DRUG REHABILITATION: INTERESTING FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent is to enable the patient to confront substance dependence, if present, and stop substance misuse to avoid the psychological, legal, financial, social, and physical consequences that can be caused. 6tg he greatest reason for a successful drug rehabilitation is when the patient has a desire to be there and to change his or her addictive habits.
Types of drug rehabilitation program
Various types of programs offer help in drug rehabilitation, including: residential treatment (in-patient/out-patient), local support groups, extended care centers, recovery or sober houses, addiction counselling, mental health, and medical care. Some rehab centers offer age- and gender-specific programs.
Behavioral Interventions
Behavioral interventions are undertaken in order to modify an individual’s attitudes and behaviors related to substance use as well as help them develop and increase healthy life skills. Interventions like cognitive-behavioral therapy that individual recognize, prevent and cope with situations that compel them to use substances.
Multidimensional Family Therapy
Multidimensional family therapy is a therapy that focuses on substance abuse problems and maladaptive family patterns that influence substance abuse. It also helps improve the overall well being of the family. Contingency management that uses positive reinforcement to encourage behaviors to abstain from substance use.
Individual Counseling
Drug rehab treatment centers offer frequent individual counseling to patients. These counseling sessions sometimes even take place on a daily basis. Counselors help patients discover any emotional or psychological factors that may have contributed to their addictions. It is important that these psychological factors are addressed if a patient is to make a full recovery.
Group Therapy
Substance abuse rehabilitation encourages group therapy. These group sessions encourage recovering addicts with similar addictions to learn and grow from each other’s experiences and progress. This helps individuals immensely to know that they are not alone in their recovery struggles. They also find solace in each other’s stories of addiction and recovery. This sense of support is vital to an individual’s recovery process. Groups like Narcotics Anonymous are well-known group therapy programs.
Relapse Preventive Measures
Though relapses are common, good outcomes are dependent on adequate treatment length. Medications under the supervision and prescription of mental and medical health professionals are provided to individuals to help them re-establish normal functions and lower their cravings for the substance. Along with this psychotherapy, motivation enhancement therapy and insight building are undertaken to make sure the relapse is prevented. This could also include changing leisure activities or even changing aspects of an individual’s career or everyday life. The goal is to reduce the amount of stress and triggers in the patient’s life to keep him or her from relapsing.
Medication in Drug Rehabilitation
Medications are used for 2 different reasons; to manage acute withdrawal symptoms and cravings and to maintain abstinence once withdrawal has resolved. Some treatment programs offer medical detox as a part of their services, while others require that you complete detox (a process by which individuals receive medications in order to rid their body of the harmful substances indulged during the abuse) prior to entering their program. In some instances, once medical stability achieved and the abuser is drug-free, he/she may begin a regimen of maintenance medications. Only certain addictions can be treated with medication. These include opioids, such as heroin and prescription painkillers, and alcohol.
The commonly-used medications include;
Methadone: A full opioid agonist that reduces heroin and prescription painkiller cravings and helps to promote long-term sobriety.
Suboxone: A combination medication that includes buprenorphine (a partial opioid agonist) and naloxone (an opioid antagonist). This medication also reduces cravings associated with opioids. The addition of naloxone deters abuse of buprenorphine.
Naltrexone: This medication blocks the effects of opioids in the brain, negating the rewarding and pleasurable feelings associated with opioid abuse. This helps to deter opioid use. Naltrexone can also be used to treat alcohol dependence.
Acamprosate: This medication is thought to reduce protracted or post-acute withdrawal symptoms associated with alcohol dependence, such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, or restlessness.
Disulfiram: This medication causes you to experience extremely unpleasant symptoms, such as nausea and heart palpitations, if you consume alcohol while taking the medication.
Medications are most effective if they are combined with behavioral therapy to create a whole-person, comprehensive approach to addiction treatment. This combination is referred to as medication-assisted treatment (MAT).
Recovery
The definition of recovery remains divided and subjective in drug rehabilitation, as there are no set standards for measuring recovery. The Betty Ford Institute defined recovery as achieving complete abstinence as well as personal well-being while other studies have considered “near abstinence” as a definition.
Effective treatment addresses the multiple needs of the patient rather than treating addiction alone. In addition, medically assisted drug detoxification or alcohol detoxification alone is ineffective as a treatment for addiction. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) recommends detoxification followed by both medication (where applicable) and behavioral therapy, followed by relapse prevention. According to NIDA, effective treatment must address medical and mental health services as well as follow-up options, such as community or family-based recovery support systems. Whatever the methodology, patient motivation is an important factor in treatment success.
Drug abuse rehabilitation programs are extremely helpful for individuals with drug abuse problems. From round the clock medical professionals to tailor-made treatment programs, rehabilitation provides individuals with skills and training to overcome their need for drug and substance use.
