Seeking Drug Abuse Treatment: Know What to Ask—Part 2
The goal of drug abuse treatment is to stop drug use and allow people to lead active lives in the family, workplace, and community. One continual challenge, however, is keeping patients in treatment long enough for them to achieve this goal. That is why finding the right treatment for a person's specific needs is critical.
3. Does the program adapt treatment as the patient's needs change?
Individual treatment and service plans must be assessed and modified as needed to meet changing needs. A person in treatment may require varying combinations of services during its course, including ongoing assessment. For instance, the program should build in drug monitoring so the treatment plan can be adjusted if relapse occurs. For most people, a continuing care approach provides the best results, with treatment level adapted to a person's changing needs. A patient's needs for support services, such as day care or transportation, should also be met during treatment. The best programs provide a combination of therapies and other services to meet a patient's needs.
Components of Comprehensive Drug Abuse Treatment
- Assessment
- Behavioral therapy
- Pharmacotherapy
- Substance use monitoring
- Clinical and case management
- Self-help
- Continuing care
- Family services
- Child care services
- Vocational services
- Mental health services
- Medical services
- Educational services
- HIV and AIDS services
- Legal services
- Financial services
- Housing and transportation services
4. Is the duration of treatment sufficient?
Remaining in treatment for the right period of time is critical. Appropriate time in treatment depends on the type and degree of a person's problems and needs. Most addicted people need at least 3 months in treatment to really reduce or stop their drug use, and longer treatment times result in better outcomes. The best programs will measure progress and suggest plans for maintaining recovery. Recovery from drug addiction is a long term process that often requires several episodes of treatment and ongoing support from family or community.
Relapse does not mean treatment failure.
The chronic nature of addiction means that relapsing to drug abuse is not only possible, but likely, similar to what happens with other chronic medical illnesses, such as diabetes, hypertension, and asthma, that have both physical and behavioral components. Like these illnesses, addiction also requires continual evaluation and treatment modification if necessary. A relapse to drug use indicates a need to reinstate or adjust treatment strategy; it does not mean treatment has failed.
5. How do 12 step or similar recovery programs fit into drug addiction treatment?
Self-help groups can complement and extend the effects of professional treatment. The most well known programs are Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), and Cocaine Anonymous (CA), all of which are based on the 12 step model. This group therapy model draws on the social support offered by peer discussion to help promote and sustain drug free lifestyles.
Most drug addiction treatment programs encourage patients to participate in group therapy during and after formal treatment. These groups offer an added layer of community level social support to help people in recovery with abstinence and other healthy lifestyle goals.
U.S. National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse. (Updated 2013, June). Seeking drug abuse treatment: Know what to ask. Retrieved April 28, 2015, from http://www.drugabuse.gov