Alcohol Abuse Treatment Centers
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The mainstream alcohol abuse rehabilitation methods are usually established on the 12-step protocol that was
developed and put into practice by Alcoholics Anonymous.
Other non-traditional alcohol rehabilitation programs, nonetheless, began to surface and now take place in
rehab hospitals, alcohol abuse treatment centers, and drug and alcohol rehab clinics and feature treatment that is not associated with the 12-step recovery
methodology.
Alcohol Abuse Treatment Centers: Counseling, Medications, and
Support
Most of the non-12-step alcohol treatment programs occur in drug and alcohol rehabilitation
clinics, alcohol abuse treatment centers, or rehab hospitals and are rooted in a treatment approach that provides
doctor prescribed drugs in conjunction with staff support and broad-based education, counseling, and training.
What is more, several of these treatment protocols treat alcohol abuse from both a psychological and a
physiological viewpoint.
Likewise, some of the more effective non-12-step alcohol rehab programs are more comprehensive than others and as a consequence concentrate
on how the alcohol abuser will respond to and cope with relationship issues, financial situation, and employment
opportunities after he or she completes rehab, attains sobriety, and returns home.
In addition, some of the more successful non-12-step alcohol rehab approaches function from a holistic
perspective, an orientation that usually helps problem drinkers identify and process some of the fundamental issues
that more likely than not had quite a bit to do with the individual engaging in excessive, unhealthy, and
irresponsible drinking behavior in the first place.
Some of these basic issues include the following: poor interpersonal relationship skills, a sense of loss,
pain, poor coping skills, career indecision, grief, poor anger management skills, unemployment, spirituality
concerns, and poor financial management skills.
The Need For Outpatient Follow-Up Treatment
When an individual undergoes alcohol rehabilitation, it is vital to address what he or she will be doing after
he or she completed rehab.
In other words, getting through detoxification is significant, but so is the “follow-up” treatment that
successful rehabilitation programs typically initiate as soon as the residential part of the rehab process comes to
an end.
Indeed, some of the more productive and better quality non-12-step alcohol abuse treatment centers, for
instance, provide follow-up outpatient education, counseling, training for one year after inpatient treatment has
been completed.
Stated in another manner, some of the broader-based and more success-oriented alcohol abuse treatment centers
develop and implement rehabilitation methodologies that focus on long-range success rather than on short-term,
band-aid therapeutic approaches.
The Significance of The Alcohol Rehab Environment
The
treatment environment in which a problem drinker finds himself or herself is an essential component of the
rehabilitation protocol.
To be sure, some of the more competent alcohol abuse treatment centers create a supportive, relaxing, safe
environment that often leads to effective, long-term rehabilitation success.
It should come as no surprise that the majority of alcohol rehab programs are quite expensive, particularly
those that feature residential, in-patient rehab. The more successful and results-oriented non-12-step alcohol
abuse treatment centers, however, often place financial gain low on their priority list and actually restrict the
number of alcohol abusers that are accepted for treatment.
While this is obviously more of a "treatment" concern and less of a "profit" decision, this mentality allows
staff to provide the resources, effort, time, and the compassion that first-rate, exceptional alcohol recovery
requires.
| According to self-reports from a 1991 survey with a sample of 14,000 State and 6,600
Federal prison inmates, 24 percent of U.S. Federal inmates and 49 percent of State inmates reported
that they were under the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs at the time of their current
offense. |
Attributes of Successful Alcohol Abuse Treatment Centers
The
following represents some of the more significant features of effective alcohol abuse treatment centers:
- Hotel or therapeutic suites for out-of-town patients and visitors
- Doctor prescribed medications to help alcohol abusers avoid alcohol relapse
- A caring, competent, and consequences-oriented staff
- Success rates that far exceed national averages
- Extensive night and day educational and counseling programs
- Private detox services
- Hospital and non-hospital rehab programs
- Medications to control the alcohol withdrawal symptoms of alcoholics
- Competitive pricing
- Outpatient protocols that are individualized to “fit” the financial capabilities, the personality, and the
needs of each client
- Programs with varying time periods and length of rehab approaches that target the needs of each person
| All alcohol use by teens should be regarded as dangerous, not only because of the
risk of alcoholism but because teen drinkers put themselves in harm’s way. Each year more than
10,000 young people in the United States are killed and 40,000 injured in alcohol-related
automobile accidents. |
Alcohol Abuse Treatment Centers: Conclusion
Many of the more mainstream alcohol rehab methodologies are based on the 12-step recovery method that was
initiated by Alcoholics Anonymous. Other, non-12-step rehab approaches, however, have emerged and have
become more accepted by the substance abuse and medical community.
These non-12-step programs usually focus less on factors such as the number of meetings an alcohol abuser
attends, group support, and a "higher power" and more on scientifically grounded, empirically validated data such
as the effectiveness of doctor-prescribed medications intermixed with staff support, intensive training, education,
and counseling, and an effective and doable follow-up rehabilitation program.
Most of the non-12-step rehab programs take place in rehab hospitals, alcohol abuse treatment centers, and in
alcohol and drug rehab clinics.
These rehab facilities more often than not are staffed with compassionate, supportive, and top-quality
healthcare professionals who do everything in their power to help alcohol abuser learn more successful
decision-making, coping, relationship, and “life" skills; help problem drinkers overcome their hazardous,
unhealthy, and destructive drinking; and help clients learn how to recapture their lives and engage in long-term
alcohol recovery.
| Often those closest to an alcoholic find it difficult to see and acknowledge that
someone they know and care about can be an alcoholic. They may believe the promises that the
alcoholic keeps making. However, with time, repeated breaking of these promises can force those
living with the alcoholic to face the truth. |
| U.S. alcohol statistics reveal that treatment and prevention of alcohol and drug
abuse problems and related health conditions are estimated to have cost almost $28.8 billion in
1992, of which about $18.8 billion was for alcohol problems and $9.9 billion was for drug abuse
problems. Included in these estimates are the cost of specialty treatment, prevention, and support
services for alcohol and drug abusers, as well as health care costs for treatment of the medical
consequences of alcohol and drug abuse. |
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