Drug rehab treatment

Potentially one of the hardest decisions you will ever have to make will be selecting a drug rehab centre for yourself or a loved one. Unfortunately, the majority of us are simply not equipped to know exactly what to look for in a good, drug rehab program or drug rehabilitation centre. It is important to realize that each and every drug rehab centre will have its own credentials, options or programs, costs and overall effectiveness. It is, therefore, vitally important that prior to making any life changing decisions that you educate yourself, ask many questions and get to know the facts.

Drug addiction will typically follow a predictable series of stages. This will allow a doctor or trained health professional to make an accurate diagnosis based on your current symptoms. This, in turn, will allow them to prescribe the most appropriate form of treatment for you. This is likely to include either outpatient counseling or inpatient drug rehab. Inpatient drug rehab may additionally include a short stay or residential stay. You will typically find that an inpatient service is usually provided by a licensed hospital, whereas a residential program is not required to meet as rigorous medical care standards.

It is extremely important that you realize no matter how hopeless your current situation appears that change is, indeed, very possible. With the right form of support and drug treatment you can soon be well on the road to recovery. You should also realize that most forms of drug rehab treatment will involve many pitfalls and setbacks as overcoming drug addiction is extremely difficult. The first step of treating drug addiction, and potentially the biggest, will involve you deciding that you finally need to make a change. It is completely normal to feel conflict, as you may not wish to give up your drug of choice even though you know it is causing serious problems. Initially certain behavioral changes will be touched upon and these include the way that you deal with stress and how you actually see and think about yourself.

When choosing a specific drug rehab treatment program, there is help offered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which is part of the US Department of Health and Human Services. They are able to offer you an extensive list of licensed and certified drug treatment facilities. When looking to choose a specific rehab treatment centre you will need to focus on a number of specific factors. Whereas a treatment centre may look absolutely fabulous, it is likely to have an extremely expensive price tag to suit. The main thing is that you should look out for is whether the program is accredited and licensed, how effective the program is (the majority of treatment centers will often have statistics of their success rates), and also the type of after-care services that they offer in order to prevent relapse.

As mentioned, there are numerous forms of drug rehab treatment in these include:

  • Residential treatment – this will involve intensive treatment while you are living in a specific facility. You will typically find any course of residential treatment will last anywhere from 30 days up to 90 days.
  • Partial hospitalization – this form of treatment is best suited to people who have a stable living situation, but require ongoing medical care and monitoring. This will typically involve a 4 to 6 hour session, for at least 3 to 5 days a week at a specified hospital.
  • Intensive outpatient program (IOP) – even though this is not a live-in treatment program, it will still require a major commitment from you. You will typically be required to meet for 2 to 4 hours a day and at least three days a week. This form of drug rehab treatment is specifically focused on preventing relapse. You will also find that outpatient programs are usually scheduled around your school or work.
  • Individual, group or family counseling – this form of drug rehab treatment will usually work best in conjunction with one of the other forms of treatment. The main purpose of counseling and therapy is to help you identify the root cause of your drug problem. It is also aimed at repairing your relationships and learning healthier day-to-day living skills.
  • Sober living – this will usually follow a far more intensive form of treatment such as residential treatment. A sober living facility will allow you to live with other recovering addicts in a drug-free environment that provides additional support. This is typically recommended to people who have nowhere else to go or believe that they are likely to relapse if they return home.
  • Brief intervention – this is not specifically for people who already have a drug problem, but for those who may be at risk of developing a drug addiction. This will involve regular visits to a healthcare professional where you will discuss the extremely harmful effects of drug abuse and also certain strategies to help you cut back.
Last updated on Feb 4th, 2011 and filed under Mental Health. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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