The Most Successful Treatment Program for Alcohol Abuse and Drug Abuse?
Question by Sheerah: the most successful treatment program for alcohol abuse and drug abuse?
Best answer:
Answer by Sarah
Rehab or therapy
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
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4 Responses to The Most Successful Treatment Program for Alcohol Abuse and Drug Abuse?
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!2 steps works decently enough however, I believe it to be kindergarten for sobriety. If you want to rid your self of these needs then you must go to the root problem. Many times it’s lack of self love, gratitude, and any presence of God in our lives. I know it sounds crazy but I dealt with a slew of addictions throughout my life both substance and behavioral. It wasn’t until I discovered peace, love of self and others, and spirituality that I was able to truly detach from those urges.
As wild as it may seem . . . what have you got to lose?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, for actually GETTING PAST the addiction. Seeing a therapist who understands your goals and understands that 12-Step Program is not for everyone.
12-Step-based programs will insist, in almost hostile manner, that they are the only possible means of recovery. But people were getting sober long before the 1930s, when AA roots began. That said, I cannot dismiss the help that it has provided, and for a faith-based approach it may be ideal.
Secular approaches such as SMART Recovery utilize CBT and leave spirituality up to the individual as a personal, private matter. http://smartrecovery.org
As an addiction counselor I avoid trying to say any one method is the best method. For us our motto is if something works, then it works. Doesn’t matter what program or system it is. First and foremost, the main thing is to go through detox. Our rehab clinic won’t even admit unless you’ve gotten through detox first. The main reason is that many addicts go through withdrawals and some times can turn violent and may hurt other clients or staff.
After detox, then a minimum 90 day in-treatment rehab is the best option. I can only speak for the place I work at, but we do utilize a variation of the 12 step program. This is not meant to put the fear of God into people or push some Christian agenda, even though our facility is funded by a non-profit Christian organization.
The point of the 12 step program is to be used as a tool for one on one CBT (cognitive-behavioral therapy) and group therapy. As a tool it can be used as a step by step guide to set mile stones for clients and help them find the root of their addiction, learn to forgive themselves, how to get back in contact with close family and friends, how to make a living outside of treatment and to make a support system as a part of relapse prevention, which is the final phase of our recovery program. Some do get sponsors (similar to those who are in AA). But we do not require that to complete our program. We do require that clients create a plan that outlines triggers for substance abuse, a support system and what to do to prevent relapse as well as a goal oriented outline of what they wish to do with their lives. From here most clients then enter a half way house nearby. But I don’t work there so I cannot speak for their system accept it involves more therapy and a stepping stone for recovering addicts to get a normal life back. I know they need to find work and they pay rent and they divide up the house work and try to teach people responsibility and discipline as well as further relapse prevention.
As far as getting help outside of rehab, most addicts are so resistant to therapy, or really any kind of help that the only way to really get them to change is to take them away from their living space away from the people who enable them and put them into a controlled environment (rehab) and basically break them down. Get them to put down their defenses and use our program to analyze their behavior, why they use, things they can do differently, things they just need to accept and move on from and relapse prevention. Again, our system is build on a 90 day program. The half way house is usually between 6-12 months (if clients go that far, most who do are court ordered to do so) and detox can be another month to 6 weeks, depending on the addiction. Some severe alcoholics or people addicted to opiates often need more time in detox. Detox does also involve therapy. But its usually one on one and some group therapy if we feel they are not a danger to anyone.
The point is that because of the pathology of addiction, rehab tends to be more successful than just independent counseling. Most addicts need a more intense, 24-7 intervention. But if you do try to wing it on your own, CBT or talk therapy is the most common, as well as random drug testing (which we do in rehab as well) and aversion therapy. Aversion therapy really only works for people who actually want to quit using substances – another reason why rehab is often the best answer since many addicts are court ordered into treatment or are their because basically their family forced them to go.