Call 888-647-0579 to speak with an alcohol or drug abuse counselor.

Who Answers?

What to Expect in Treatment Centers

In 2009, as many as 23.5 million Americans needed treatment for alcohol and drug addictions, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Of that number, only 11.2 percent or 2.6 million people actually sought out treatment. When considering the wide range of treatment centers available for both alcohol and drug addictions, anyone suffering from a substance abuse addiction can easily find the type of treatment they need.

Choosing to get treatment for an addiction can be a difficult decision to make. In addition to making the decision to live without drugs or alcohol, a person enters into a completely new environment. Knowing what to expect in treatment centers can help relieve some of the stress and confusion involved with the decision to get well and remain drug-free.

Initial Stages

Education and counseling are both big parts of addiction treatment programs.

The initial stages of recovery involve detoxification treatment followed by intensive inpatient care. While some treatment centers offer detoxification or detox treatment, many do require a person to have already completed detox at a facility that specializes in treating and managing withdrawal effects. On average, the detox process runs from five to seven days. Once completed, inpatient treatment can begin.

Inpatient treatment centers help recovering addicts adjust to life without drugs. This entails learning about the effects of alcohol and drugs on the brain and body and understanding how addiction has affected a person’s life. Depending on the type of addiction, some people may also require medication therapy to help ease ongoing withdrawal effects.

Even though people enter treatment centers on a voluntary basis, many may not be entirely convinced that drugs or alcohol has become a problem in their lives. This is part of the reason why inpatient treatment centers focus so heavily on educating participants about addiction’s effects. Once a person realizes the impact substance abuse has had on his or her life, the desire to get well becomes even stronger.

Treatment Duration

Ultimately, the severity of person’s addiction will determine whether further treatment is needed after completing an inpatient program. Factors affecting the amount of treatment needed include the type of drug used, the length of use and the overall health of the individual. Inpatient treatment takes place in a residential facility where participants live for the length of the program.

While inpatient treatment center programs typically run for a minimum of 28 days, outpatient care can run considerably longer depending on the person. Outpatient treatment centers offer a less restrictive environment where participants receive psychotherapy and/or medication treatment on a pre-scheduled basis. These programs can run anywhere from three months to several years

Aftercare Treatment

Upon completion of a treatment center program, a person must re-enter the real-world where temptations to use abound. For this reason, most drug rehab programs provide aftercare treatment services for those who need additional supports during this transition phase. Aftercare supports may include:

Ongoing psychotherapy
Ongoing medication therapy
Referrals to community-based 12-step programs
Job placement assistance
Educational assistance
Housing assistance

Regardless of the type of addiction or a person’s individual treatment needs, treatment centers refer all recovering addicts to a 12-step program as a long-term treatment support.

More Treatment & Detox Articles

Types of California Treatment Centers

The number of drug-induced deaths in California totaled out at 4,178 in 2006, according to a report by the California Drug Control Update. Within the same year, 4,306 people died in car accidents and 3,268 people died from firearm-related incidents. With drug-induced deaths coming in at a close second, this number amounts to 11.4 out….

Heavy Alcohol Use May Increase Prostate Cancer Risk

Men who drink alcohol heavily and on a regular basis may be putting themselves at increased risk for prostate cancer, according to a new study published in Cancer, the American Cancer Society’s peer-reviewed medical journal. The study also found that heavy alcohol use may diminish the possible preventive properties of finasteride, a drug that has….

Treatment Options for Veterans

Many veterans experience the ravages of war and combat first-hand. Most anyone put through these types of experiences carries some form of emotional and even psychological scarring. Couple this with the wide range of physical injuries that take place, and it is little wonder drug addiction affects so many veterans in one form or another…..

A warning for teens: Binge drinking is dangerous and can be deadly

As a parent of a teenager who went through an alcohol ordeal, I’d like to share some information with other parents and most importantly – other teenagers. My 16-year -old son went on a drinking binge a short while back and almost lost his life. If it wasn’t for his awesome and most importantly, mature….

Malibu Outpatient Rehab: A Second Chance at Life

Seasons Recovery Center of Malibu, California is proud to provide outpatient rehab that offers recovering addicts a new beginning and a second chance at life. Tucked away in the tropical beaches of Malibu sits Seasons Recovery Center, a full scale treatment campus which features several residences over 5 acres of pristine landscape. The campus is….