Drug Rehab Treatment Options

In finding a drug rehab center, you should explore the programs that are available to you and make your decision based on the ones that can demonstrate that those addicts that graduate from their drug rehab center have a chance of being drug-free. In making your search for drug rehabilitation, look at their results before you consider the price and/or location. Length of treatment is also a factor, as 28- or 30-day inpatient programs rarely have an outcome better than 10%. A drug rehab center with a longer-term treatment approach is often the must successful, but just as important is what the drug rehab center is doing while they are in attendance. the common 30-day program has entirely too much down-time. Most of these drug treatment centers could complete the "therapy" they deliver in ten days of concentrated work. When you find a long-term treatment programs that has a schedule that is task-oriented and requires the attention of the clients at least eight hours a day, you are eliminating many of the ineffective programs.

It has been shown that drug rehab centers that operate on the idea that addiction is a disease believe that an addicted person cannot take on the responsibility of a demanding curriculum and, therefore, the clients begin to feel as though they are victims and go into agreement that they are incapable of handling a demanding schedule or the responsibility of not taking alcohol or other drugs. Those drug rehab and addiction treatment centers that demand the most from their clients, have the best outcomes. One shouldn't confuse demand with force. There are some drug rehab and addiction treatment centers that use ridcule and strong force to get compliance and those drug rehabs cause more invalidation which leads to more personal abuse in the form of drugging and drinking. However, there is much more than just a demanding schedule that makes for a successful center. Obviously, it is as important that what they are learning actually will give them the tools to handle life and be successful in handling whatever problems they are confronting in their lives. Some drug rehab centers have demanding schedules, but most of the effort is related to being able to handle the physical work demands, without much attention being given to the value of the learning. Many of these types of long-term residential treatment programs are more successful than 30-day, 12-step based programs, but the graduates do not have the needed life-skills to turn their lives around outside of the program.

Here is a short description of the main residential rehab and treatment facilities that are available in the US:

1. Biophysical Drug Rehab
Biophysical treatment methods get the residue of the drugs out of the body. Through research, it has been found that the human body will store a residue, called a metabolite of the drug, in the dormant fat tissue for 5 – 7 years after drug use/abuse. When a person stops using drugs, this residue of the fat-soluble drugs begins to be released back into the blood stream which causes cravings, anxiety, and depression in the addict who may be trying desperately to curtail his use.
This can go on for literally years and is the major reason why many programs claim that addiction is a life-long disease. As these toxins are released back into the blood stream, it causes the struggling drug affected person to experience some of the original drug effect and causes depression and mental health problems that lead many to see advice from psychiatrist who will then prescribe a psychiatric medication, which leads to more toxins in the body to add to the emotional roller coaster that most recovering people experience daily.
Drugs like heroin, oxycontin, cocaine, and meth are more powerful than the natural chemicals the brain produces to be happy, so these "flash-back" type experiences overpower ones natural chemistry. It takes at least a year for this natural chemical balance to be restored and most "recovering" addicts cannot take the anxiety and depression they are causing for any length of time without relapsing back to their drug of choice or drug of availability.
The Biophysical method uses a purification technology in conjunction with vitamins and minerals to release these toxic residues stored in fat tissue, back into the blood stream where they are then forced out of the body, leaving the person free of this contamination and free of the cravings, anxiety or depression caused by the side effects of these drugs. This enables a return to a natural chemical balance, which is why these types of programs don't subscribe to the expression, "Once and Addict, Always and Addict". This type of drug rehabilitation center uses a social educational model to restore ethics and build life-skills to ensure their graduates are drug free and productive members of society. Drug Rehab Programs with this method are having a success rate of over 78%. This is why Biophysical drug treatment centers are the most highly recommended and fastest growing form of treatment.

2. Drug Rehab using behavior modification
Behavioral Modification gained popularity in the 1970's and is based on the Pavlovian idea that man is an animal and changes actions based on stimulus and response. It was popular during these early years for teachers to have bags of M&M's to reward children for proper responses. In drug treatment, the Therapeutic Community model was developed, which uses ridicule and shamming tactics rather than M&M's in an attempt to change thinking and behavior. These program are popular with criminal justice populations and have demonstrated less than a 10% long-term success rate. As long as the person is in the original group and has gained some privileges for being a "perfect client", the compliance is high, but for those that need support to make changes, it can be devastating and leads to many clients exiting the programs early to maintain some personal power and dignity.

3. Drug rehab using a 12-step approach

This method of recovery is employed by Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous,Cocaine Anonymous and many other Anonymous groups.
The originators of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) looked long and hard for something, anything, that would work to save alcoholics from self-destruction, anything to break the cycle of addiction. In the 1930's alcoholics were thought of as the reprobates of society and were usually institutionalized in psychiatric centers as being insane and given horrendous treatment, which, of course, didn't solve the addiction. So, the original work of the two founders of the 12-step approach are to be commended for reclassifying the problem, but, unfortunately, in the process, they removed all of the personal responsibility by making addiction a disease.

There are many positive aspects of the 12-step approach in that it gets addicts into communication about their lives and their addiction and that is far better than the isolation that they were experiencing. However, it falls short of the truth about addiction and actually re-labels the problem to fit their philosophy and doesn't actually treat the addiction, but supports addicts with the idea that there is no cure, but by belonging to a like-minded group, one can stay off of alcohol and other drugs and survive at a higher level.
This recovery method was never intended to be institutionalized into a treatment modality, but when insurance programs in the 1970's began to pay for up to 30 days of addiction treatment, many programs opened throughout the US and huge profits were actualized for their owners. Soon the insurance companies looked at the lack of ongoing success and have since drastically reduce their support of any form of addiction treatment. These 30-day, 12-step programs do not pretend to graduate their patients free of relapse, but contend that addiction is a disease of relapse and that will continue throughout ones life. They believe that addiction is a chronic and progressive disease, meaning that is last forever and gets worse even when one isn't drinking or using. Less than 10% of their graduates stay clean long enough to rebuild their lives.

4. Christian or Religious based treatment
Many families soon become frustrated with behavior modification and 12-step treatment approaches, and for good reason, and turn to religious programs for an answer. These program usually don't profess to doing treatment, but are structured to bring fundamental religious beliefs into the void of spiritual feelings seen in all addicts. To develop the moral/ethics and spiritual support in anyone suffering from addiction is an important component of any program, but in itself, it has proven to be insufficient in graduating a higher than 5-10% success.
As you my have noticed, other than the Biophysical approach, all other modalities of treatment are only successful at a minimal level of 10% or less. This correlates with the fact that about 10% of the addict population will recover from their problems without any clinical interventions whatsoever, so in looking at these forms of treatment, you might find that it satisfies some part of your common sense that addicts may need some of these measures, like religion, but effective treatment of this problem is either comprehensive and successful or it depends totally on the strengths of the individual to be a success.
All program, other than biophysical programs, depend on their graduates to live within the newly acquired philosophy and to limit their contacts and associations to others that follow those ideals and ideas. This is not very realistic and, therefore you can see that very few remove themselves from addiction at a level that one should expect of a center that is treating a problem of any magnitude.

To get help on finding the right drug rehab treatment centers, 
call us toll free 1-877-444-1137 right away.