Drug Addiction Treatment
Treatment for drug addiction is the educational and therapeutic process of rehabilitating a person who is considered chemically dependent. Treatment can occur in a variety of settings, in many different forms, and for different lengths of time.
Drug addiction treatment varies depending on the characteristics, drug history and issues of the patient. Problems associated with an individual's drug addiction can vary significantly.
The best programs provide a combination of therapies and other services to meet the needs of the individual patient, which are shaped by such issues as age, race, culture, sexual orientation, gender, pregnancy, parenting, housing, and employment, as well as physical and sexual abuse.
People who are addicted to drugs come from all walks of life. Many suffer from mental health, occupational, health, or social problems that make their addictive disorders much more difficult to treat. Even if there are few associated problems, the severity of addiction itself ranges widely among people.
A variety of scientifically based approaches to drug addiction treatment exists. Drug addiction treatment can include
Behavioral therapies such as counseling, cognitive therapy, or psychotherapy, medications, or their combination are the core of addiction drug treatment. Behavioral therapies offer people strategies for coping with their drug cravings, teach them ways to avoid drugs and prevent relapse, and help them deal with relapse if it occurs. When a person's drug-related behavior places him or her at higher risk for AIDS or other infectious diseases, behavioral therapies can help to reduce the risk of disease transmission. Case management and referral to other medical, psychological, and social services are crucial components of treatment for many patients.
- Buprenorphine (Suboxone, Subutex) methadone, LAAM, and Naltrexone, are available for individuals addicted to opiates. Nicotine preparations, patches, gum, and nasal spray are available for individuals addicted to nicotine.
Not too long ago, a form of Buprenorphine was created call Suboxone. Suboxone is used to detoxify people off of opiates, pain medications. There is a large network of doctors who are licensed to prescribe Suboxone and safely detox people off opiates on an outpatient basis. It has also been shown to be effective in diminishing the cravings for certain drugs.
- Medications, such as antidepressants, mood stabilizers, may be critical for treatment success when patients have co-occurring mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, or psychosis.
There are two different age groups and licensed accordingly. Adolescent drug programs are for people 17 years of age and younger. Adult programs are licensed for people 18 years of age and older.
Some people for whatever reason prefer to a drug addiction rehab center which have programs for either males or females. Some drug rehab centers have only one gender or the other, some have both but are totally separate and independent of the other.
There are drug rehab centers that offer specific programs for unique issues such as eating disorders, gambling and sex addiction. Other specialty tracks include mood disorders, gays, occupations and medical personal.
There are all different types of housing arrangements for drug rehab centers. Some are free-standing, single buildings. Others have "off-campus" facilities for their clients.
Hospital based drug rehab centers are generally programs that are directly or indirectly affiliated with an actual hospital. Others are simply licensed to provide a greater degree of medical care.
There are some drug rehab centers which offer a strong religious aspect to their treatment program. Most of them are Christian.
Most wilderness based drug rehab centers are generally for adolescents only. They are designed to help young people to become self-reliant and confident, and help them make a direct connection with nature.
Unless and until a person is medically detoxed completely off all the drugs in their body, no real treatment can start.
Intensive Outpatient
Attending group and individual counseling sessions at a clinic, several times per week
Partial Hospitalization
Attending group and individual counseling sessions at a hospital based program, either all morning or all afternoon, 5 times per week.
Inpatient Residential
Full time 24 hr attendance, where the client lives inside the facility. Room and board is provided.
Long Term, Extended Care
Full time, 24 hr attendance, the same as residential, the difference is in the length or term of the drug program. Long term programs can last anywhere from 90 days to a full year.
Because drug addiction is typically a chronic disorder characterized by occasional relapses, a short-term, one-time treatment often is not sufficient. For many, treatment is a long-term process that involves multiple interventions and attempts at abstinence.
The number of persons with substance dependence or abuse was stable between 2002 and 2007 (22.0 million in 2002, 21.6 million in 2003, 22.5 million in 2004, 22.2 million in 2005, 22.6 million in 2006, and 22.3 million in 2007).
In 2007, 18.6 million persons aged 12 or older were classified with dependence on or abuse of alcohol. This represents 7.5 percent of the population. The number and the percentage have remained similar since 2002.
Marijuana was the illicit drug that had the highest rate of past year dependence or abuse in 2007, followed by pain relievers and cocaine. Of the 6.9 million persons aged 12 or older classified with dependence on or abuse of illicit drugs in 2007, 3.9 million were dependent on or abused marijuana or hashish (representing 1.6 percent of the total population aged 12 or older, and 57.4 percent of all those classified with illicit drug dependence or abuse), 1.7 million persons were classified with dependence on or abuse of pain relievers, and 1.6 million persons were classified with dependence on or abuse of cocaine. These estimates for pain relievers and cocaine did not change significantly between 2006 and 2007 and between 2002 and 2007. The rate for marijuana decreased from 2002 to 2007 but was stable from 2006 to 2007, while the number of people dependent on or abusing marijuana did not change significantly between 2006 and 2007 and between 2002 and 2007.
The percentages of persons with dependence on or abuse of illicit drugs remained stable between 2006 (2.9 percent) and 2007 (2.8 percent). Between 2002 and 2007, the rate declined from 3.0 to 2.8 percent. During the 6-year period, the percentages of persons with dependence on or abuse of alcohol remained stable (7.7 percent in 2002, 7.6 percent in 2006, and 7.5 percent in 2007).
