The term alcohol rehab is short for alcohol rehabilitation, no surprise there. The term itself merely means any form of working on recovering from an alcohol problem. However, the term has come to mean an actual treatment facility whose primary function is providing treatment for clients with abuse alcohol, on a full-time basis.
Level of the Clinical Staff
The treatment team at an alcohol rehab is by far the most important component of measuring the quality of a program. A highly credentialed staff, with experience, makes the biggest difference.
Quality of the Program
The quality of the program can be measured by how much one on one therapy is provided.
Philosophy
Research is constantly being done on the disease of alcoholism. The measure of a program is how flexible is the philosophy of the program to incorporate new information and techniques into their program.
Individualized Treatment
No two alcoholics are alike. The measure of a great alcohol rehab program is how much flexibility into the treatment plan of each individual.
Treating dual diagnosis
A high number alcoholics have some additional psychological problem. A good alcohol rehab will have the proper staff and some part of their program resources to addressing this vital component of treatment.
Alcohol rehab is a process that takes time. Alcohol recovery is a journey into a whole new way of life that never ends. The average length of stay in a typical alcohol rehab facility is still 30 days. Recently, more and more professionals seem to agree, the ideal length of time is considerably longer than 30 days. Some even believe 90 days of inpatient alcohol rehab is the ideal amount of time to stay in rehab.
There has to be rules and tight supervision. All treatment centers have resident managers who supervise much of the off-time. No two alcohol rehabs are very much alike. And so a "typical" day in an alcohol rehab could vary from place to place. Alcohol rehab always starts with detox. Detox can take 3 to 7 days.
Most start the day with some form of group therapy session, followed by some form of physical exercise. Then some type of educational function might be scheduled, such as a lecture, for example. Then lunch, of course, followed by a group or individual counseling session. Many programs require some self management of personal time. This might be well spent reading, journaling or working on an assignment. In the afternoon, many places offer exercise, or outings to a variety of off campus settings.
After dinner, many programs take their clients to an AA or NA meeting.
Therapy
As a general rule, each client in an alcohol rehab is assigned their own therapist, or counselor. The client therapist relationship is one of the most important elements in alcohol rehab.
There are a wide variety of models and philosophies in the alcohol rehab industry. 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 models of change and awareness 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 alcohol. 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 for a variety of reasons. It is somewhat of a mystery why some people "make it" and others do not.
Research seems to confirm, people who attend alcohol rehab, are more likely to succeed because the most difficult part of recovery is the first 30, 60 and 90 days. Once someone stays sober for some period of time, they see the benefits of not drinking and it gradually becomes easier to maintain.
However, 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 patterns of behavior, reacting and thinking.
If the measurement for success is staying "sober" for 1 year after completing a 30 day inpatient alcohol rehab, then the rate of success is less than 50%.
The truth is many clients relapse at least once before they manage to find long lasting alcohol recovery.
Medical doctors, psychiatrists, counselors, family members and friends have been doing their best to help people with alcohol abuse issues for a long time. As far back as the early 1800's, cases of alcoholism are well documented. But it wasn't until the late 1920's when alcoholism was actually diagnosed and better understood as a medical rather than moral issue.
The alcohol rehab industry has grown dramatically in the past 50 years.
Over the years, the alcohol rehab industry has evolved into a more successful process. People now with a drinking problem can lead a normal live, in recovery. Many people have made great contributions to the alcohol rehab industry.
In the United States today, there are more than 10,000 alcohol rehabs.
Although people have been abusing alcohol since alcohol was discovered, treating the disease itself really began when Swedish physician Magnus Huss first coined the term "alcoholism" in 1848.
For example, a gentleman by the name of "Curly" Feron made an instrumental contribution when he become the test case for whether alcoholism was a treatable disease that could be cured by putting it into remission. Curly was a low bottom drunk in Minnesota. By practicing the principles of alcohol rehab and AA, Curly was able to be successful in turning his life completely around and establishing the precedent for the medical industry to support the rehab process.
