Drug addiction is a complex disorder that affects nearly every aspect of an individual’s life, including their family, work, school, relationships and community. Because of this, drug addiction treatment must involve a variety of treatment methods in order to support the recovery process. From group support meetings, to residential treatment, to dual diagnosis treatment, there are a variety of options for drug addiction recovery.
Detoxification and Medically Managed Withdrawal
Detoxification is usually the first step in drug addiction treatment. During detox, the body clears itself of drugs and undergoes a period of withdrawal that produces uncomfortable and sometimes even fatal side effects. Depending on the type of drug the individual is detoxing from, medications are available to help ease these withdrawal symptoms. Detox alone is not an effective form of treatment because it doesn’t address the psychological, social and behavioral problems associated with addiction. Detox simply manages the acute and potentially dangerous physiological effects of stopping drug use.
Residential Treatment
Residential treatment provides 24-hour care that’s highly structured and focuses on developing personal accountability, responsibility and socially productive lives. Treatment confronts the individual’s problems head on with activities designed to help them examine their damaging beliefs, self-concepts and destructive patterns of behavior and adopt new more constructive ways to interact with others. Residential treatment is often based on the 12-step approach and can be modified to treat individuals with special needs, such as teens, women, individuals in the criminal justice system, and people with severe mental disorders. Short-term residential treatment can last anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks, and long-term residential treatment anywhere from 6 to 12 months.
Behavioral Treatment
Behavioral treatments help patients modify their attitudes and behaviors related to drug abuse and increase healthy life skills. There is a wide range of behavioral treatment options, including:
* Cognitive-behavioral therapy, which helps the patient recognize, avoid and cope with the situations that usually cause them to abuse drugs.
* Multidimensional family therapy, which helps teens with drug abuse problems and their families to address the influences on their drug abuse patterns and improve overall family functioning.
Individualized Drug Counseling
In addition to focusing on stopping drug or alcohol use, individualized drug counseling also addresses areas such as employment status, illegal activity, family/social relationships, and the patient’s recovery program. Individualized counseling helps the patient develop coping strategies and tools to maintain sobriety. The addiction counselor encourages 12-step participation at least once or twice a week and makes referrals for supplemental services such as medical, psychiatric and employment, if needed.
Group Counseling
Group therapy allows individuals to share their experiences in a group setting of their peers and receive education and support from a trained guidance counselor. Research shows that recovery is more successful when group therapy is offered in conjunction with individualized drug counseling and behavioral therapy.
Dual Diagnosis Treatment
Having a dual diagnosis of alcohol or drug addiction together with a mood or personality disorder such as depression, anxiety or bi-polar disorder requires great care and special attention during the addiction recovery process. Ignoring one during treatment often results in the other flaring up and exacerbating the situation. Traditional treatments like antidepressants, mood stabilizers and other medications are still preferred by many patients and their doctors, but alternative holistic dual diagnosis treatments are gaining popularity over strictly pharmaceutical methods.
Drug Addiction Recovery at Casa Palmera
Casa Palmera offers a wide variety of drug addiction recovery options to meet just about every individual’s specific needs. Call us today and ask how we can tailor an addiction treatment program to help you fully heal from your addiction.
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