Effective Drug Addiction Treatments

Researches have highlighted that treatments for drug addiction can aid individuals addicted to drugs to stop taking, prevent relapse, and successfully improve their lives. Based on these researches, key principles have emerged that form the basis of any suitable recovery program:

(1) Dependency on drugs is a very complicated but curable disease that can alter brain function and behavior.

(2) Treatment shoul be easily accessible.

(3) Staying in treatment for an adequate period is necessary.

(4) Medicines are one of the most vital parts of treatment for many patients, especially when combined with behavioral therapies and counseling.

(5) Group or individual counseling and behavioral therapies are the most commonly used forms of drug addiction treatment.

(6) Detoxification is only the first step towards treatment of dependency on drugs and on its own does not treat drug dependency.

(7) A patients recovery plan should be assessed continuously and amended as necessary to make sure that it meets changing needs.

(8) No single treatment is the best for every patient.

(9) Recovery programs should assess patients for the presence of infectious diseases such as hepatitis B & C, tuberculosis, AIDS and give counseling to assist patients modify or change behaviors that place them at danger of contracting or spreading these diseases.

Effective drug addiction treatments:

Medication and behavioral therapies, particularly when combined, are important components of an overall recovery program that commonly starts with detoxification and is then followed by treatment and prevention of relapse.

Medications

Medicines can be used to assist in various parts of the treatment program. They aid in suppressing withdrawal symptoms during detoxification. But, it is not in itself a “treatment”– instead it is only the first stage in the recovery program. Patients who do not receive any further treatment after going through detoxification, exhibit drug addiction behavior similar to those who have never gone through recovery.

Medicines can be given to aid in reestablishing regular brain functioning and to avoid relapse and decrease cravings. Most of the people with acute problems of addiction, however, are poly-drug users (addicts of more than one drug) and will require medicines for all of the drugs that they take.

Behavioral Treatments

Behavioral treatments assist individuals participate in the recovery program, alter their behaviors and attitudes related to drug addiction. These treatments enhance the effectiveness of medicines and aid addicts to stay in treatment for longer periods of time.