Which is the best treatment for drug addiction? In-patient or outpatient rehab, or detox? Sadly, many people have to ask these questions in order to help themselves or loved ones. The best drug addiction treatments include behavioral and medical health services tailored to the patient's needs and prevent relapse in the long run. In short, the best treatments are specific to the challenges of each individual patient.
There are many different treatments out there to help patients struggling with drug addiction. Some of those include:
- Medication
- Counseling
- Treatment for other co-existing mental-health struggles like anxiety
- Withdrawal treatment medical devices and applications
- Preventing relapse in the long-term
Using Technology For Long-Term Recovery
The ideal treatment includes a mix of each item listed above. However, one of the most important steps in this process is giving patients the tools to stay off drugs in the long-term and prevent a relapse.
When patients get treated for addiction, they need to have communication with their therapist through technology. Therapists can send surveys to patients to see how they're doing and what help they need at that time. This helps the patient and the clinician.
However, not all electronic health record (EHR) software systems have this capability. And even if they do, they can be difficult to implement. You can learn more about how to choose a behavioral health EHR software here. You can also see our software features and benefits here.
Inpatient, Outpatient or Detox? Which Is The Best Treatment For Drug Addiction?
It's hard to know which drug treatment is best. To help, I'll break down what each one is and its benefits.
Inpatient Rehab Treatment
This is when a patient temporarily lives in a rehab facility. Inpatient treatment can be ideal for people with severe addictions, those who lack a solid support system, and people who have mental struggles like anxiety or depression. They usually offer individual and group therapy. Patients who have relapsed in the past may want to consider inpatient treatment.
Outpatient Rehab Treatment
Not all people need inpatient therapy. It's actually better for some people to start in outpatient therapy. That being said, outpatient treatment can also be a second step for people who have completed inpatient therapy. Outpatient treatment doesn't provide around-the-clock care but the treatments should still last at least 90 days. Anything less than that and the program isn't likely to be effective.
Detox Programs
Detox programs are good because they help people get drugs out of their systems safely. They're a good first step for people with moderate to severe drug addictions. These programs can be especially useful for people with severe withdrawal symptoms. By using medication, they can taper down a patient's usage until his/her body can handle not having drugs in it.
Are Drug Treatment Programs Successful?
The answer to this question is yes, they can be very successful. According to research by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, most people who get treatment are able to overcome drug addiction and become contributing members of society again. I should mention that a person's success in overcoming addiction depends on several factors:
- Severity of the addiction
- Cause and underlying problems
- Getting treatment specific to the addiction
- Quality of interaction between the patient and the providers
Principles Of An Effective Drug Treatment
Whether you're a medical practitioner looking to prescribe specific treatment for someone or a patient trying to figure out which is the best treatment for drug addiction, there are principles to consider. Here's a list of effective drug-treatment principles from the National Institute on Drug Abuse:
- No treatment is right for everyone: The treatment needs to match the addiction to help that specific individual be a fully-functioning member of society.
- It needs to be very accessible: Overcoming addiction is hard. That's why the barrier to entry needs to be very easy. They need to be able to get treatment the moment they're ready.
- Addiction affects brain function and behavior: Using drugs changes your brain's function. This is part of why people frequently relapse down the road. This is one of the reasons patients need to have good communication with their therapists through technology.
- Get treated for the right amount of time: The right treatment will be based on the severity of the addiction. Most people need at least three months of treatment in order to overcome their addiction, according to research.
- Focus on more than just the addiction: Rarely is it just about drugs. The right treatment will focus on problems dealing with work, the law, health, and the patient's psychology, as well as the addiction.
What Makes A Good Drug And Alcohol Treatment Center?
Now that you know how to find which drug treatment is best, you might wonder what makes a good drug and alcohol treatment center? Just as no treatment is right for everyone, the same is true of treatment centers. There isn't one treatment center that fits the needs of every person battling drug addiction.
There are more than 14,000 drug and alcohol rehab centers in the US. Here are some things to look for when choosing a rehab center.
What Are Its Specialties?
Different treatment centers have different specialties. Whether the center has a lot of specialities or only a few, what matters most is if they specialize in the treatment you require. Look for a center that's highly-rated and well-respected for the treatment you need.
Is The Staff Accredited?
You know who deals with patients the most? The center's staff. That's why it's really important to make sure they're accredited and dedicated. The best way to figure this out is to ask questions. Is everyone on staff a registered nurse? How many physicians work at the center? How involved are they in the treatment? Don't assume that just because they're accredited that it's a great treatment center. That's not always the case. But it is a good indicator.
Do They Focus On Underlying Problems?
As I mentioned earlier, the problem is rarely, if ever, just the drugs or alcohol. So, getting treatment only for those issues, without focusing on the underlying cause, won't result in lasting change. The best treatment centers focus on fixing the underlying problem that's causing the addiction.
Do They Offer Multiple Types Of Therapy?
People looking to overcome drug abuse should get several different types of therapy. Different therapies help because they look at the problem from different angles. Group therapy is excellent and helps a lot of people. And 1-on-1 therapy is just as important and effective. A treatment center that focuses on multiple kinds of therapy will be much more effective in helping people overcome addiction than those that don't.
What's Their Success Rate?
While there's no single factor that determines if a treatment center is good or not, this is probably the most important factor. For the most part, the best treatment centers have higher success rates.
But look deeper than the surface on this. How do they determine success? Is it based on the number of people who complete the program or former patients staying sober for x number of months? Also, keep in mind that some treatment specialties have lower success rates than others. So, that begs the question, how high is that treatment center's success rate in that specialty? How does it compare to other treatment centers with the same specialty?
Conclusion
So, which is the best treatment for drug addiction? It really depends on the needs of the individual and the severity of their addiction. What's incredibly important is choosing the right treatment center.
Are drug treatment programs successful? They can be very successful! What's really important here is getting the person into a really good treatment facility. You can know if a drug treatment center is good by looking at their specialties, staff accreditations if they focus on underlying problems and focus on multiple types of therapy, and their success rate.
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