Alcohol Treatment Centers
_______________________________________________________________________
The long-established alcohol treatment programs have historically been based on the 12-step method that started with Alcoholics
Anonymous.
Other less traditional alcohol treatment methodologies, nevertheless, have been taking place in alcohol treatment centers or in rehab
hospitals and have been providing alcohol treatment that is not based on the 12-step rehabilitation protocol.
Alcohol Treatment Centers: Counseling and Medications
Most of the non-12-step alcohol treatment approaches take place in rehab
hospitals or in alcohol treatment centers that feature treatment methodologies that are rooted in the administration of doctor-prescribed
medications along with extensive counseling, education, training, and support.
In addition, numerous non-12-step methodologies treat alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse from both a psychological and a physiological
perspective. In a similar manner, some of the more productive alcohol treatment methods are more inclusive than others and therefore
concentrate on how problem drinkers will respond to relationship issues, financial difficulties, and employment problems after they complete
treatment, get sober, and return home.
Moreover, more than a few of the more successful alcohol treatment centers adhere to a holistic viewpoint that helps alcohol abusers and
alcoholics identify and manage some of the fundamental issues that probably lead to the person's alcohol abuse or addiction in the first
place. Examples of these fundamental issues include the following: a sense of loss, poor anger management skills, pain, poor coping
skills, grief, unemployment, poor interpersonal relationship skills, spirituality issues, poor financial management skills, and career
indecision.
| In some situations, even social or moderate drinking can be hazardous. Examples include the following:
drinking during pregnancy, when taking various medications, or when driving. |
Follow-Up Treatment: A Necessity
When a person undergoes alcohol rehab, it is particularly critical to address what he or she will be doing after he or she has
concluded the treatment protocol.
Stated differently, getting through detox and overcoming one's alcohol withdrawal symptoms are vital to the recovery process, but so is the
“follow-up” counseling, education, and training that successful alcohol treatment centers regularly begin as soon as the residential part of the
rehabilitation process ends.
Some of the better known and more successful alcohol treatment centers, for example, implement follow-up outpatient education, training, and
counseling for one year after the inpatient part of treatment has been completed.
To be brief, the more comprehensive and quality-oriented alcohol treatment centers focus on treatment methods that are built and put into
action for long-lasting success rather than employing quick fix, short-term therapeutic approaches.
| Alcohol is by far the most used and abused drug among America’s teenagers. According to a national survey, nearly
one third (31.5%) of all high school students reported hazardous drinking (5+ drinks in one setting) during the 30 days preceding
the survey. |
The Significance of the Treatment Environment
The treatment environment in which an alcoholic or alcohol abuser finds himself or herself is an essential rehabilitation
consideration. Some of the more proficient alcohol treatment centers, for example, cultivate a supportive, motivating, positive, and
safe environment that usually results in long-term treatment success.
Whereas the majority of alcohol treatment centers provide rehab that can be relatively expensive, specifically those that offer residential,
in-patient therapy, many of the more competent and success-oriented alcohol treatment centers put financial gain on the back burner and limit the
number of alcohol abusers and alcoholics they accept for treatment. This is more of a "rehabilitation" decision and less of a "profit and
loss" calculation that enables staff to focus on the effort, resources, time, and compassion that first-rate, professional alcohol rehab
requires.
| In the third stage of alcoholism, the loss of control becomes common, meaning that the person is unable to drink
according to his or her intentions. For example, once the person takes the first drink, he or she can no longer control
what will happen, even though the intention might have been to have one or two drinks. |
Characteristics of Effective Alcohol Treatment Centers
The following represents some of the more significant features of successful alcohol treatment centers:
- Hotel or rehab facility suites for out-of-town patients or guests
- Doctor prescribed medications to help control and manage alcohol withdrawal symptoms
- Extensive day and night counseling and educational programs
- Treatment options with different time frames and length of treatment options that are tailored to the needs of each client
- A caring, professional, and results-oriented staff
- Success rates well beyond the national averages
- Hospital and non-hospital treatment options
- Outpatient methods that are individualized to “fit” the personality, financial resources, and the needs of each client
- Private detoxification services
- Competitive pricing
- The employment of medications to help clients refrain from alcohol relapse
| To most people, binge drinking brings to mind a self-destructive and unrestrained drinking bout lasting for at
least a couple of days during which time the heavily intoxicated drinker "drops out" by not working, ignoring responsibilities,
squandering money, and engaging in other harmful behaviors such as fighting or risky sex. |
Alcohol Treatment Centers: Conclusion
Many of the "time-honored" alcohol recovery methods are modeled after the 12-step approach started by Alcoholics Anonymous.
Other, less well-known, non-12-step alcohol rehab methods, nonetheless, have surfaced and have proliferated. These non-12-step
treatment approaches are usually undertaken in rehab hospitals, alcohol treatment centers, or in rebab clinics and focus
less on considerations such as group support, the number of meetings a problem drinker attends, and a "higher power," and more on
scientific, empirically validated results that utilize doctor-prescribed medications in combination with staff support, comprehensive
counseling, training, and education, and an effective and practical follow-up treatment protocol.
Some of the more thorough "non-traditional" alcohol rehab methods take place in rehab hospitals, alcohol treatment centers, or in drug and
alcohol treatment clinics. These non-12-step rehabilitation facilities are usually staffed with considerate, helpful, and first-rate
healthcare professionals who do everything in their power to help their clients learn more effective coping, relationship, decision-making, and
"life" skills; help them recover from their abusive and excessive drinking; and help them learn how to restore their lives and attain long term
alcohol recovery.
| Every year in the United States, more than 40,000 babies are born with some degree of alcohol-related
impairment. Although many, if not most, women understand that excessive drinking during pregnancy can lead to birth
defects, many woman, apparently, are unaware or do not understand that moderate or even light drinking can seriously impair or
harm the unborn fetus too. |
Please Add Our Website To Your Favorite Bookmarks!
| The decision to stop using alcohol or other drugs is very important to your health. If your doctor knows that your
have made this decision, he or she can give you emotional support and treat any medical problems that may occur during your
recovery. For instance, mood changes, such as anger, irritability, anxiety and depression, problems with sexual functioning, and
insomnia (problems sleeping) and are common in the first few months of recovery. If you have any of these problems and discuss
them honestly with your doctor, he or she can help you deal with them. |
_____________________________________________
|