Drug Addiction Therapy: Definition, Types, Alternative Treatment

andrewmichaelfriedrichs
September 28, 2024
Sober Living
0 Comments

A modified form of CBT, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), encourages individuals to develop skills that enable them to have improved emotional control and make healthier choices. Support group sessions often follow a plan such as the 12-Step Program to recovery used by Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. Dr. Ashish Bhatt, MD establishes that proper aftercare treatment can help to prevent relapse and achieve long-lasting recovery. Your loved one may feel attacked and become isolated or more opposed to treatment.

Medical Detoxification from Drugs and Alcohol

It’s important to know what the many treatment options are and at least as challenging to know which would be best fit for any individual, to say nothing of figuring out how to pay for it. • Therapy also addresses the co-occurring mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety, that are a common accompaniment to addiction. Wilderness therapy is a form of group therapy, taking patients on adventures in natural spaces encourages them to reassess their therapy for drug and alcohol addiction treatment surroundings and gain a greater understanding of their place in the world. It also encourages teamwork, strengthens bonds and relationships, and helps to develop a support network.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

But you can remove yourself — and any children — from a dangerous situation. FDA-approved drugs like naltrexone, acamprosate, and disulfiram are non-addictive; they either block alcohol’s reward, balance brain chemicals, or create deterrent reactions. They contain no alcohol or narcotics and have minimal abuse potential, especially when prescribed within a structured treatment program. Outpatient and intensive outpatient programs (IOP) schedule therapy in evening or daytime blocks so you can keep a job or attend classes. The Americans with Disabilities Act protects you from job loss if you seek treatment before performance issues escalate.

Therapy For Addiction Recovery

Over 46 million Americans aged 12 or older have a SUD, and according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 94% of those people did not receive any treatment. It will take a significant amount of willingness and continuous support to achieve and maintain long-term sobriety. Additionally, medications are used to help people detoxify from drugs, although detoxification is not the same as treatment and is not sufficient to help a person recover. Detoxification alone without subsequent treatment generally leads to resumption of drug use. While relapse is a normal part of recovery, for some drugs, it can be very dangerous—even deadly. If a person uses as much of the drug as they did before quitting, they can easily overdose because their bodies are no longer adapted to their previous level of drug exposure.

Group therapy allows patients to share their struggles, learn from each other, and give and get peer and counselor support. Family therapy helps repair damaged relationships and educates loved ones about addiction so they can be supportive of the recovery process. Variably called peer support, self-help, or mutual help organizations, the social support of peers is one of the best-known addiction recovery mechanisms. Meetings of such groups exist in communities worldwide and are free to all who attend. Attendees share their addiction and recovery experiences and the recovery skills they’ve acquired.

What are the principles of effective treatment?

Medical detox is the first step, especially for substances like alcohol or opioids, where withdrawal is dangerous and requires supervised care.
The chronic nature of addiction means that for some people relapse, or a return to drug use after an attempt to stop, can be part of the process, but newer treatments are designed to help with relapse prevention.
Treatment programs are different for each individual and can be customized based on unique needs and situations.
Experts are now rethinking how to measure addiction, and many believe there are several markers of recovery—the ability to control substance use, general well-being, and functioning as a productive member of society.
Clinicians may step you up to a higher level of care, tweak medications, or increase counseling frequency.
Treatment programs usually have multiple elements addressing the many facets of overcoming addiction, healing the damage to body and mind, rebuilding a life, and finding direction for the future.

Addiction is unique, and there is no single treatment plan that works for everyone. It is essential to find the treatment program and therapy, or combination of therapies, that are right for you. With the right support and guidance, you will find the addiction treatment program that suits you, motivates you, and ensures your long-term recovery from addiction. Faith-based treatment programs provide specialized therapies and facilities that center around faith. Within this treatment program, people in recovery can surround themselves with like-minded individuals looking for guidance from a higher power to find recovery in the journey ahead.

Ready To Get The Support You Deserve?

Each phase has its own daily rhythm, specialized team members, and short-term goals that build toward lasting sobriety. These red flags signal physiological dependence and heightened medical risk. Take the NIAAA’s brief Rethinking Drinking self-check and share the results with a physician or addiction counselor. If you’ve tried to cut back and can’t, need a “eye-opener” drink to steady your hands, or feel edgy, sweaty, or shaky when alcohol wears off, it’s time to involve a professional. When these biological and environmental forces converge, they create a perfect storm for Alcohol Use Disorder. Drinkers with two or more of these factors working against them will have a much harder time getting sober without proper professional help.

Treatment aims to overcome the root cause of the problem by addressing the disorder and not just the behavior resulting from it. Motivational Interviewing aims to resolve ambivalence within an individual and motivate change. This type of CBT is designed to enable collaboration between the patient and the facilitator. Individuals are encouraged to feel in charge of their own sobriety, and this has been proven to increase commitment and, ultimately, success. If your loved one doesn’t accept treatment, be prepared to follow through with the changes you presented. It’s very important to work with a professional for an intervention to succeed.

Patients can be readily observed and monitored, an advantage for the early stages of medication management, if used. And life in residential treatment tends to be fairly regimented, in contrast to the often-chaotic life of active addiction. Residential treatment is usually significantly more expensive than outpatient treatment, and depending on location, and many variables in individual plans, may or may not be eligible for insurance coverage. Residential treatment at an addiction rehabilitation facility or medical inpatient care is rarely necessary, and only a small percentage of substance users seek out or require such treatment. In the addiction world, “intervention” is a technique of confrontation intended to drive a person into treatment for addiction. Those who promote interventions contend that only such a dramatic event can pierce the denial of harmful consequences that is presumed to be perpetuating the addiction.

After reviewing the results, the therapist can recommend a range of psychological techniques that can be used to help develop healthy coping strategies to better manage the body’s involuntary processes. When people enter treatment, addiction has often caused serious consequences in their lives, possibly disrupting their health and how they function in their family lives, at work, and in the community. Treatment may include counseling, education, job services, family services and life skills training. For example, Mayo Clinic offers various addiction services and has a thorough team approach to treating addiction. Sometimes a direct, heart-to-heart conversation can start the road to recovery.

Patients can be readily observed and monitored, an advantage for the early stages of medication management, if used.
Counseling helps individuals to understand their addiction and its root causes.
It allows individuals struggling with substance use to come together under professional guidance to share their experiences, struggles, and progress.
Yet the temporary escape gives people an opportunity to focus on recovery 24/7, in a supportive environment.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps to make the patient aware of the impact of their thoughts and actions by teaching them mindfulness.
Holistic therapy aims to improve overall well-being and strengthen long-term recovery by addressing the underlying causes of addiction and supporting inner healing.

Withdrawal from alcohol, benzodiazepines, and barbiturates—all central nervous system depressants—poses the risk of seizures and can be life-threatening. Long-term recovery relies on the availability of an array of resources and support for rebuilding a life that is meaningful and rewarding. Just as families have found ways to adapt to an individual’s addictive behavior, they have to find ways to facilitate the healing process and support that person’s healthy behavior. That can require some degree of reorganizing their focus and behavior patterns, restoring mutual trust, repairing ruptured relationships, and learning about substance use and recovery.

Experiential therapy utilizes non-traditional treatment methods to help people overcome uncomfortable emotions or events through self-expression. This allows for some form of processing, which may include re-experiencing an event through a new lens or through actions that provide a sense of internal strength to overcome. Common types of alternative therapy include outdoor recreational activities like rock climbing and animal-assisted therapies like equine therapy. The chronic nature of addiction means that for some people relapse, or a return to drug use after an attempt to stop, can be part of the process, but newer treatments are designed to help with relapse prevention.

Intensive Addiction Program

An intervention professional, also known as an interventionist, also could direct an intervention. It sometimes includes a member of your loved one’s faith community or others who care about the person struggling with addiction. Group therapy for addiction is the process of recovery-focused counseling conducted in a peer setting. It allows individuals struggling with substance use to come together under professional guidance to share their experiences, struggles, and progress.

Studies have consistently shown its effectiveness in reducing substance use and improving treatment retention. Music therapy allows individuals to express emotions, reduce anxiety, and reconnect with themselves through sound. A 2018 Arts in Psychotherapy meta-analysis confirmed music therapy reduces depression and enhances emotional processing in substance use treatment. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a form of CBT tailored for individuals with intense emotional responses and co-occurring disorders like borderline personality disorder.

CBT is widely used because it addresses both current substance use behaviors and the underlying thoughts that drive them. Research by SAMSHA indicates that CBT reduces substance use by up to 60%, while DBT is particularly effective for individuals with high emotional dysregulation. Treatment for opioid addiction with medications is considered the first step in recovery from this life-threatening illness. • Because recovery is a developmental process, therapy also aims to instill in people an understanding of why they turned to substance use, so they can meet that need in healthier ways. This type of therapy is becoming increasingly popular and encompasses a combination of psychotherapy and real-life practices. Reality therapy enables individuals to develop better coping mechanisms and alternative thinking patterns.