Drug abuse treatment is an form or level of rehabilitation program for drug addiction.
There are several types of drug abuse treatment programs.
Short-term methods last less than 30 days and include residential treatment, medication treatment and outpatient treatment.
Longer term treatment may include methadone maintenance, outpatient treatment, residential therapeutic communities, halfway houses, outdoor wilderness programs.
Drug abuse treatment materials include elements pertaining to the areas of relapse prevention, family and group therapies, drug education, and self-help participation. Detailed treatment manuals contain work sheets for individual sessions; other components include family educational groups, early recovery skills groups, relapse prevention groups, conjoint sessions, urine tests, 12-step programs, relapse analysis, and social support groups.
Patients learn about issues critical to addiction and relapse, receive direction and support from a trained therapist, become familiar with self-help programs, and are monitored for drug use by urine testing. The program includes education for family members affected by the addiction.
Through treatment tailored to individual needs, patients can learn to control their condition and live normal, productive lives. Like people with diabetes or heart disease, people in active recovery from drug addiction learn behavioral changes and often take medications as part of their treatment regimen. Behavioral treatment can include counseling, psychotherapy, support groups, or family therapy.
The therapist functions simultaneously as teacher and coach, fostering a positive, encouraging relationship with the patient and using that relationship to reinforce positive behavior change. The interaction between the therapist and the patient is realistic and direct but not confrontational or parental. Therapists are trained to conduct treatment sessions in a way that promotes the patient's self-esteem, dignity, and self-worth. A positive relationship between patient and therapist is a critical element for patient retention.
The ultimate goal of all treatment for drug abuse is to enable the patient to achieve lasting abstinence, but the immediate goals are to reduce drug use, improve the patient's ability to function, and minimize the medical and social complications of drug abuse.
Drug abuse treatment medications offer help in suppressing the withdrawal syndrome and drug craving and in blocking the effects of drugs.
Over the last 25 years, studies have shown that drug abuse treatment works to reduce drug abuse and crimes committed by drug abusers. Researchers also have found that drug abusers who have been through treatment are more likely to have jobs.
Patients, who go through medically assisted withdrawal to minimize discomfort but do not receive any further treatment, perform about the same in terms of their drug abuse as those who were never received treatment. In general, the more drug abuse treatment the better are the results. Patients who stay in addiction treatment longer than 3 months usually have better outcomes than those who stay less time.
