Addiction Specialists Answer Your Questions About Drug Rehab
An addiction specialist is a well-trained professional with education and extensive training in addiction treatment.
Author:Karan EmeryReviewer:James PierceAug 09, 202217 Shares486 Views
An addiction specialist is a well-trained professional with education and extensive training in addiction treatment. They have access to a wide range of treatment options, and they are qualified to create customized care plans for each person suffering from addiction.
We spoke to Bryan Alzate, the CEO of United Recovery Project in California, in order to answer your questions about rehabilitation for drug dependencies.
What is Drug Rehab?
Drug Rehabilitation is a psychotherapeutic treatment for drug addicts dependent on prescription drugs and street drugs such as heroin, cannabis, and cocaine. It helps the patients get rid of substance abuse.
What is Drug Addiction?
Drug addiction is a condition that affects a person’s behavior and leads them to be unable to control their use of a drug, legal and illicit, or a medication. When addicted, they continue using the medicine despite the harm it causes to the body.
What are my Addiction Treatment Options?
Addiction treatment options largely include Inpatient Rehabilitation and Outpatient Rehabilitation. Other treatment options include Sober Living Homes and extended rehabilitation.
Will Insurance Cover Rehab?
Yes, health insurance covers drug addiction rehab. Still, the extent to which the insurance will cover depends on various factors including your particular needs, your rehabilitation treatment provider, and your behavioral health benefits under your insurance policy. It is best to check with your insurance program before entering a drug rehab treatment. The Affordable Care Act provides most people suffering from an addiction in the US with the chance to receive minimal prices for each treatment type. Contact your chosen treatment center to confirm with them how you can use your private or publicly funded insurance plans.
Can Drug Addiction Be Treated?
People suffering from a drug addiction can receive treatment, but it is not a simple process. A proper drug addiction treatment must help a patient stop the use of drugs, help them stay drug-free, and be productive in the family, at work, and in the society. There are a lot of drug addiction treatments available.
What are the Treatments for Drug Addiction?
Holistic Therapy:Holistic therapy programs feature personalized, non-medical addiction recovery methods. Holistic therapies are non-medicinal rehabilitation techniques that are employed in addition to traditional treatment methods. It focuses on the individual’s overall well-being while also treating physical symptoms of addiction and withdrawal.
Holistic therapy encompasses several aspects of healthy living, from meditation to exercise.
Some of the primary therapies include:
- Nutritional Therapy
- Meditation
- Massage and Acupuncture
- Exercise and Recreational Therapy
Traditional Psychotherapy: This is also known as "talk therapy." The addict spends time with a therapist or a counselor and talks about their addiction. It is a gradual process, and once the addict becomes comfortable will the therapist, they will bring up painful memories.
By talking about those painful memories, the addict will re-experience the emotions from what happened then. And from experiencing those emotions once more, the addict can let go of the negative emotions often underlying addiction. Traditional psychotherapy aims to restore an addict and enable them live an everyday life.
The therapist may also recognize a pattern of abuse while discussing memories, emotions, and feelings around the abuse of drugs.
There are four ways to identify the patterns during the traditional psychotherapy process. This is achieved by examining the four areas of interaction with yourself and others.
- Examination of life problems
- Reflection on negative or distorted thoughts
- Examination of counterproductive behaviors
- Assessment of social relationships.
CBT: CBT is short for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It teaches those who are recovering from drug addiction to find connections between their feelings, actions, and thoughts. It also helps them increase awareness of how these connections impact recovery. CBT helps addicts overcome addiction by
- Teaching the addicts practical communication skills.
- Bettering the mood of the addicts by providing self-help tools.
- Helping the addicts dismiss false beliefs and insecurities which leads to drug addiction.
DBT:Dialectical Behavior Therapy is a psychotherapy method used to treat drug addiction by instilling confidence and stress management skills in recovering drug addicts with severe mood disorders.
Common DBT strategies used in addiction treatment include
- Bolstering the self-esteem and confidence of addicts undergoing treatment to help them stay sober through stressful periods.
- Helping addicts seek out environments and peer groups that discourage drug use.
- By encouraging addicts to remove triggers from their daily lives.
How are Medications Used in Drug Addiction Treatment?
Medication helps ease the problematic aspect of the treatment process and helps those who are in recovery to remain sober. Medication for drug addiction treatment is usually prescribed as part of an inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation program.
The most challenging part of detox is coping with the withdrawal symptoms. Detox is the initial stage of recovering from addiction; the body rids itself of drugs. During detox, former drug addicts experience different uncomfortable symptoms, and some of them may include;
- Depression
- Nausea
- Anxiety
- Seizures
- Muscle Ache
- Sweating
Different withdrawal symptoms experienced are treated by various medications. Below are some of the drugs prescribed by physicians to help with withdrawal symptoms during detox;
Antidepressants: An addicted person cannot produce natural amounts of happiness-inducing chemicals in their brain without taking drugs. Because of the over-reliance on pills to make them happy, one of the withdrawal symptoms experienced during detox is depression. The prescribed antidepressants can help them relieve those depressing feelings until their brain can produce happiness-inducing chemicals again.
Clonidine:Clonidine is used to treat opiate and alcohol withdrawals. It reduces muscle aches, sweating, anxiety, and cramps. It can also stop seizures and tremors.
Benzodiazepines:These are drugs used to reduce anxiety and irritability. Benzos have a sedative effect that helps ease alcohol, cocaine, and heroin withdrawal symptoms. Doctors and physicians are wary about prescribing benzos because they are addictive.
Is Treatment Different For Criminal Justice Population?
Not at all; treatment for the criminal justice population is the same. Treatments are tailored to fit the needs of the individual, and the use of drugs during treatment is carefully monitored as individuals trying to recover from drug addiction may experience a relapse. Treatments also target factors associated with criminal behavior. Criminal justice supervision incorporates treatment planning for drug-abusing offenders, and treatment providers are aware of correctional supervision requirements.
How Many People Get Treatment For Drug Addiction?
About 20% of Americans who have depression or an anxiety disorder also have a substance use disorder, and more than 90% of people who have an addiction started to drink alcohol or use drugs before they were 18 years old.
According to statistics, almost 21 million Americans have at least one addiction, yet only 10% of them receive treatment. If you do not want to be a statistic, find a rehab clinic which will cater to your needs and won’t treat you like yet another per cent that has come through their doors.
Jump to
What is Drug Rehab?
What is Drug Addiction?
What are my Addiction Treatment Options?
Will Insurance Cover Rehab?
Can Drug Addiction Be Treated?
What are the Treatments for Drug Addiction?
How are Medications Used in Drug Addiction Treatment?
Is Treatment Different For Criminal Justice Population?
How Many People Get Treatment For Drug Addiction?
Karan Emery
Author
James Pierce
Reviewer
Latest Articles
Popular Articles