Selecting The Most Appropriate Drug Abuse Treatment
Drug abuse treatments aim to bring the patient back to the community, his family,
and workplace. Studies show that treating patients with alcoholism medication
decreases drug use by 40 to 60 percent and is even believed to be a significant
factor in reducing criminal activities. Although costly, relatives of a drug abusive
patient will often opt for this treatment approach as it was found to bring about
a 40 percent chance of success after a single treatment episode. Drug abuse treatments
will produce different outcomes depending on the extent of addiction, the willingness
of the patient to be cured, and the treatment method opted for.
Drug abuse treatment mirrors alcoholism treatment, and it can come in many
forms like detoxification, counseling, giving of alcoholism medications or overall
rehabilitation. Here are some possible options:
- One type of treatment is what is known as the narcotic antagonist
treatment using Naltrexone. Usually done in an outpatient setting, the drug
is given to opiate addicts right after medical detoxification. Through this
method, all the effects of self-administered opiates are generally blocked.
Experts clarified that Naltrexone is not addictive. It follows the theory
that repeated lack of opiate effects could gradually break the craving for
opiate. Users have proven that naltrexone is most helpful and effective for
highly-motivated and recently detoxified patients who are quite willing to
abstain from drug use.
- Another possible treatment is medical detoxification, a process
that helps a patient withdraw from addictive drugs under the supervision of
a physician. It is considered to be a precursor to treatment since it aims
to treat the acute physiological effects. The market has plenty of detoxification
medicines specifically targeting opiates, nicotine, barbiturates and others.
However, one must not totally rely on detoxification alone as it could not
fully address the psychological, social, and behavioral issues associated
to addiction. Thus, it is recommended as a short-term treatment only and does
not result in behavioral changes required for full recovery.
- A patient can also opt for the Agonist Maintenance Treatment, often
called the methadone treatment program. This treatment uses synthetic opiate
medication called methadone or LAAM. It is believed to hinder the effects
of illicit opiate use and thereby decreases the patient’s craving for
drugs. Individuals who get such treatment experience stability and calmness
after sustained dosages of LAAM.
- One can also opt for long-term residential treatment that monitors
the patient 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Such environment was designed as
a non-hospital setting to make the patient feel comfortable and at ease. The
most common residential treatment model is the therapeutic community that
employs the theory of re-socialization by making each and every person in
the environment part of the community that surrounds him or her. This treatment
is highly structured such that patients are presented with a new environment
and which they are challenged to adapt within. One of the programs included
in this kind of treatment is the provision of livelihood training to the patient.
This way, the patient will develop self worth and think less about his substance
urge.
There are other kinds of drug abuse treatment for patients with different addictions
However, medical experts stress that no single treatment is suited for all individuals.
This is the reason why treatment centers should make sure that the treatment
settings, interventions, and services should be matched to the particular needs
of each patient. This proper matching is crucial for the patient’s success
in getting back to the real community.
Alcoholism Treatment
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