Drug Treatment Centers and Dual Diagnosis Treatment

There are thousands of drug treatment centers throughout the United States with different philosophies, treatment modalities and costs of treatment. How does someone go about choosing the best drug treatment center for themselves? To make matters a bit more complicated, let's add the need for dual diagnosis treatment to the equation.

The Best Drug Treatment Centers

There is really no such thing as the best drug treatment center. There is such a thing as a drug treatment center that is capable of meeting your specific needs. A person really has to have a very good idea as to what services a drug treatment center actually provides, compared to the services they say they provide. To ascertain that kind of information a person has to ask some very pointed questions pertaining to staffing patterns, qualifications, hours of treatment provided and more. Secondly, a person needs to be as honest as possible what their "real" needs are. do you require dual diagnosis treatment for a mental health issue, do you have an eating disorder, do you need drug detox?

Dual Diagnosis Treatment in Drug Treatment Centers

Not every drug treatment center is qualified to provide dual diagnosis treatment. A quality dual diagnosis treatment center inside a drug treatment center will employ a full time psychiatrist, staff trained in mental health issues, a separate treatment component and an ability to keep patients for more than three weeks in the drug treatment center.

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Drug Abuse Treatment Programs

There are about 10,000 drug rehabilitation and treatment centers in the country today. And each one may use varying programs to deal with addiction. But generally, drug addiction treatments are grouped into three categories.

Kinds of Treatments

Addicts of certain substances can be treated in outpatient settings. Patients are subjected to methadone, a medication taken orally. Methadone suppresses cravings and prevents withdrawal symptoms from surfacing. With sustained dosage, a person can be stabilized and can function normally.

This is the first step taken to prepare a patient for counseling and further treatments. With the medication, a patient can be more receptive to interventions such as physiotherapies and group counseling.

The second kind of treatment involves a medication called naltrexone. The medication is administered after detoxification of the patient in a residential setting. This is to prevent withdrawal syndrome in the patient. A patient takes this drug orally daily or thrice a week, depending on the prescription of his physician. The drug inhibits cravings for addictive drugs. But in order for this medication to work, sustained counseling is needed.

For people with graver conditions or who have been abusing drugs for a long time, residential treatment is needed. This involves admitting a patient in a facility for 6 to 12 months to address the problem. These facilities provide an atmosphere of a home rather than that of a hospital.

Modern-day residential treatment employs many models of rehabilitation: from the therapeutic community to cognitive-behavioral therapies. These treatments involve medication as well as counseling available 24 hours a day. This arrangement works better for most patients who may need a fresh environment- away from his natural surroundings to work on his rehabilitation. Other patients also form a support group- enhancing counseling sessions.

But whatever forms of treatment a patient chooses to go through, continued counseling and assistance from professionals and family are needed to ensure sustained recovery form drug abuse.

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The Best Drug and Alcohol Treatment Programs

People looking for drug and alcohol treatment are always looking for the best drug and alcohol treatment program they can find. The problem is that there are thousands of drug and alcohol treatment programs located throughout the United States with most of these drug treatment programs having different philosophical approaches to drug and alcohol treatment.

What to Look For in a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Program

Of the drug rehabs reviewed that were seen to be providing a high level of care, these drug treatment programs were licensed by the state in which they operated and accredited by the Joint Commission of Accreditation of Healthcare providers. In addition to proper licensure, the drug and alcohol treatment programs employed addiction treatment staff that were licensed and credentialed in the drug and alcohol treatment field. It was also noted that all the drug rehabs had their own detox programs within the drug and alcohol programs. This provided for a high level of care when the patient transferred to another component of drug and alcohol treatment.

What Do Drug and Alcohol Treatment Programs Cost?

Each drug and alcohol treatment program decides what they will charge. There are some drug rehabs that are federally funded, some that accept Medicare and other drug rehabs that accept private insurance. It suffices to say, any of these drug and alcohol treatment centers will accept private monies. Before deciding on any of the drug rehabs or alcohol treatment centers near you, speak with their admission staff to determine what your financial responsibility will be. When able, utilize your healthcare benefits or call the national drug treatment helpline at 1-800-511-9225 for further information.

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