Residential Addiction Treatment

May 15, 2011 0 Comments

Residential addiction treatment is one of the treatment options an addicted individual has. While there are many kinds of treatment centers available, most people prefer the privacy that residential addiction treatment offers. These kinds of treatment centers work primarily in a non-threatening environment, giving the resident patients a feeling of refuge from past wrongdoing. It becomes a center for finding the way back.

Individuals who are suffering from various addictions need professional help but finding the right rehabilitation program proves more difficult. Most centers now offer rigorous assessments- mentally, physically, and psychologically – to identify the extent of the individual’s addiction and to what the person is addicted to. For specialists, enrolling an addicted individual in a residential addiction treatment facility makes recovery more likely. Hospital-based addiction treatment is one option, but is usually reserved for patients who are already in life or death situations or those who are in need of rapid detoxification to save their lives. Such cases are extreme, and once the individual goes through the hospital visit, he is usually referred to the residential addiction treatment to continue the recovery.

The merits of having a person become a resident in these facilities carries weight. Logically, when a resident is enrolled in a residential addiction treatment facility, his progress will be constantly monitored by highly trained staff, under the guidance and supervision of an addiction specialist, usually a physician. This is needed more during the beginning stages of the treatment wherein the resident has to undergo detoxification. This process results in the resident experiencing withdrawal symptoms, and these are painful episodes. Withdrawals are different from each resident, depending on what they are addicted to, but some become depressed, and some even become violent. Having the resident under the watchful eye of the therapist and a competent medical staff provides a higher chance for the resident to go through the painful detox stage without being harmed and without the individual having the chance to harm another individual in the facility.

Once the resident shows signs of recovery from the effects of detox, they are usually encouraged to attend group sessions or discussions wherein they can join the group. These cells act as the first level of support for the recovering resident, having to meet other fellow residents with the same problems. When individuals recount their personal experiences, members of the group form a special bond that not many people experience. It creates friendships among residents, with each individual lending his support to his fellow resident.

Aside from counseling and physical activities to further help with detoxification, residential addiction treatment facilities also integrate the resident’s family as an important part in the recovery program. This ensures that the resident has all the support he needs to counter the very real threat of relapse.

When the resident is deemed treated enough to rejoin society, aftercare programs are given by residential addiction treatment centers, where the former resident will meet with his doctor on a regular basis but the treatment at this point becomes more voluntary and yet very crucial. These meetings serve as reminders for former residents to keep abstaining from falling under the same trap as before.

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