Treatment
From Drug Rehab Wiki
A treatment is any medical intervention used a disease or to lessen and manage its symptoms. Some diseases are treatable but incurable. For example, cancer patients may undergo chemotherapy treatments only designed to slow down the progress of their disease or alleviate pain. Treatments are not preventive measures to avoid a disease, but rather interventions that take place once a disease is diagnosed.
If there is more than one intervention available for a disease, a doctor devises a treatment plan that could include surgery, medications, psychotherapy, nutritional education, and any variety of other treatments.
Treatments for substance abuse disorders can be very complex and long-term, because the state-of-the-art approach involves healing the "whole person," that is, treating each patient not only physically, but also psychological, spiritually, and intellectually. Treatment for substance abuse is designed to affect profound lifestyle changes, and usually involves working on a long-term basis with an entire team of specialists, including doctors, nurses, nutritionists, physical trainers, social workers, and therapists specializing in family, group, and individual therapy, as well as art, music, and drama.
Upon entering a treatment center for substance abuse disorders, a patient undergoes an extensive assessment that includes physical and psychological testing. The team will devise a treatment plan based on individual factors such as medical history, family factors, living situation, legal difficulties, mental health issues, and so forth. For some patients, the next step will be detoxification or medically supervised withdrawal from drugs or alcohol.
Stopping the use of drugs or alcohol is just a first step. Once that phase of treatment is over, the person enters a facility for long-term treatment. The plan may be residential, partial hospitalization, or outpatient treatment.
Residential treatment is the most intensive, and usually lasts one month to a year. The person actually moves into a facility where she becomes part of a therapeutic community, and works with therapists and others in treatment on a 24-hour basis. Partial hospitalization or day treatment usually lasts four to eight hours a day for at least three months within a hospital or other health facility. Outpatient clinics can be set up in counselors' offices, residential treatment facilities, community health centers, and hospitals. They can last nine to 20 hours a week, and involve meeting daily or up to three times a week in group settings.
The best programs offer individual, group and family counseling, classes in nutrition and health, physical fitness, training in life skills such as communication and anger and stress management, relapse prevention training, and self-help support groups such as Alcoholic Anonymous. Most offer random drug tests. Since about half the people who have substance abuse disorders also have mental health problems such as bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety, these conditions have to be treated as separate medical issues.
Follow up care is a major and important component of treatment for substance abuse. After leaving residential treatment, some people choose to live in "half-way" or sober living houses in order to receive continued 24-hour support. Others will continue with therapists, self help meetings and other means of support once they return to their careers and families.
