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.
| From Alcoholics Anonymous local
groups to counselors to clergy to self-help books, you can choose
from a variety of sources to obtain help with an alcohol
problem. |
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.
| An individual's alcohol use is
primarily influenced by attitudes that developed during the first
20 years of his or her life. The parent's attitudes and behaviors
toward drinking, society, peer pressure, and family relationships
all can impact one's attitudes toward drinking
alcohol. |
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. |

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| 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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