Drug Treatment

Jump to:

1. The Key Factors in Successful Recovery
2. The Desire to Be Healthy and Intervention
3. Medications for the Treatment of Drug Addiction
4. Behavior Follows Thoughts, Thoughts Follow Belief
5. Personalizing a Drug Treatment Program
6. What to Expect When Entering Treatment
7. Rates of Success for Drug Treatment

Drug addiction affects millions of people and their families around the world. Each year, thousands of people begin using drugs for the first time, and thousands more succumb to their addictions because of a lack of drug treatment. Finding and using good drug treatment resources is crucial in order for an individual to enter recovery and begin living a life full of potential and happiness. Studies have shown that a specific treatment model for drug abuse and addiction increases the chances of success.

The Key Factors in Successful Drug Treatment

In order for drug treatment programs to be the most successful, the program must have certain ingredients. When all of the elements are in place, the rates of success are higher than when a recovering addict uses only one or two of the aspects. The factors are:

Each element of a good treatment program is essential to the program mix because each part works and plays off the others. If an individual undergoes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), but they do not have a real desire to be healthy, the program will not be as effective. In fact, the program may not work at all. On the other hand, if an individual does wish to be healthy and he or she engages in a CBT program that consists of cookie-cutter elements rather than a personalized approach, he or she may not be able to identify with the facets of the program. The recovering addict may begin to feel alone and withdraw into self-destructive patterns. When this happens, the recovering addict is far more likely to relapse at some point during the process.

The Desire to Be Healthy and Intervention

For many years, it was believed that an individual drug addict must “hit rock bottom” before they would find the inner strength they needed to enter drug treatment. This “rock bottom” was different for each person, and nobody could predict when it would happen. For some, it might the loss of family members in their lives while for others it might be the loss of a career they had worked hard to establish. Recent thought processes have changed, however, as the medical and treatment community has developed a better understanding of how drugs can affect the mind.

Medications for the Treatment of Drug Addiction

The thought of prescribing drugs to an individual with a drug addiction may sound like an oxymoron. However, many studies have found that using less potent or less dangerous drugs to treat addictions can help to wean a recovering addict off the drugs to which they have become addicted. There are several classes of drugs, some of which are non-addictive, that can help.

Another facet of the medication process has to do with underlying causes for the addiction. A dual diagnosis occurs when a drug addict is diagnosed with a second condition that either existed prior to the drug abuse or developed as a result of the drug abuse and contributed to the addiction. Some of these conditions are:

It is not always possible to know which came first, the addiction or the underlying condition, however when a dual diagnosis exists, it is imperative that both aspects are treated equally. An addict who suffers from personality disorder, for instance, who completes rehab may easily succumb to relapse if the issues of the personality disorder remain unchecked. A person suffering from schizophrenia will continue to battle their own demons and self-medicate if they are not properly medicated for such a serious condition.
Heroin addiction has been successfully treated using methadone in conjunction with other aspects of treatment, as well. While not every recovering addict will need additional medications, it is important to keep an open mind to what individual treatments will work for each recovering addict.

Behavior Follows Thoughts, Thoughts Follow Belief

When an individual, regardless of whether he or she is an addict, makes a decision, the decision is based upon certain data. The human mind takes in this data — for instance, the ambient temperature outside — and processes it. A decision is reached based upon the experiences of the individual and a belief structure. In this case, through life experience, one may believe that if it is hot outside, shorts and a t-shirt is a suitable choice for attire. The behavior (wearing summer clothing) comes from the thought (warm weather) and the associated belief (wearing a sweater and jeans will make us uncomfortable and overheated).

In the mind of an individual who is addicted to drugs, choices are not so simple. A thought may stem from paranoia or self-doubt. For instance, an addict may think that they are incapable of finding a job. This thought may then lead to the belief that they are unworthy, perhaps amplified by the memory of abandonment (even if the abandonment was not intentional due to death or other factors). The addict may then easily create behaviors to ease this pain by choosing to use drugs.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a treatment model that teaches afflicted individuals new ways to manage thought patterns and new behaviors in response to those thought patterns. A recovering addict will have personal, private time with their counselor as well as participate in group sessions. The curriculum includes self-assessments, role-playing and “what if” scenarios so the recovering addict can learn better ways to deal with their personal issues as alternatives to using drugs. The program lasts approximately 16 weeks in most cases, but can be extended for a longer duration of time if all participants are in agreement.

Personalizing a Drug Treatment Program

Each recovering addict is an individual. He or she has their own personality, their own history and their own belief structure. Many addicts will have some issues in common. Even so, the actual circumstances of these issues may be completely different. One addict suffering from abandonment issues, for instance, may have lost a parent due to death, while another’s parent might have been incarcerated. Each circumstance needs to have an independent and personalized approach to treatment.

To help cater to the individual needs of a recovering addict, alternative therapies can be tailored to each person. Alternative therapies are treatment models that can help the overall recovery process, such as:

Not every recovering addict is going to identify with each of the alternative therapies that may be available to them. Personalizing a program to suit their needs, however, can surround them with the tools they need for their individual progress.

What to Expect When Entering Treatment

It is perfectly normal to fear the unknown. Entering a drug treatment program for the first time is no different. By understanding what to expect, some of that fear can be diminished.

The first part of the drug treatment process is the detoxification process. In the first few days or weeks of recovery, the toxins that have built up in the body will be expelled. The first few days are the worst, and can include severe symptoms, such as:

Experiencing detox in a treatment center can help alleviate some of these symptoms as the staff can use medications to treat the symptoms.

Once the detox phase has passed, the recovering addict will spend several months in a treatment program. The most effective programs are at least 12 weeks in length. This can occur in a residential treatment center or can be completed on an outpatient basis. The decision is based entirely upon the needs of the individual and the severity of the drug addiction.

After the treatment program has been successfully completed, the recovering addict will enter the support phase. Addiction is a disease for which there is no cure, however, like diabetes; it can be managed with proper care and good decision-making over the course of a lifetime.

Rates of Success for Drug Treatment

The success rate for drug treatment depends upon many factors. In the same way that a treatment program must be personalized to suit an individual, staying clean and sober is also up to each recovering addict on an individual basis. Some recovering addicts will relapse and fall back into their self-destructive patterns. Others may fall once and immediately pick themselves back up, going on to lead full, productive lives. Still others may never use or abuse drugs again.

It is important to remember that each foray into the treatment process, even if unsuccessful the first time, takes the recovering addict one step closer to obtaining their dreams of living drug- and alcohol-free. Whether others have not stayed sober is of little importance when one individual is considering making a life-saving change for themselves and for their families.