Long Term Drug Rehab TherapyLong term drug rehab is recommended for an individual who needs substantial time to undergo a drug treatment program. It is usually done within the realms of a residential facility where the patient is provided with a 24-hour special treatment regime designed to enable him recover from drug addiction. The setting is never patterned to a hospital layout, as the program is primarily aimed at making the patient feel at home and at ease within the environment. Through inpatient drug rehab, one gets to spend substantial time away from normal life where there is unlimited access to addictive drugs. In long term rehab care, the patient is given medical and psychological guidance to full recovery. It is most preferred over shorter treatment programs because the latter lacks the value element of time which is believed to be an important factor in the process of recovery. A short-term program merely focuses on the withdrawal phase and teaches the patient ways to combat withdrawal difficulties. Such a program will lessen the effects of detoxification and teach a few lessons on how the patient can get back to the community, family and workplace. Long term drug rehab often uses a rehab therapy known as the therapeutic community (TC) model which generally employs staff and experts; it also utilizes a social context that contributes to the patients resocialization. Its goal is to assist and guide the individual into making himself accountable and responsible and productive, with the hope that in due time it will help the patient totally get rid of drug use. Besides the therapeutic community model, most long term drug rehab programs also employ the cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) which provides the patient with a counselor that assists him and helps him to critically learn from previous behaviors and turn them into more socially acceptable ones. This model follows the theory that positive thoughts would bring about positive feelings and positive behavior. It is believed that negative thoughts bring disappointment, distress, and pessimistic outlook. The counselor then handles discussions or dialogues in a manner that would result to positive thinking on the part of the patient. Studies show that the more time a person spends or devotes for drug rehabilitation, the better chances he has of recovery and lesser chances of a relapse. Scientists conclude that a patient who stays for 18 months in a residential setting or an equivalent of 14 months under a non-methadone outpatient treatment could yield the biggest percentage for drug rehab success. The study supported the claim showing how primary drug use declined after the users enrolled in an 18-month long-term rehab program. The same study also backed up the claim that a similar result was noted after treating a patient in a non-methadone patient setting for at least 14 months. The research employed about 4,005 patients who were treated for addiction to different substances like heroin, cocaine, or marijuana in 62 drug treatment centers in the United States. The said patients were interviewed during the admission, discharge, and a year after the therapy was done. The study involved long-term programs like the methadone maintenance program, short term residential, and long-term residential care. It turned out that there were no significant improvement seen in standard methadone maintenance and short-term residential programs. |