According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, illegal drug abuse is a huge economic cross for the United States to bear. A 2002 study indicates that this health crisis costs the country approximately $181 billion dollars every year.
This expense doesn’t factor in the financial burden of legal drug abuse in the form of alcohol or prescription medications. Additionally, it does not reflect the human toll addiction extracts in the form of overdose and the spread of disease, the negative emotional and physical effect on families and children or the increase in crime due to drug addiction.
Types of Services Offered by Alcohol and Drug Treatment Programs
Alcohol and drug rehabilitation centers provide services designed to help addicts get clean. There are different types of rehab programs. Some are inpatient, and some are outpatient. Some have religion-based structures and some are geared towards a certain group of people, like teenagers or working professionals. Many include medical services to assist with physical withdrawal. Some people enter rehab of their own volition and others are ordered there by the judicial system.
Many health insurance companies will cover a trip to rehab and some states offer free programs for addicts who cannot afford to pay. Most effective drug and alcohol rehab treatment programs follow a similar outline.
Substance and Mental Health Screening and Physical Withdrawal in Rehab
Entering rehab begins with an assessment of individual substance use to include family and personal medical history, duration of habit and social, emotional and legal consequences. An intake counselor talks to the addict (and sometimes his family) and obtains answers to a numerous questions. This assessment allows the treatment team to tailor a program suited to the individual needs.
At this time, the patient is also screened for any mental or emotional illness that may be present. Many addicts begin abusing drugs and alcohol as a way to self-medicate and treat an underlying psychiatric disorder. An addict who battles a psychological diagnosis along with substance abuse is sometimes called Dual Diagnosis and is treated not only for his drug and alcohol problem, but also for his mental illness.
If medically managed physical detoxification is necessary, a specially trained physician oversees what type of medications will best help the addict detox most effectively and comfortably. This course of treatment can include medications to stabilize blood pressure as well as medications to reduce anxiety, depression and sleep problems.
Physical drug withdrawal is uncomfortable and painful, but the symptoms can be handled well in an inpatient treatment center. A good regime of short-term medications can take addicts about 90% of the way in relieving physical discomfort. Getting the addict physically clean is the first step for rehab programs, which then go on to address the emotional, psychological and social components of drug abuse.
Inpatient vs. Outpatient Drug and Alcohol Treatment
The primary advantage of an inpatient treatment program, sometimes called residential treatment, is that it puts the addict in a safe place where he cannot easily obtain drugs. The addict usually will stay for a predetermined period of time in a dorm-like arrangement with other people in the same predicament. The addict will live, sleep, eat and attend classes, meetings and other activities with these people.
Inpatient programs also offer a stable routine, something many addicts do not have in their daily lives. Every minute of the patient’s day is planned out. This type of military-like schedule helps establish a healthy foundation for the addict’s new life without drugs. The disadvantage of inpatient rehab is that it costs more than outpatient treatment. Additionally, a person must put the rest of her life on hold to enter one and fully participate.
The advantage of outpatient treatment is that the addict can live at home and sometimes even continue to work while attending. These type of programs often take place at night, and they cost less than inpatient rehab.
Inpatient or out, all treatment programs concentrate heavily on patient education about the nature of addiction and behavior modification. Usually they also introduce the addict to 12 step recovery programs. Addiction is treated as a progressive, incurable and fatal condition, and addicts are encouraged to build a support program outside of the walls of rehab. Often addicts are guided towards fellowships like Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous. During treatment, they may be required to attend a number of these types of meetings – either at the rehab facility or in the surrounding community.
For more information on helping a person who may have a substance abuse problem, please read Drug Addiction and Alcoholism Intervention: Things to Consider, What is the Program of Narcotics Anonymous? and How to Tell if a Person is an Alcoholic.
Sources:
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Janice Fahy - Janice Fahy is a freelance writer who is comfortable researching and writing on just about any topic under the sun.
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