Effective Treatment For Drug Abuse

There are many types of treatment for drug abuse, but all are not equally effective, so how do you know with which drug rehabilitation centre to go if you or a loved one needs help with an addiction? Well, one thing is for certain and that is that traditional, short-term and outpatient methods do not work and this was proven once again by the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in 2008. Their research has indicated that an alarming 93 percent of these conventionally treated cases relapse.

Programme Content

Effective and appropriate treatment for drug abuse relies heavily on well-researched and proven programme content and to this end; the outdated view of applying a standardised programme to all addictions is simply not acceptable. The well-known Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous 12-step programmes have proven extremely effective and thus forms part of many drug rehabilitation centres' treatment programmes. Experience has shown that a recovering addict should complete this programme at least up to Step 7 before they can be considered recovered.

Different Drugs; Different Types of Treatment for Drug Abuse

A single rehabilitation programme or treatment plan could not hope to address the idiosyncrasies and unique characteristics of every type of drug or recovering addict. Tailored programme content is required to cater for many factors and these include:

• The physical state of the addict upon arrival at the rehabilitation centre. Most of them are undernourished and have a low BMI, which conspires against their recovery and their concentration levels. A healthy eating plan should form part of the treatment programme.
• The psychological state of the addict upon arrival. The addict may exhibit various maladaptive behaviours that require treatment, like depression or obsessive-compulsive disorders

Crack and Cocaine

Of course, the treatment for drug abuse would very much depend on the drug of choice and a great deal of research is necessary to find the correct methodologies to treat certain addictions. For example, a programme from the USA has proven very effective for treating cocaine and crack addiction and assisting these people in coming to terms with their addiction, the unique allure of these drugs and the undercurrent of addiction.

Heroin Fighters

In similar vein, the South African-developed Heroin Fighters programme is now world-renowned for assisting in the treatment for heroin drug abuse. Heroin is often regarded as a drug that is impossible to overcome, so the first aim of the programme is to give the addict hope that they can overcome their addiction. A part of this process is education about this drug of choice in order to give the addict an understanding of their dependence and finally, equipping them with necessary skills to overcome heroin.

Alcohol Annihilators

Alcohol Annihilators is another locally developed programme and a very effective treatment for alcohol drug abuse. The programme has been developed with the cooperation of recovering alcoholics and their inputs have rendered a programme that has worked superbly well in assisting alcoholics in coming to terms with alcoholism's effects, craving cycles, the cycle of addiction and the addiction culture, while providing invaluable spiritual perspectives.

Treatment for Drug Abuse: Other Drugs and Programmes

Eating disorders can also be very debilitating and destroy lives on a daily basis, so excellent treatment for this type of ailment is extremely important and may include element of the following:

• Special menus and food preparation
• Supervised meals
• Education about the effects on the body
• Individual therapy
• Group therapy

This type of therapy also has to be constantly supervised by trained professionals.

Holistic Treatment for Drug Abuse

Few drug rehabilitation centres are likely to achieve a decent measure of success with a fragmented and uncoordinated approach and a holistic approach has proven the most effective. This implies the bringing together of all the treatment options available in one place and finds most of its impact in three critical areas:

1. A standardised treatment plan is unrealistic and ineffective; each individual and each drug requires a tailored treatment plan.
2. Short-term, conventional and outpatient treatment techniques do not work. UNODC research proved again in 2008 that 93 percent of these relapse. Treatment should last for at least six months.
3. Treatment should take place in a residential treatment facility in order to exercise complete control over the addict's environment and improve their chances of a full recovery.

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