Treatment Programs

Addicted people often believe they can handle their addiction with ease, and they could simply stop as soon as they had an ample reason to stop. An alcoholic man may think he chooses to drink six cans of beer every evening after work because he likes the taste of beer. A gambling woman may believe she doesn’t have to stop by the slots on her way home, but she simply finds gambling an amusing way to spend an evening. These addicts may not quite understand that, at this point, the addiction is controlling them. They may not be making conscious choices anymore. The addiction is making all of the choices.

Addiction treatment programs are designed to break that cycle and help the addicted person truly gain the upper hand in the addiction. There are many different types of addiction treatment programs, and the success rates can vary dramatically from type to type. But at their core, most treatment programs combine medical treatments with mental therapies. This allows the addict to overcome the physical limitations imposed by the addiction and learn new habits that can keep the addiction from recurring.

What Is a Treatment Program?

When families of addicted people think of addiction treatment programs, they may think of detoxification programs. Many substances, including alcohol, heroin, prescription medications and cocaine, can cause nasty symptoms when people stop taking the substance. In severe cases, people can die from this sort of withdrawal.

In a detoxification program, doctors supervise the withdrawal and they may provide medications to help the addict ease off the substance instead of shocking the system with a “cold turkey” approach. A detoxification program is not the same as a treatment program, however. As the National Institute on Drug Abuse points out, people who complete a detoxification program but receive no other therapies tend to relapse into addiction at the same rate as people who try to cure themselves.

A standard treatment program does much more than help the person detoxify. In fact, a treatment program should do the following additional things:

Provide the addict with access to a mental health professional, who can help the addict learn why the problem began in the first place.
Include peer counseling, where the addict can meet other people in recovery and learn how they coped with the disease.
Allow the addict to form new habits before the addict is released. Most programs last for several weeks, during which the addict is encouraged to learn a whole new set of skills, hobbies and talents that he or she can lean on to fill up the day.
Include the whole family. While the addicted person is completing the treatment program, their family may learn more about addiction through their own counseling sessions, or they may all join together for group sessions. This can help the family learn to communicate more effectively.

Types of Treatment Programs

Every person is different and one addiction treatment program might not work for two people. That’s why, when it comes to treatment programs, there are so many options available.

In some programs, the addict enters the facility for a specific period of time and agrees to attend meetings, participate in counseling sessions and abstain from all forms of drugs and alcohol. Some programs last just a few days, while others can last weeks or months. The addict lives in a hospital-like facility and is encouraged to interact with the other patients who are also trying to beat addiction. These are immersion programs in sobriety, designed to teach people how to live without succumbing to their addictions. Some centers are lavish, offering residents classes in yoga, nutrition and meditation. Other centers are quite Spartan, and encourage residents to do many tasks on their own. Families and addicts may choose a facility based on cost, location, amenities or a combination of these factors.

In other programs, the addict enters the facility on a daily basis, returning home at night. These can be beneficial programs for people with small children who may be disturbed by a parent’s absence. They may also be less expensive. If the addict is surrounded by bad habits at home, however, these programs do provide ample opportunities for setbacks and relapses.

People who have additional mental health problems may benefit from true hospital-based treatment programs. Here, they receive medications and counseling from qualified providers who are capable of dealing with both conditions at the same time. These units may be tightly controlled, however, and patients are often isolated from other addicts as they recover. They may not be able to benefit from the peer aspect when they participate in a hospital-based program. There are also residential addiction treatment centers that specialize in dual diagnosis patients.

Treatment Doesn’t Ever End

Addiction is a disease that can’t be truly cured, so addicted people will likely need help throughout their lives in order to stay sober. Many treatment programs help addicts choose a long-term treatment program, and representatives may follow up with the addict to make sure he or she is actually using those programs as planned. Options for ongoing care include:

Counseling sessions. Some addicted people enjoy speaking one on one with a counselor over a long period of time, gaining targeted advice about dealing with cravings and setbacks.
Group meetings. Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous provides addicted people with scheduled, structured meetings where people can learn more about addiction. As the addict grows stronger, he or she may sponsor addicts who are new to the program and develop leadership skills.
Medications. Some people who are addicted to heroin need to remain on a medication a period of time, so they aren’t tempted to use heroin again. Often, they must work closely with their doctors in order to get these prescriptions and keep them current.
Group homes. Some addicted people aren’t ready to leave the facility environment, and they enter sober living programs, where they live in communal facilities with other addicts. They may choose to stay here for years, until they feel strong enough to live on their own. While they live in the facility, they may participate in group meetings as well.

Do Treatment Programs Work?

As mentioned, every addiction and every person is different. It’s difficult to determine if the methods used by one person would be effective for another person. For example, a study in 1999 in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence found that participating in an inpatient program benefited heroin users. Of those who completed a program, 50 percent were clean a year later. The longer the people stayed in the program, the more likely they were to succeed. But a study published in 2011 by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that painkiller addicts were no more likely to succeed in kicking the habit if they participated in a treatment program; only medications helped them beat the addiction.

Doctors and addiction specialists do not recommend that some addicts enter treatment programs and others do not; the risk of denying a treatment program to someone who can use it is just too great. It is safe to say, however, that the addicted person should have some control over the methods used to treat his or her addiction. Multiple studies show that addicts who want to beat their addiction and enter the treatment program with a strong sense of resolve do tend to perform better than people who are forced into these programs. By allowing the addicted person to choose to participate and motivating the addicted person to participate with an open heart, families can help their loved ones recover.