subject: Overview Of A Good Addiction Treatment Program [print this page] Every individual addiction treatment program has its own particular curriculum, procedures and methods for treating inpatients and outpatients. The bottom line is that patients are aiming to establish a life they are satisfied with without using the addictive drugs or alcohol they have come to depend on. A good addiction treatment program will be practiced around the three traditional phases of addiction treatment, which are detoxification, rehabilitation and continuing long term care.
Safety of the patient is always the first priority, and when a patient goes through outpatient or inpatient detoxification, it has to be done safely and comfortably, always under the supervision of medical personnel. Even though not every outpatient program will allow it, the best addiction treatment program allow patients to remain at the facility and be monitored for several hours a day, and they should also be able to arrange hospitalization very quickly if it becomes necessary.
There are many different parts to the rehabilitation phase, and a good addiction treatment program is going to have their patients attending about five times a week, usually Monday through Friday. Patients should be taking part in group therapy and education during rehabilitation. The frequency of these sessions is gradually reduced as they make progress over a period of several weeks. By the time the rehabilitation phase is complete, they will have attended 20 to 30 sessions.
The last phase of the traditional addiction treatment programs, the continuing care phase, consists of a group therapy session once weekly. Specialized groups in these sessions are able to focus on particular issues. Structured intensive outpatient drug and alcohol treatment programs at the best treatment centers are just as effective as hospital rehabilitation is, and they are also more effective than non intensive outpatient programs. Families are included in treatment, and there are some group sessions every week for relatives and even close friends to attend along with the patient. Everyone learns about dependence, and they have an opportunity to discuss experiences about the illness as well as the process of recovery.
Every patient comes with a different story, a different history and different personal goals. The best centers are those that are able to customize and personalize treatment according to each individual patient. There are many factors that work together to determine the rate of success that patients achieve. Each completes different levels of recovery at different stages and at different paces.
People attend these programs for many reasons, but they all ultimately want a happy life without the influence of alcohol. With outpatient programs, patients prefer to stay with their families and remain on their jobs rather than enter an inpatient residential treatment program. Patients come from all walks of life, and those with problems in the early through the late stages of addiction come to the best addiction treatment programs.
