Treatment at an alcohol and drug abuse treatment center

Millions of Americans are dependent on alcohol and millions are also dependent upon drugs, whether they are illicit or prescription medications and for any alcohol and drug abuse treatment center that you may choose to ask, they will advise that the incidence of dual diagnosis conditions is increasingly the norm. By dual diagnosis conditions, we mean that a patient is suffering not only from say a drug dependency but also alcohol dependency, or indeed some other condition that is interacting with substance dependency. Dual diagnosis conditions present the greatest challenges to the ability to treat a patient and maintain a high probability of a successful healing outcome.

With dual diagnosis patients, initial assessment of the patient by an alcohol and drug abuse treatment center is essential, so that all conditions that a patient is afflicted with are identified. It is important to identify all conditions a patient is presenting as to treat one condition but not the other may lead to a total failure of any treatment regime that is applied. Dependency conditions often interact and have common root causes, so understanding how these conditions have come about and they have been created is a necessary step in implementing an optimal treatment regime for the patient.

The initial assessment that an alcohol and drug abuse treatment center administers will include a physical examination and testing of the patient to determine the severity of dependence. Further, a good initial assessment will seek to assess the mental and psychological make-up of the patient and gain a thorough understanding of the root causes and factors that have contributed to the cycle of addiction that has been created. This may be highly emotive for both the patient and the family of the afflicted individual however, it’s purpose is not only to assess to the treatment implications for the patient but also for those affected by the behavioral and emotional issues of the family and loved ones who have to deal with an addict.

Alcohol and drug abuse treatment center staffs tend to have a great deal of experience in handling the often sensitive and emotive issues that are presented. Alcohol and drug abuse treatment center combinations tend to enjoy high standards of expertise in dealing with both conditions, either presented singly or in dual diagnosis combination, not least as there will have been an excellent level of cross training across the various specialisms that will be deployed to treat both diseases. Resources are also likely to be shared across both treatment specialties so that an individual patient will be able to enjoy more intensive treatment than at a single condition facility.

Alcohol and drug abuse treatment center combinations have been recognized by the Federal government as producing better results than stand alone facilities and have taken steps to promote combination facilities wherever possible, particularly in the criminal justice system. The results that has been achieved in a detention based alcohol and drug abuse treatment center compared to a stand alone program in a detention facility has been significantly higher. No matter what the reason for seeking treatment, the ability to cross treat across a range of addictions promotes a greater probability of recovery. In part, this is because of skill sets that are available and can be used to diagnose the individual patient, but there is also the fact that dual diagnosis patients are in fact the de facto norm for most addiction treatment practitioners.

There is no better demonstration of the more effective utilization of treatment resources of an alcohol and drug abuse treatment center than when detoxification is being implemented. Detoxification is the process by which a patient has the dependent substance withdrawn in order to cleanse the body of the drug or alcohol that is causing the dependency. This is a very necessary first step in delivering a treatment regime to addiction patients however when the patient is addicted to more than one substance, management of the process becomes disproportionately complicated.

An alcohol and drug abuse treatment center will have the medical specialists that have the expertise to manage both alcohol and drug detoxification. The cross fertilization of skill sets and experience will mean that they will be able to assess an individual patient and plot a route through detoxification that produces the most optimal result with the lowest implications for the health and well-being of the patient. Bear in mind that detox for most patients is a severe and traumatic experience, and the reason why medical supervision is required is that there is a serious risk to health, and in extreme cases, death may occur if not properly supervised and controlled.

Another distinct advantage that an alcohol and drug abuse treatment clinic has over stand alone facilities is that it is able to make referrals internally as specialists and their support staff are all physically located within the same building. Research and empirical evidence has demonstrated that when an addicted person first seeks treatment, the ability to receive treatment quickly has a direct bearing on a successful treatment outcome. The maxim, strike while the iron is hot, applies most certainly in these situations as an alcohol dependent patient may have to wait for a referral to alcohol rehab if they ask for help at a drug outreach facility and vice versa.

As the epidemic of addiction continues to spread across all sections of our society, and the range of substances that are making their addictive impact felt increase (for instance overdose death from the two top prescription medications is now higher than the two most widely used illegal drugs in America) then our treatment response must also adapt to become effective. Most facilities have already implicitly recognized that they must cross refer patients, request consults and share resources as they seek to optimize patient care. The alcohol and drug abuse treatment center that provides the one stop shop to receiving treatment and support for both dependency conditions is a logical and necessary step forward..