Alcoholism Rehab

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Depending on the scope of the program, alcoholism rehab refers to the psychotherapeutic, educational, medical, and/or social treatment processes required for alcoholism recovery.  

The ultimate goal of alcoholism rehab is to help the alcoholic abstain from drinking alcohol so that he or she can avoid the social, psychological, financial, physical, and legal consequences that are usually caused by alcoholism.

Tolerance and the Alcoholism Rehabilitation Process

With the regular ingestion of alcohol, the brain steadily adjusts to the alcohol so that normal functioning is possible.

This not only explains how physical tolerance develops but it also explains why increasingly more alcohol is required to get the same "buzz" or "high" with regular use.

When a person abruptly stops drinking alcohol, however, he or she usually experiences alcohol withdrawal symptoms which may require days or weeks to pass before the body returns to "normal."

The alcoholism rehab process has two main components:  physical dependency and psychological dependency.

Treating physical dependency typically involves two processes: managing the alcohol withdrawal symptoms in a safe manner and initiating the alcohol detoxification process that is necessary in order for the body to rid itself of alcohol.  

Psychological dependency, on the other hand, typically involves teaching the alcoholic new ways of interacting in an alcohol-free environment.

Types of Alcoholism Rehab Programs

There are a variety of programs that facilitate the alcoholism rehabilitation process such as residential treatment (in-patient), local support groups, extended care centers, out-patient, and sober houses.  Within these programs are different sub-programs such as therapeutic community alcohol rehabs, Alcoholics Anonymous, religious-based rehabs, and medical model rehabs.

Alcoholism Rehab Success Stories

The Success of Alcoholism Rehab Services and Programs.  Not unlike other diseases and illnesses, alcohol addiction can be overcome with proper treatment, prevention, and increased research efforts.  By providing more individuals with access to effective care, the costly drain on society and the physical, financial, and emotional burdens it places on families can be significantly reduced or minimized. 

To illustrate some of the successes that are possible with different alcoholism rehab programs, consider the following:  research has shown irrefutably that professional alcoholism rehab treatment and successful prevention results in significant reductions in traffic fatalities, cancer, HIV, unwanted pregnancy, hearth disease, crime, child abuse, and strokes.  

Not only this, but quality treatment and effective drug and alcoholism rehab programs have been shown to improve health, quality of life, and job performance while at the same time reducing drug use, family dysfunction, and involvement with the criminal justice system. 

Traditional Alcoholism Rehab Approaches

There are several traditional alcoholism rehab approaches that are relatively well established and widely available.  The following is a description of these different alcoholism rehab programs:

Detoxification.  Alcohol detoxification is the process of letting the body rid itself of alcohol while managing the withdrawal symptoms in a harmless atmosphere.  Alcohol detox treatment is usually done under the supervision of a medical doctor and is often the first step employed in an alcoholism treatment protocol.  Since detox programs usually have a relatively long therapeutic time frame, these approaches are typically part of an inpatient, residential alcoholism rehab program.   

Behavioral Rehab.  This approach to rehab focuses mainly on initiating different ways of altering a person's actions and behaviors.  Examples include Alcoholics Anonymous, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Motivation Enhancement Therapy.  It is interesting to note that a study administered by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism discovered that each of these behavioral rehab approaches greatly reduced drinking in alcoholics one year after treatment.  Although all of these programs were considered "successful," none of them, however, could be singled out as "the best" alcoholism rehab program. 

Therapeutic Medications.  This rehab methodology centers on the client taking doctor-prescribed drugs such as disulfiram (Antabuse) or naltrexone (ReViaT) to help prevent the alcoholic from returning to drinking after he or she has consumed alcohol.  Stated differently, in this approach, doctors prescribe medications to treat an alcoholic's alcoholism.

For instance, Antabuse is a drug given to alcoholics that elicits negative responses such as flushing, dizziness, vomiting, and nausea if alcohol is consumed.  Antabuse is effective, to a great extent, however, because it is a strong deterrent.  Naltrexone (ReViaT), on the other hand, is employed in an entirely different manner in that it targets the brain's reward circuits as it effectively reduces the craving the alcoholic has for alcohol. 

Outpatient Alcohol Treatment and Counseling.  These are usually rehab approaches that teach alcoholics how to become aware of the situational and psychological "hot buttons" that trigger their drinking behavior.  Equipped with this information, alcoholics can learn about different ways in which they can cope with situations that do not include the consumption of alcohol.  Alcohol rehab programs such as these, unlike detox rehab approaches, are usually offered on an outpatient basis. 

Residential Alcohol Treatment Programs and Inpatient Alcohol Rehab.  If the individual's withdrawal symptoms are too severe, if the individual needs alcohol poisoning treatment, if outpatient and support-oriented programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous are not effective, or if there's a need for alcohol AND drug abuse rehab, the person typically has to enroll into an alcohol rehab facility or a hospital and receive inpatient alcoholism rehab.  Such programs are targeted mainly for relatively long term alcoholism rehab and usually include doctor-prescribed medications to help the alcoholic get through detox and the alcohol withdrawal process in a harm-free manner. 

Alcoholics Anonymous

Perhaps the best known and one of the most successful alcoholism rehab programs is Alcoholics Anonymous.  Alcoholics Anonymous is a worldwide affiliation of men and women from all walks of life who share their strengths, aspirations, and experiences with one other in the hope that they may solve their mutual addiction problem and assist others in their quest to recover from alcohol dependence. 

The only condition for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking alcohol. As a result, total abstinence from alcohol is advocated by the organization.  Members make a conscious effort to abstain from drinking and continue with their alcoholism rehab that is accomplished "one day at a time."  Sobriety is achieved through mutual support as members share their experiences, strengths, and their hopes. 

The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous

One of the essential aspects of the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) rehabilitation program is articulated in the Twelve Steps.  Based on the experiences of Alcoholics Anonymous' earliest members, the 12 Steps represent the documented practices and principles, acquired through trail and error, that the early members established in order to maintain sobriety. 

The following represents the 12 Steps in the Alcoholics Anonymous alcoholism rehab program:

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

source: www.alcoholics-anonymous.org 

The SMART Rehab Program

Another alcoholism rehab program that does not rely on the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and is, in fact, an alternative to Alcoholics Anonymous is the Self Management And Recovery Training (SMART) program.  The developers of the SMART alcoholism rehab program believe that each person must discover his or her own path to rehab or recovery. 

For some people, for instance, this path might be the traditional Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program.  While the SMART program is noticeably different than the Alcoholics Anonymous recovery program, it does not, however, exclude Alcoholics Anonymous.  Indeed, some individuals who follow the SMART methodology also choose to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings because they feel that what they experience at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings helps them on their path to alcoholism rehab and long-term recovery. 

The SMART drug and alcohol rehab and recovery program is based on scientific information and provides specific techniques and tools for each of the following four program points:

Point 1:
Enhancing and maintaining the motivation to refrain from drugs or alcohol

Point 2:
Coping with urges to take drugs or to drink

Point 3:
Learning problem solving skills such as learning how to better manage feelings, actions, and thoughts

Point 4:
Becoming skilled at lifestyle balance such as balancing momentary and other pleasures

source:  http://www.smartrecovery.org/

Alcoholism Rehab:  Conclusion

Since it is possible to construct an almost endless list of detrimental effects that directly or indirectly are caused by alcoholism, it seems reasonable for alcoholics to learn how to refrain from drinking alcohol, to involve themselves in the alcoholism rehab process, and to actively seek to restore their lives. 

Whether a alcoholic requires alcohol abuse rehab, inpatient alcohol detox, or outpatient alcohol counseling, the goal of alcohol abstinence is worth pursuing especially when the destructive and unhealthy consequences of alcoholism are taken into consideration. 

Indeed, it really does not make any significant difference whether a person chooses a more traditional program such as the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program, a lesser known approach like the SMART rehab approach, or one of the many other quality alcoholism rehab methodologies.  What does matter, however is this:  alcoholics need to acknowledge that they have a drinking problem, they must want to stop drinking, and they need to find an alcoholism rehab program that works for them.  

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