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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