Effective treatment for drug addiction will almost always consist of cognitive and behavioral therapy, medication, and counseling within an inpatient setting. Outpatient drug addiction therapy has proven far less effective and is usually not a first choice in treatment options except maybe for addicts who really don’t want an effective therapy program in the first place. Drug addiction counseling will also often include elements of behavior modification and psychotherapy.
The most common and widespread drug addiction treatments available today are probably the12-Step recovery programs developed by the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) group. The outpatient AA group-support model for drug addicts is called Narcotics Anonymous (NA). In the absence of an inpatient drug addiction program, the free NA program can be the best alternative for anyone trying to get rid of a drug addiction on their own. There is no cost for NA programs and they can be found in all 50 states.
It is impossible to address an addiction problem while the patient is still an active drug user and almost everyone entering a drug addiction treatment program will need to go through a medical detoxification program before any other steps are taken. Obviously, while an addict is in treatment, they cannot continue using drugs. This means an addict’s drug use must be monitored by urinalysis or blood test during treatment. Depending on the treatment program, repeated relapse can be cause for termination.
If a relapse occurs, and the patient uses drugs during the treatment program, his/her individual treatment plan may require modification. Evaluation of an addiction patient’s specific needs can help establish the treatment needed to restore their health and well-being. The best programs factor the age, culture and ethnicity of a patient in order to determine the most effective treatment. Most studies suggest that at least 90 days of continual treatment is required to constitute an effective recovery program. Additional counseling and aftercare have been shown to increase the chances of success.
Once a drug addict leaves treatment early without reaching a significant stage of recovery it has been shown that failure is the usual result. Drug addicts often lack a close connection to other people and the counseling sessions and group therapy meetings they attend might be their only connection to humanity and a critical part of their recovery in an otherwise lonely universe.
Some drug addicts may benefit from drug therapy, although total abstinence is always the ultimate goal. Those addicted to opiates and narcotics like heroin and prescription pain killers have been successfully treated using Methadone in the past, however today Suboxone and Subutex are also current treatment options.
Drug addiction treatment factors:
Drug addiction is complex but treatable
Treatment varies according to the individual
Detoxification is temporary
An adequate period of treatment is mandatory
Counseling and other behavioral therapies are present
Medications may be combined with counseling
Treatment is modified to meet changing needs
Treatment must be monitored on an ongoing basis
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