Dual Diagnosis Drug Treatment

Drug Treatment

Drug treatment is a term used to describe the process by which an individual gains the understanding and tools to rebuild their lives and learn to live a normal, drug and alcohol free life. Often drug treatment is not only the process of going through a rehab, but also a life-long process to abstain from drug use. Drug treatment consists of many different phases. First and usually most physically demanding, is the detox phase. It is in this phase of the rehab process that the toxins resulting from the drug abuse are removed from the body. Depending on the seriousness of the drug addiction and the drugs used, this process can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks. Complete drug treatment cannot begin until the body has become independent of the drug’s harmful and addictive toxins. Secondly, drug rehab moves on to the educational and skills-building phase. In this phase, the addict meets with counselors and undergoes group and individual therapy to understand the powerful illness of addiction and the most effective ways for that individual to overcome his or her disease. The length of this process depends on the individual and severity of the drug addiction. Often, for more serious addictions, long term drug rehab is recommended, lasting a period of 2 to 3 months. The third and longest phase of drug rehabilitation is after rehab has been completed. It is in this phase that an addict must take the skills learned at the drug rehab and apply them to the real world in order to maintain sobriety. This process will not end for the rest of the addict’s life and it is here that many addicts experience relapse, forcing them back into the rehab process, starting at the beginning with the often painful and dangerous detox phase.

With the continuing rise in numbers of people addicted to illegal, prescription, and over the counter drugs and alcohol, drug rehabilitation centers have played a central role in helping millions recover from the often life threatening disease of addiction. Since so many different kinds of people suffer from drug addiction, including more and more teens these days, a blanket approach to drug rehabilitation is no longer efficient in this battle. Today, drug rehabilitation comes in a variety of forms, some of which include residential, outpatient, sober living homes, support groups, and long term rehab. In the fight to regain control over their lives, addicts and alcoholics must determine what kind of addiction treatment is best for their rehabilitation to be successful. Some mild cases of drug addiction are adequately addressed by outpatient rehab programs. Here, the addict can attend therapy and counseling sessions on a group and individual basis several times a week for a few hours after work, then return home at the end of the day. Many of these programs are coupled with group meetings like Alcoholics Anonymous as well. For more serious addictions, many drug rehabilitation centers offer residential treatment programs. Here, an addict will undergo more intense therapy in a residential setting where they will live amongst certified counselors and therapists for whatever length of time is necessary. Generally, the minimum length of time spent at a residential drug rehabilitation center is 28 days, however depending on the severity of the drug addiction, some addicts may require longer stays up to and beyond 3 months. These residential treatment programs are usually coupled with support groups. For many addicts, it is recommended that they continue aftercare once the drug rehab program has been completed. In this part of the rehab process, an addict will live at a place called a sober living home. This is more like a transitional living environment where recovering addicts will live amongst one another in a substance-free environment while attending work, school, and other outside activities. This serves as a way for addicts to apply the skills they’ve learned in drug rehabilitation to the real world, while still remaining under the umbrella of support they had in rehab. Sober living can serve as a gradual, more seamless transition back into society.

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This entry was posted on Monday, September 24th, 2007 at 12:41 pm and is filed under drug rehab. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.