Many people in the United States and other nations around the world have used drugs and illegal narcotics and, due to this usage, have become addicted to those substances. To break this addiction, some choose to seek help at a drug addiction treatment center at which they can receive the care and guidance necessary to return to a healthy lifestyle. Drug addiction treatment is often a multifaceted process depending on a person’s specific addiction and the proper method of weaning that person off of the substance and reducing the desire to use it in the future.
A drug addiction treatment center may be specific to a certain drug or other substance as some focus on heroin addiction, for example, and provide different forms of drug addiction treatment to break the heroin addiction. Some facilities prescribe drug addiction treatment for the abuse of legal drugs, such as prescription medications like Vicodin and Percocet, which are used for pain relief, or even sleeping pills such as Lonest. A drug addiction treatment center may also incorporate treatment for alcohol addiction as well due to the prevalence of the two addictions together in many patients who seek therapy and treatment.
It is important to note that the staff employed in a drug addiction treatment center will not treat drug addiction simply as a compulsion or habit, but as a disease that affects both the mind and body. Some people who seek drug addiction treatment have grown to become dependent on the substances on which the addictions are based as the body’s processes then require the narcotic or drug to function. The reason for this is that potential withdrawal symptoms that a person may suffer can be severe and cause death if not properly monitored and treated.
A drug addiction treatment center may employ a diverse array of treatment methods for its admitted patients to help break their addiction and dependency on narcotics. One method of drug addiction treatment is determining which type of center is right for a particular based on the nature of his or her addiction and the program used to treat said addiction. Some drug addiction treatment centers employ a twelve-step program with a committed support team whereas others use behavior therapy to identify the cause of the addiction avert those emotions and cause the person to have more positive habits.
Another form of drug addiction treatment is the use of anti-addictive drugs to wean the person from the substance and help him or her detox. Examples of these drugs include methadone and buprenorphine. A person who has been prescribed these drugs should be monitored as these substances can be addictive as well. A prescription of either drug will help to reduce a person’s dependency on another narcotic while gradually reducing the dosage until a person no longer needs that form of drug addiction treatment.
There are also experimental forms of drug addiction treatment which are alternatives to behavior therapy, medicated weaning, and support teams. An example of this is acupuncture which is thought to reduce a person’s need for narcotics and alleviate all related symptoms. These methods, however, are not approved or condoned by the American Medical Association due to the lack of supporting evidence that these methods are effective in treating drug addiction.
A mental health clinic is a facility that focuses on the cognitive and psychological needs of those who seek treatment and guidance from psychologists, psychiatrists, and psychoanalysts.
