Numerous treatment methods are constantly being discovered and developed to help start alcohol and drug abusers down the path of sobriety. There are many different methods available to help addicts who need help or to help addicts who want help. Our system is diverting from a punishing approach to a treatment approach. This paper will examine the most popular inpatient and outpatient options available throughout the nation.
The types of addicts who normally file into these types of settings will be exam e, and The Way of Life. May I do your will always (Alcoholics). These prayers are recited by the addict and must be experienced as well as nurtured to successfully break your addiction and never go back once you have completed the twelve step program. Controlled drinking is the concept that individuals that have been drinking pathologically can be taught to drink in a controlled, nonpathological manner.
Controlled drinking has mixed reviews, while some alcoholics that have taken this approach say it is very effective some say that if this method does infact then that person was not an alcoholic from the start. Abstinence from an abused substance should be the long term goal for the users in the eyes of many. Therapeutic communities were established in 1958 by Charles Dederick, the purpose of these communities is to live in a supportive, family atmosphere amongst other addicts.
The addicts attend seminars that they are put in charge of by being assigned responsibilities needed to keep the seminar moving along smoothly. The seminars are psychologically no holes barred, they take away the patients defense mechanism of denial so they can take steps forward towards solving the problem. The staffs of therapeutic communities mainly consist of former addicts and abusers, they know what the addicts are going through and can knowledgeably help them through the struggle. There is a high success rate for patients who do not stick with the program.
Chemical decency residential programs are a combination of hospitalization and a therapeutic community. The programs are usually three to eight weeks in length and they are counseled by recovering alcoholics with little formal training. These private- pay programs are the most common form of residential treatment although they are now reduced in number. Medical assisted treatment is not nearly as popular as residential treatment, but it is beginning to play a more important role in outpatient recovery.
When using medication to aid recovery there are three basic approaches to take: antagonism, substitution, or the use of a drug that is medically incompatible. Antagonism requires total a blockage of the abused drug, while substitution allows the use of another drug to reduce the craving for the abused drug. Giving an addict a drug that is medically incompatible with the abused drug will cause them to become sick any time that they use the abused drug. Crisis clinics are a form of outpatient help, they range from telephone hotlines, to emergency associated clinics, to crash pads.
Community mental health centers, hospitals, and correctional facilities are other sources of outpatient centers. There are many outpatient drug free programs; there availability to addicts makes them the most popular form of treatment. Unlike therapeutic communities the services of individual psychotherapy, group counseling, and vocational counseling are provided by professional counselors. Outpatient centers in some cases catch drug users early in their drug abuse which is a major reason why they have such a good success rate.
In an attempt to crack down on drug use and drug distribution many state governments are putting more funding into drug treatment facilities. Law enforcers throughout our nation are trying very hard to keep illegal drugs from crossing the border, and more drug labs are being discovered and seized every day. With the government, justice system, and drug treatment centers working hand in hand our society may be able to one day put drug usage in the U. S. to a minimum. Information regarding drugs and the effects and consequences of using them must also be strongly emphasized in schools.
