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For those who check into these programs, disorders related to alcohol account for over 23% of the total admissions. Heroin and marijuana, on the other hand, are the two most common types of drug addictions for which people seek help - currently accounting for about 14% and 17% of admissions respectively.
Addicts looking to clean themselves from alcohol and drugs need to make a conscious and informed decision about the type of rehab recovery program to sign up for. An early step or vital prerequisite for most of these programs involves detox.
Detoxification usually takes place on an outpatient or an inpatient basis, based on several factors unique to the addict (including the severity and length of the addiction, for example).
Professional detoxification, however, may be an onsite program through which the patient will live in a facility while cleaning up with the help of experienced and licensed supervisors. In many cases, the detox programs feed directly into long term residential or inpatient rehab, which also serves to deal with the underlying reasons behind the addiction. By undergoing these programs, therefore, you are more likely to deal with all problems you are going through so that you do not relapse when you get discharged.
However, if your needs for detox and substance abuse disorders are relatively less severe, you may choose to undergo a structured outpatient rehab recovery program to safely allow yourself to get clean while still attending to your usual schedules and living at home.
That said, every person's needs for treatment are unique. In most cases, the options available to you will depend on several factors - including any existing mental health issues, previous attempts at rehab and detox, and presence of polysubstance abuse.
To get started, you should consult with a trained treatment professional so that they help you pick the right kind of rehab recovery center. Read on to learn more about these programs, what they involve, how they work, and more:
If you have a problem with drugs and alcohol, there are many ways to get help. This is important because every addict has different needs and requirements with regards to getting treatment for substance use disorders.
The care you will receive will mostly depend on where you fall, the issues you are going through, among other factors. Addiction is the more serious end of a long cycle that also includes repeated use and abuse, tolerance, and dependency. At this point, your body would have learned how to be dependent on the drug of choice. When it is taken away, therefore, you may have a hard time dealing with the physical effects that arise from its absence. This is where detox is required.
So, what exactly is detox? What does it involve? Why do you need to undergo it? Essentially, detox can't be classified as a treatment. Rather, it is the first step you need to take in the journey to getting better and attaining complete sobriety.
It happens when you stop taking drugs and alcohol, and these chemicals are purged from your body, leading you to experience a variety of withdrawal symptoms. If you have been abusing drugs and alcohol heavily and for a relatively long period, you should start detoxing a couple of hours after your last intake of the substances you have been abusing.
For some, these withdrawal symptoms might be mild while they are more severe for others. Examples of such symptoms include but are not limited to:
At the start of most rehab recovery programs, you will undergo the detox period. This is irrespective of whether you get the treatment services from a standalone professional detoxification center, a residential or an inpatient rehabilitation facility, or as part of a more formalized outpatient substance addiction recovery program.
The detoxification services would be tailored to provide you with comfort and safety over the course of your acute substance and alcohol withdrawal. This is because the management of withdrawal from the substances you have been abusing is a crucial component in a more comprehensive treatment program.
In many cases, withdrawal tends to be unpleasant and dangerous. Due to these challenges, it is vital that you successfully withdraw - which may only be possible if you get help.
Inpatient detox, for instance, may provide you with a sober escape from the temptations and challenges that might arise during your acute substance withdrawal. Managing these withdrawal symptoms is a crucial part of treatment because withdrawal tends to be unpleasant.
For instance, the withdrawal symptoms you would experience if you were addicted to opioids might include:
Although these symptoms are unpleasant and uncomfortable, they may not be dangerous. However, it might be difficult to endure withdrawal symptoms unless they are properly managed, which is why most people end up relapsing as a relief from these symptoms.
That said, different drugs affect the mind and body differently. As such, you need proper support and supervision during withdrawal - particularly if your addiction is severe, or if you have a long history of substance abuse and addiction, underlying medical conditions, and polysubstance abuse.
Most of the drug rehab recovery programs you will come across offer a variety of FDA-approved drugs and medications - which are useful for treating opioid and alcohol dependencies.
As a precursor to ongoing behavioral therapy and other interventions, MAT (medication assisted treatment) may help you taper off from the misuse of prescription, illicit, and over the counter drugs.
However, addiction to other drugs like cocaine cannot be solved through MAT. Still, you can use drugs to treat such common withdrawal symptoms as insomnia and headaches.
Prescription painkiller and heroin dependencies, on the other hand, can be treated by maintenance and stabilizing doses of such medications as methadone and Suboxone. These drugs are effective at minimizing severe physical withdrawal - thereby allowing the addict to gradually and eventually taper off their substance use disorder in a safe and manageable way.
Finding the right detox center is crucial to the overall success of your rehab recovery. To this end, you need to check for some factors before picking one. These factors include but are not limited to:
a) Types of Addiction Treated
Start by asking the detox center about the types of addictions they treat. Depending on the center, the treatment may be designed to address a variety of substance use disorders, including those involving synthetic cannabinoids (K2), inhalants, tranquilizers or sedatives, ketamine, MDMA (ecstasy), GHB, amphetamine, cocaine, alcohol, opioids or opiates, and other drugs.
Initially, the detox process for every one of these substances will vary. As such, treatment ought to be tailored depending on the specific type of drug/alcohol you are addicted to. Therefore, if the detox program informs you that they can treat a particular disorder, you should ask more about the methods they use for detox and discern whether they are safe and proven.
b) Accreditation
Next up, you should check whether the facility is accredited. Every state runs its own accreditation body that works to ensure that the treatments provided at detox facilities are effective, the staff members are qualified, and the center is overseen by the accreditation agency.
Check the SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) website for more information about this oversight and accreditation. This is a vital component because there are tons of unaccredited detoxification programs out there that might end up causing severe harm because they hardly ever adhere to the set ethical standards of supervision and care.
c) Staff Qualifications
The detox facility you check into should provide medical supervision. Therefore, there should be a medical doctor on call around the clock or working as a resident in the center.
The other staff members at a detox facility should include credentialed and licensed substance abuse counselors, mental health counselors, social workers, psychologists, and nurses.
The team of highly qualified members of staff would ideally have undergone appropriate training in the treatment of medical issues and substance abuse. This way, the facility will be able to provide you with the best possible care as you detox your body from the drugs and alcohol you have been abusing.
d) Patient-to-Staff Ratio
This ratio is designed to measure the number of staff members available to the resident patients. If the facility has a low ratio, it follows that there would be more counselors and doctors to work with the addicts - this would allow the center to provide highly individualized treatment.
The patient to staff ratio allowed varies from one state to the other. Check the SAMHSA website for more information about the regulations affecting the state where you would like to go for detox.
e) Individualized Treatment Plans
You should also check the facility to see if they typically develop individualized treatment plans for every patient. As is the case with most rehab recovery programs, detox can only be effective when it is specifically tailored to the patient's individual needs.
As you shop around for a detox facility, therefore, be sure that you will receive individualized treatment as opposed to being treated through the one size fits all approach.
Individualized treatment will ensure that you receive the right kind of assistance to address all your needs and requirements, over and beyond your addiction. These may include legal, educational, housing, psychological, social, and medical issues.
f) Medication-Assisted Detox
It would also be in your best interest to check if medication-assisted detoxification is available at the facility. Withdrawal from benzodiazepines and alcohol, in particular, may be dangerous if it is done in an unsupervised setting. On the other hand, withdrawing from opioids may prove to be the most painful experience you have ever had to undergo.
Luckily, it is possible to get a detox facility that provides medication-assisted treatment. Finding such a center will ensure that you have a source of respite to ease your withdrawal symptoms. This may help you continue undergoing rehab recovery and enjoy the best possible outcome.
In case you are also diagnosed with a psychological problem as well, you need to ask whether the facility provides dual diagnosis treatment and detox. This would include the management and prescription of appropriate medications.
g) Aftercare Plans
Last but not least, check whether the facility provides aftercare plans. Continued treatment is crucial to the maintained of sobriety. Although detoxification may start you on the road to full recovery, it is essential that you follow it up with formal treatment in an outpatient or inpatient setting.
Aftercare plans are designed to prevent relapse. By developing one for you, the detox facility you check into may help you stay sober and clean. The best outcome for sobriety may require a minimum of 2 to 3 months of outpatient or inpatient rehabilitation.
The rehabilitation process for drug and alcohol addiction differs based on the specific addiction that requires treatment. However, the basics of treatment for all types of dependency and substance use disorders are more or less the same. As such, they may consist of:
Before you begin treatment, it is essential that you stop abusing your substance of choice. If the substance causes dependence or physical addiction, you may experience withdrawal symptoms if you discontinue the drug/alcohol immediately.
As such, the first step in rehab recovery may consist of medical support or detox to minimize these withdrawal symptoms and their severity. This support may be administered at an inpatient facility or on an outpatient basis.
It would also consist of the monitored use of less harmful and less addictive drugs that mimic the effects of the substances you used to abuse. The process will help you desist from continued drug use and alleviate the discomfort caused by withdrawal symptoms.
The treatment may also be effective because it would allow you to begin intensive counseling therapy after you free your body from the physical and psychological effects of addiction.
1. Counseling Therapy
This type of therapy is designed to help you understand ways to deal with the triggers that specifically lead you to abuse alcohol and drugs. The counselors will start by helping you identify these triggers.
After that, you will be taught new strategies to cope with your substance use disorder based on BMT (behavioral modification therapy). If you had previously convinced yourself that you wouldn't be able to cope with social and personal pressures without turning to drugs and alcohol, you will learn that you can address these pressures by taking positive action instead of looking for an escape from the substances you typically abuse.
The counselors may also help you rediscover old passions or uncover new talents and interests such as art, music, outdoor activities, and sports and learn how to use them as part of your new healthy and holistic way to deal with everyday pressure and stress.
Additionally, counseling therapy may prove useful at helping you find recovery in the form of new career and work choices. This strategy is particularly effective for those patients who are dissatisfied with their current or former careers - where the dissatisfaction led to substance abuse. It also works well in those cases where substance use disorders led to forced career changes in the form of the revocation of a professional or trading license, or job dismissal.
2. Peer Support
Drug rehabilitation recovery programs may also offer you a place to regain control of your life and receive help in the process. All types of rehab facilities offer different specialized treatments.
Today, rehab experts have discovered that peer support is effective at reinforcing positive coping strategies and healthy behaviors among recovering addicts. The most common methods of peer support come in the form of self-help support groups and group therapy.
a) Group Therapy
Group therapy is designed to bring recovering addicts together to share their stories and help each other travel the same path to eventual recovery. By so doing, it allows the addicts to share their challenges and experiences with skilled counselors, who would then enlist the group experiences to help every member deal with any specific issue that arises.
b) Self-Help Peer Groups
Self-help peer groups, on the other hand, may include the 12-step program. This type of treatment is integral to most rehab recovery programs for many addicts. It allows for greater anonymity in comparison to group therapy while also allowing the participants to overcome their weaknesses and develop new strengths. The groups are also effective because participants work to guide everyone else without having to fall back on a professional facilitator.
Addiction treatment works well when it is comprehensive and has a solid foundation - including all the basics of rehab recovery. By so doing, patients receive the psychological and physical support they need in their journey to breaking the hold of addiction.
Treatment for addiction and substance use disorders requires a multifaceted approach. As such, different rehab recovery programs provide a wide variety of services to deal with the peculiarities of every case they come across.
Some of the services and assessments provided by most rehab recovery programs include but are not limited to:
a) Substance Abuse Screening Inventories
b) Psychological Assessments
c) Psychiatric Evaluation and Behavioral Observation
d) Intervention
Where required, most rehab recovery programs provide intervention services. Intervention is designed to help addicts make the difficult decision to seek treatment sooner rather than later. Once in treatment, the facility you choose may provide the compassionate encouragement you need - particularly in the difficult early stages of the journey to recovery.
Studies show that staying longer in rehab may be more successful and come with more benefits than shorter treatments. As such, most rehab recovery programs go over and beyond fighting the physical addiction that substance use disorder cases.
In many cases, addiction may affect many aspects of your life. All these areas need addressing during treatment. While it might be necessary to deal with and eliminate the substance of preference from the body (through detox), it is quite necessary to deal with the psychological aspects of addiction.
That said, the duration of treatment will vary from one form of addiction to the next. However, studies show that longer stays in rehabilitation may prove to be more successful and beneficial in comparison to short term treatments. This is according to NIDA (the National Institute on Drug Abuse).
In particular, programs lasting longer than 90 days are beneficial because addicts often need more time to cleanse and purge their bodies of the substances they are addicted to.
As a direct result, most rehab recovery programs will require that you undergo detoxification as a first step and a precursor to comprehensive treatment. Through detox, the program will get rid of the drugs and alcohol from your body. However, you need to stick to treatment longer to address all the issues underlying your addiction.
Although the detox methods and modes vary from one center to the next, it does not alter the fact that you need more time to do it professionally. This is particularly so if you are looking for relief from substances that may come with life-threatening or otherwise fatal withdrawal symptoms - including but not limited to benzodiazepines and alcohol.
By staying longer in the rehab program, you will allow yourself the time required to properly stop abusing drugs and other substances, learn more about how recovery works, and give your body enough time to get used to a life withdrawal these addictive substances.
Staying longer in rehab may also allow you to work on the main causes of your addiction. You need to understand why you use substances, and you can only get such understanding if you take enough time to deal with your addiction.
There are tons of recovery centers purporting to treat addiction. However, you may have a difficult time choosing the right center while also struggling with the issues of drug and alcohol dependence.
For the best possible outcomes, it is essential that you find a program that matches your needs. Take your time and ask someone to help you make the right choice. This might be a close friend, family member, or a professional.
Consider the following:
a) The Type of Drug Addiction
There are different addictive substances. Whereas some people drink too much alcohol, others are dependent on prescription medications. Similarly, there are different types of rehab recovery programs - with some dedicated to dealing with and treatment particular kinds of addictions.
Irrespective of the important considerations you have to make on your path to recovery and sobriety, it is vital that you find a center that deals with the kind of substance you are addicted to. This is because it is nearly impossible to solve a problem that you have not yet defined.
b) Duration of Treatment
Second, check how long the rehab recovery programs will last. Addiction recovery requires time, and you should never rush it unless you absolutely have to. As such, you may benefit from staying longer in rehab, which is why it would make sense if you could find a facility that will allow you to do this.
Although you may end up paying more if you stay longer undergoing treatment, nothing can equate to the importance of full and comprehensive treatment. By the end of the duration, you should come out purged of your addiction and ready to start a new chapter in your life.
c) Available Solutions
You should also check to see if the facility offers more than one solution. There are several identifiable and predictable stages that patients go through on the route to recovery and sobriety.
As such, rehab recovery programs often have specific guidelines in the options available for treatment. However, you need to know what will happen if you do not move through these steps at the prescribed rate.
In such situations, you need a facility that has different options related to you instead of what is thought to be common knowledge. In most cases, you have better chances of dealing with your substance use disorder if you sign up with a program that offers more than one solution and is flexible in its treatment.
d) Relapse Prevention
It might also be in your best interests to only choose a facility that actively provides relapse prevention treatments. After the rehab recovery program, you may walk out ready to start a new life only to relapse back to your old habits in a couple of hours or days.
Relapse prevention is designed to help you stay the course of sobriety long after you leave rehab. Therefore, you may want to check that the center you wish to get treated at provides mechanisms to protect its patients from relapsing back to substance abuse.
At the end of the day, the therapeutic and rehabilitation interventions provided at the facility would be the starting point on your road to long term recovery and sobriety. Detox (with or without medication) works well to control withdrawal symptoms. However, you may benefit from undergoing more intensive rehab to learn the skills that will help you avoid drugs and alcohol day after day.
Long term treatment may, therefore, prove to be the most viable option for you - particularly if your history of substance abuse is relatively extended. At rehab, you will receive the support and counseling required to help you improve your life and avoid the drugs and alcohol you were addicted to.
Regardless of the treatment approaches, amenities, and other factors, receiving treatment for alcohol and drug dependency at rehab should be followed by comprehensive aftercare support. 12 step groups, such as Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholic Anonymous may help you stay on track until you recovery fully from drug and alcohol addiction.
As with any other kind of physical or psychological condition, the earlier you start on treatment for addiction, the sooner you will find respite from your problems. In most cases, rehab recovery programs will help you on the road to sobriety - but only if you take the first step to deal with your substance use disorder.
After you are done with treatment and you go back to the normal swing of things, you may end up relapsing and going back to your old habits. To ensure this does not happen, only work rehab recovery programs that also come with an aftercare component. By so doing, you will receive follow-up care for some time after you are discharged from the treatment facility. Some of the options available may include group counseling, private therapy, and 12 step programs.
At the end of the day, no one rehab recovery program is perfect for all addicts. Therefore, you may want to research and find out as much as you can about different rehab facilities until you get to the one that best meets your needs and requirements. Where possible, work with a treatment placement specialist to make the right choice from the different rehab recovery programs available to you.
