How Does Long-Term Drug Rehab Work?
Long-term drug rehab offers many different options to help patients. Most long-term drug rehab programs in inpatient, but some provide outpatient services to help addicts. Overall, intake is the first step, and rehab staff completes an evaluation about the addict’s history of drug use and their physical or mental health. Some long-term drug rehab centers offer medical testing during the initial evaluation, while others may go through an initial questionnaire.
The next step is a drug detox to manage withdrawal symptoms and cravings. Most long-term drug rehab centers offer clinical or medically supervised drug detox. Typically, the type of drug detox is determined by the extent of withdrawal and accompanying withdrawal symptoms. The severity of withdrawal symptoms varies and depends on the type of drug. Following drug detox, the next step involves counselling and therapy. Various forms of therapy are provided and include traditional and non-traditional methodologies.
Long-term residential drug rehab programs provide daily routines of healthy activities. Typically, a schedule is set for each individual that offers structure and predictability. The goal of treatment is to create a relaxing environment that allows relief from life’s anxieties. Overall, the schedule depends on what the drug rehab center has to offer, and certain activities are done as a group. The final phase of treatment involves aftercare support, like peer support groups, 12-step meetings, and sober living homes. Aftercare support is essential because it provides an opportunity to connect with other sober people and work on sobriety.
Information on Drug Rehab
When is Long-Term Drug Rehab the Best Option?
Long-term drug rehab is the best option for someone living with a drug or alcohol addiction for months or years. Someone who has been diagnosed with a co-occurring mental health disorder or someone who lives in a situation where other individuals struggle with drug addiction would benefit from a long-term drug rehab program. In addition, most people who attend long-term drug rehab have tried short-term drug rehab programs but have been unsuccessful. Also, other individuals who benefit from long-term drug rehab have struggled with suicidal thoughts or self-harming behavior.
Another significant benefit of long-term drug rehab is the different counseling and therapy methods. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the most common approach and was developed to prevent relapse when treating problem drinking. Cognitive-behavioral strategies are based on the theory that in the development of destructive behaviors, the learning process plays a critical role. A central element of cognitive behavioral therapy is anticipating likely problems and enhancing the individual’s self-control.
Some of the other benefits of long-term drug rehab include time for withdrawal period to pass, time to assess and address co-occurring mental disorders, and time to address underlying factors contributing to the addiction. In addition, the individual is given time to heal from the physical side effects of drug or alcohol abuse. Individuals attending long-term drug rehab are given the opportunity to learn positive coping strategies to reduce relapse and reinforce positive behaviours and habits. Finally, there is a smoother transition into recovery and aftercare support.
