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Page Summary
Both drug and alcohol addictions can be a devastating experience for both the individual and their family members. Depending on the addiction, and the length of time an individual has been addicted, a treatment plan can be determined. Of course, the first miracle is for the addicted person to admit their problem and to find clinical help. Alcohol and drug treatment centers are the solution. They can conduct the assessment and provide the individualized treatment plans that patients need to heal and gain sobriety. As such, prospective patients and families usually have a number of relevant questions before making the commitment to enroll.
First, detox is necessary, which requires an inpatient or outpatient program depending on the addiction severity. It will affect a person’s life, but for the better. Patients will be told what to bring, what to expect, and how long their relative treatment should last.
Patients are placed in a safe, clinical environment where they can safely detox. Detox can be challenging because of obvious withdrawal symptoms. In fact, depending on the drug or substance, withdrawal can be deadly. Once the toxins are removed from the body, the individual graduates into rehab for counseling and therapies that allow them to make the connection between their thinking and past behavior. The two are connected.
CBT is a therapeutic, effective tool that helps patients to change their thinking patterns—which will change their behavioral patterns and situational outcomes in life. Rehab has to be more than simply administering medications to be effective. A patient is more likely to avoid relapse when they understand the nature of their addiction, and how to identify and avoid triggers. Counseling helps family members to examine their own actions toward the patient’s addiction too. Were they enablers without knowing it?
Aftercare can be an extension of rehab, and is meant to bridge the gap between a patient’s time in rehab and their re-entry into a life of normalcy. This is the program element that recovering addicts can cling to and bond with for life.
Drug and alcohol treatment has saved millions of lives and will continue to save many more. When there is an addiction, alcohol and drug treatment centers are an invaluable solution to getting back on the road to a full and lasting recovery.