People who are going through alcohol addiction treatment have a lot of questions in their mind, but they do not really know who to ask. Treatment might prove meaningless if you have an issue with the process that you cannot get clarified. The following are some of the questions that most people have about alcohol addiction treatment, and their answers.
Q1. What does alcohol addiction treatment in the US really intend to do?
In most parts of the world, alcohol addiction treatment means to reduce the dependency of the person. Most treatment programs believe that alcoholism can never be completely and effectively removed from the mind of a person. These programs will therefore only try to reduce the dependency.
But in the US, the meaning of alcohol treatment is to completely bring the person out of the dependency for the substance. The intention of the program is to make the patient recover fully. This is definitely not an easy thing to do. While programs in Europe, for example, will believe that a person is out of alcohol addiction if they are brought to a lower level of dependency, programs in the US will consider themselves a success only if the person has totally stopped using the substance in question.
Q2. What are the different phases of alcohol addiction treatment in the US?
The first phase of alcohol treatment is the intervention program where the patient is convinced to go through the treatment process. Most centers pay the greatest attention to this phase of the treatment because this is where the patient can be made to develop a determination and dedication to go through the recovery process. This part of the program is usually implemented through counseling and education where the patient is made aware of the various repercussions that they addiction might have on their lives. In most cases, help from their families and friends is also sought because they can help motivate the patient in the best manner.
Once the intervention program has become successful, the patient is led through a detoxification program. The alcohol detoxification process focuses on removing the alcohol present in the body of the person by making them abstain from the substance completely and then administering various medications that can help bring them out of their dependency on the substance.
After the person has successfully come out of the withdrawal for the substance, they are led through an aftercare program. This program is targeted at completing eliminating the craving for alcohol from the mind of the person. This is as difficult as it seems and the whole process can sometimes go on to up to a year. The patient is trained in various therapies and techniques, including breathing exercises and meditation routines such as Yoga, which can help them in keeping their addictions at bay.
Q3. When does the detox process become important in alcohol addiction treatment?
Basically speaking, the detox process is not an obligatory part of alcohol treatments in the US. There are many outpatient forms of treatment for alcoholism that do away with the detox altogether. That notwithstanding, it is very important to undergo a detox treatment program, especially if the person has been with the alcohol addiction for a long period of time.
Alcohol is a fluid. It gets mixed with the bloodstream of the person quite fast, but its chemical composition does not allow it to be broken down in the human body at a commensurate rate. For that reason, it is quite possible that a lot of alcohol remains residual in the body of the person. It may accumulate mainly in the liver and the kidneys of the person and may also remain within the bloodstream. This can give rise to some serious health complications.
That is the reason detox treatment becomes important. Detox is also important because when the alcohol is removed from the body of the person, it becomes easier for the person to come out of the temptation for using the substance, thus accelerating the recovery process.
Q4. How much of family involvement is needed during an alcohol addiction treatment program?
The alcohol treatment program in the US is quite family intensive. The family of the patient will be needed for the initial phase of the treatment where they need to be motivated to come out of the denial. They will also be needed at various stages of the program where the courage and determination of the patient begins to falter. Also, there are counseling programs for the family during the aftercare process so that they can properly monitor the patient’s condition and bring them out of their dependency and into complete recovery.
