Drug and alcohol rehab has come to be synonymous with alcohol rehabilitation and the beginning of the process of the recovery process. Treatment for alcohol abuse, alcoholism and alcohol dependency is an educational, therapeutic process. Because alcoholism is considered a disease, drug and alcohol rehab has a medical component. The first and primary medical component of drug and alcohol rehab is what is known as detox.
Alcoholism and drug addiction are not the same. It is important to properly evaluate assess and diagnosis a person with both disorders.
A person with both alcoholism and drug addiction is often referred to as being "dually-addicted". Some terminology in this industry can be confusing. For example, dually-addicted should not be confused with the term dual diagnosis, which up until recently, meant someone who had a drug or alcohol problem and a mental health diagnosis, such as depression.
The treatment and rehabilitation process is similar for people suffering from both alcoholism and drug addiction. People who suffer from both diseases are treated with the same modalities as someone with one or the other malady. The differences between rehab and treatment for someone with both alcoholism and drug addiction would primarily be making the dually addicted person acutely aware they have both concerns and address both forms of the disease concurrently and accordingly.
Detox
One key issue to rehab for a dually-addicted person is detox. Alcohol always requires detoxification. However, some drugs require detox while others do not. Therefore, the detox protocol must be closely scrutinized and administered to insure both elements are medically addressed properly.
What is drug and alcohol rehab?
Alcoholism and drug addiction are treated in specialized drug alcohol rehab programs and mental health centers. Drug and alcohol rehab is a generic term meaning any of the possible levels of rehabilitation for alcohol abuse, alcoholism and alcohol dependence. Most often the term has come to mean staying inside a facility for some period of full time rehabilitation and therapy.
General Categories of drug and alcohol rehab
Research studies on drug treatment have typically classified treatment programs into several general types or modalities, which are described in the following text. Treatment approaches and individual programs continue to evolve, and many programs in existence today do not fit neatly into traditional drug addiction treatment classifications.
Rehab model
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.
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.
Drug treatment materials draw heavily on other tested treatment approaches. Thus, this approach includes 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.
A number of projects have demonstrated that participants treated with the Matrix model demonstrate statistically significant reductions in drug and alcohol use, improvements in psychological indicators, and reduced risky sexual behaviors associated with HIV transmission. These reports, along with evidence suggesting comparable treatment response for methamphetamine users and cocaine users and demonstrated efficacy in enhancing Naltrexone treatment of opiate addicts, provide a body of empirical support for the use of the model.
The ten key principles of successful drug and alcohol rehab
No single drug treatment is appropriate for all individuals. Matching treatment settings, interventions, and services to each individual's particular problems and needs is critical to his or her ultimate success in returning to productive functioning in the family, workplace, and society.
Effective alcohol drug treatment attends to multiple needs of the individual
To be effective, treatment must address the individual's drug use and any associated medical, psychological, social, vocational, and legal problems.
An individual's treatment plan must be assessed continually
A patient may require varying combinations of services and treatment components during the course of drug treatment and recovery. In addition to counseling or psychotherapy, a patient at times may require medication, other medical services, family therapy, parenting instruction, vocational rehabilitation, and social and legal services. It is critical that the treatment approach be appropriate to the individual's age, gender, ethnicity, and culture.
Remaining in an alcohol drug and alcohol rehab center for an adequate period of time
The appropriate duration for an individual depends on his or her problems and needs. Research indicates that for most patients, the threshold of significant improvement is reached at about 3 months in drug treatment. After this threshold is reached, additional treatment can produce further progress toward recovery. Because people often leave treatment prematurely, programs should include strategies to engage and keep patients in treatment.
Individual counseling is critical to effective drug and alcohol rehab
In therapy; patients address issues of motivation, build skills to resist drug use, replace drug-using activities with constructive and rewarding non drug-using activities, and improve problem-solving abilities. Behavioral therapy also facilitates interpersonal relationships and the individual's ability to function in the family and community.
Medications are an important element of treatment for many patients
Naltrexone is an effective medication for some opiate addicts and some patients with co-occurring alcohol dependence. For persons addicted to nicotine, a nicotine replacement product (such as patches or gum) or an oral medication (such as bupropion) can be an effective component of treatment. For patients with mental disorders, both behavioral drug treatments and medications can be critically important.
Individuals with coexisting disorders should treat both in an integrated way
Because addictive disorders and mental disorders often occur in the same individual, patients presenting for either condition should be assessed and treated for the co-occurrence of the other type of disorder.
Medical detoxification is only the first stage of drug and alcohol rehab
Medical detoxification safely manages the acute physical symptoms of withdrawal associated with stopping drug use. While detoxification alone is rarely sufficient to help addicts achieve long-term abstinence, for some individuals it is a strongly indicated precursor to effective drug treatment.
Possible drug use during drug and alcohol rehab must be monitored continuously
Lapses to drug use can occur during treatment. The objective monitoring of a patient's drug and alcohol use during treatment, such as through urinalysis or other tests, can help the patient withstand urges to use drugs. Such monitoring also can provide early evidence of drug use so that the individual's treatment plan can be adjusted. Feedback to patients who test positive for illicit drug use is an important element of monitoring.
