Drug addiction and alcoholism are complex diseases. Most thought on the matter agrees that they can be treated but never completely cured. This means that after drug rehab clients are advised not to start drinking or using drugs again as there is an extremely high risk that full blown addiction will occur again. Addiction damages people in many areas of their life and affects multiple areas of behaviour. Treatment in a rehabilitation center therefore demands a complex, multi-layered approach. An effective drug treatment program is one which is tailored to the individual needs of the client and helps that client to maintain addiction recovery and live a happy and fulfilled life without the use of drugs.
Drug addiction and alcoholism are global problems. This illness does not favour or spare anybody on the basis of age, social status, sexual identity, race, culture or any other demographic grouping.
Addiction a progressive illness
Addiction is thought to be a progressive illness which means that it gets worse over time if it left untreated. Although drug rehabilitation can be expensive ultimately society stands to save money by spending it on treatment programs. Addicts frequently turn to criminal activity to fund their addiction. This results in increased court and prison costs. They are also more likely to require hospital attention. Spending money on helping an addict go to a rehabilitation treatment program can also help to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis.
Effective drug rehabilitation
An effective drug rehabilitation center will help its patients to avoid relapse and develop more prosocial lifestyles. Addicts and alcoholics often lead very miserable lives and are at greater risk of suicide than the general population. Alcohol treatment can help them to escape this dark pit of despair. Addiction is noted as a chronically relapsing illness which implies that ofen more than one treatment episode is required. The following points have been found to improve the effectiveness of treatment:
- Even if an addict does not originally want to be treated in a rehabilitation clinic the program can still be effective.
- Medication can be an important part of treating certain disorders, even after the original detoxification (detox) phase.
- Drug addiction treatment should be tailored to suit the individual. There is no treatment that is equally effective for all people.
- Alcohol and drug treatment should be readily available for those who want it.
- Treatment should be holistic and attend to the needs of the individual beyond his or her drug addiction.
- Treatment cannot happen overnight and needs a commitment from the patient to stay at the rehabilitation clinic for an adequate amount of time.
- Those who have a coexisting mental disorder should have this and his/her addiction treated in an integrative and complementary manner.
- Treatment should be offered on a continuum of care and should be assessed often to ensure that the client is receiving the addiction treatment appropriate for his/her progress.
- Patients in an alcohol rehab or drug treatment center should be monitored continuously to make sure that they are not using while in treatment.
- Supportive counselling and other strategies designed to address behaviour are important elements of almost all effective drug rehab programs.
- Because of the high risk addicts have of contracting HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases there should be facilities for screening and counselling with regard to these. Patients should be informed of the high risk behaviour that places them in danger of contracting these illnesses.
Medical detoxification
Patients need to be seen as individuals with specific needs and treated accordingly. A drug rehab program normally starts with a medical detoxification (detox) which is then followed by treatment and relapse prevention. The aim of the detox is to ease the negative symptoms associated with withdrawal and make these more manageable. A treatment program should include at the least mental health services, a medical component, aftercare facilities and some form of behavioural intervention.
Aftercare
Aftercare is usually offered by a drug rehab in South Africa to patients who have graduated from the clinic. The patient can return to the rehabilitation facility and attend individual or group counselling sessions and receive ongoing support. There are similar programs offered to the family members of graduates from drug rehabilitation clinics in South Africa.
While the patient is in the detox clinic in South Africa the supervising doctor may prescribe certain medications. These are intended to help in one of several ways. If a person has become physically dependent on a chemical then taking the drug away can result in withdrawal symptoms. For some substances (such as alcohol for example) these withdrawal symptoms can be very severe and even life threatening. The initial detox phase of a drug rehab program is not usually considered treatment since it does not address any behaviour of the addict. It is the first step in the path towards addiction recovery. If no futher addiction treatment is received the addict is at high risk of again picking up the chemical as nothing will have changed in his/her behaviour.
Chronic use of drugs
Another use of medication can be to help repair some of the damages to brain functioning that addiction may have caused. Chronic use of drugs can lead to impairment of several systems of neurotransmitters. LSD and MDMA are both known to be toxic to serotonergic neurons. There are medications available that will help with repairing the affective and certain cognitive problems that addiction may have caused.
Yet other medications can help to reduce cravings by blocking the brain receptors associated with the drug. Methadone and buprenorphine are examples of medications that can help reduce heroin cravings. This allows patients to focus on their residential drug treatment.
Ultimately an addict will need to change her behaviour if she expects to stay clean in the long term. The behaviours and beliefs that supported the addiction need to be “unlearned” and replaced with more productive and prosocial coping skills. Addicts need to be taught how to live a healthy lifestyle while they are in drug rehab in South Africa. There are many different forms of counselling techniques designed as behavioural interventions.
Outpatient drug rehabilitation
Outpatient drug rehab can also help in changing the behaviours associated with addiction. This is normally achieved in a therapeutic milieu that incorporates group and individual counselling as well as didactic lectures. A particularly popular outpatient drug treatment method in South Africa utilises the technique of “motivational interviewing” to reinforce the addicts desire to stop using drugs. Other programs use variants of the CBT approach which helps patients to identify dangerous situations and prevent relapse by avoiding them.
For patients whose addiction is very severe residential treatment is required. Drug rehab centres in South Africa normally create a “therapeutic community” environment where the peers become a major source of change. Care is provided on a continuum from detox to aftercare and can be provided for periods as long as a year. This sort of long-term treatment is designed to help the individual totally change how she interacts with other people in society.
We are lucky to live in an age where if an individual wants to stop using drugs there are drug rehab clinics that offer effective holistic treatment that can help stop addiction, correct unhealthy behaviour and prepare the addict for living a healthy and fulfilling life.
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