Alcohol Drug Rehab Center & Program

Alcohol and dug rehab programs have grown dramatically in the past 30 years. Alcohol abuse is treated in specialized facilities and mental health centers. In the United States, there are more than 10,000 alcohol & drug programs as well as centers. Alcohol abuse has a great economic impact, costing billions each year. There is a wide range of financial variables, levels of care and philosophical differences among the various alcohol rehab programs.

financial variables:
Medicaid, Medicare, state funded, state insurance (non-Medicaid), private insurance, military insurance and self pay.

levels of care include:
Inpatient (detox), partial hospitalization, short-term residential, long-term residential and intensive outpatient (IOP) or outpatient.

philosophical differences:
a) 12-Step based vs. non 12-Step based
b) whether or not they treat issues besides substance abuse such as mood disorders.

Inpatient and detox are considered the same level of care. For more information, see detox page. Partial programs are also known as partial hospitalization or PHP. Partial programs consist of half days of rehab; either AM or PM. Short term can be anywhere from 1 to 4 weeks, full time, while living in a free standing facility. Long-term programs can last from 1 to 3 months, or more. Outpatient includes a wide variety of programs for patients attending rehab for a few hours several times per week. Most residential programs are based on the "Minnesota Model" of treatment. These programs involve a 3- to 6-weeks of inpatient followed by extended outpatient therapy and/or participation in 12-step, self-help groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous.

The goal of is to educate the alcohol user to the facts about chemical dependency and the changes needed to live a alcohol-free lifestyle. A variety of therapy can be included in a given alcohol rehab setting Most programs provide counseling, behavioral therapy, lectures, group therapy, discussion groups and other types of services to persons with alcohol use disorders. Many various behavioral alcohol drug rehab programs and centers have been shown to help alcohol rehab patients achieve and maintain prolonged abstinence. One frequently used treatment is cognitive behavioral and relapse prevention. In alcohol rehab, patients are taught new ways of acting and thinking that will help them stay off drugs. For example, patients in alcohol rehab are urged to avoid situations that lead to alcohol abuse and to practice alcohol refusal skills. In alcohol rehab, they are taught to think of a relapse as a "slip" rather than as a failure. Cognitive behavioral and relapse prevention has proven to be a useful and lasting therapy. Specific approaches are associated with the particular setting. The success rate is a difficult thing to measure. Outcome studies seem to indicate an individual’s success will be determined primarily by their willingness to incorporate new concepts and ideas into their lives and change their reactions to life, patterns of behavior and thinking habits.