive intake and craving - or the psychological dependency on substances such as opiates, cocaine, methamphetamines and other addictive substances, despite their negative effects. As for alcohol abuse, it is identified as the strong craving and dependency on alcohol resulting in a drinking pattern that affects ones judgment and actions, ones work and family and other social relationships. The methods determined for drug and alcohol rehabilitation therapy are based on factors such as:
Other factors such as the social and financial needs of the patient are also established to help assure the success of the recovery. Treatments for these addictions are varied depending on the approach taken by an institution. Some treat the addiction as a medical condition and some treat it as a social condition based on social choice. Whichever the approach, the rehabilitation process more or less takes on a similar pattern for both drug and alcohol addiction. Drug addiction treatments first of all focus on letting the patient realize that he is indeed suffering from substance abuse. This phase is usually done through the use of the 12 step recovery program. The drug and alcohol rehabilitation program focus on the following goals:
The program is then followed by a network of social support (such as counseling for drug rehab) that will give the patient the necessary skills or life training to help him cope and resist relapse. This is usually achieved through non-drug residential alcoholism and drug abuse rehabilitation centers. A patient can also avail of outpatient treatment options. These institutions provide individual and group therapies to enable former drug and alcohol abusers to maintain abstinence. Participation in support groups, educational seminars and physical activity therapies are essential parts of most treatment methods which is why they are recommended. These activities encourage the maintenance of abstinence and therefore facilitate complete detoxification among patients. Detoxification however can be a very painful phase which is why many approaches have been developed to make it easier for patients to survive withdrawal symptoms. There are psychiatric treatments, psychological counseling and drug treatments for this. Drug treatments are medically based techniques to reduce or counter actual cravings among drug and alcohol addicts. For drug addiction, the medication Ibogaine has been proposed, to disrupt both the physical dependence and psychological craving for a wide range of drugs, legal or illegal. As for psychiatric and psychological treatments, the focus is on behavioral changes that can motivate the patient to change his or her life and develop a sense of control over feelings and behaviors. Aside from counseling, it has been noted that those suffering from substance abuse also have chemical imbalances that need to be corrected for faster recovery. Thus, biochemical restoration (through improved diet and nutritional supplements) has been added to most drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs. |