The Most Important Data You can Have Regarding Treatment for Addictions or Unwanted Emotional Feelings:
Those professionals that have been in the forefront of effective alcohol and drug programs have contended for years that many programs that use "Mental Health" testing and diagnosis to determine that addicts have a "chemical imballance" and should, therefore, be placed on psychiatric medicaitons are now, finally, getting support from real science and the media.
Everyone should read the Newsweek article from 2/24/2010: "The Depressing News About Antidepressants" showing that "Studies suggest that the popular drugs are no more effective than a placebo. In fact, they may be worse". http://www.newsweek.com/id/232781
Only drug-free programs can reclaim someone's life that has been addicted to alcohol or other drugs.
Here are some of the programs that are available, but the real expertise will come when you call 877-444-1137 and speak to a Masters level counselor with over 30 years experience seeing the effects of these different programs:
What to Look for in Picking an Alcohol and Drug Rehab Program
The only similarity in choosing a drug and alcohol rehab as compared to picking a treatment for any other serious disease, like cancer or heart disease, in that both of these fields offer the consumer many choices.
However, the difference in choosing a traditional medical program and looking for alcohol and drug rehab lies in:
(1) An established level of professional training and professional expertise
(2) A treatment-wide acceptance of what constitutes alcohol and drug treatment
(3) A predictability of success
Most hospitals that are treating cancer or heart disease are employing clinical skills and techniques that are founded in research and have clinical protocols that are similar and proven to be successful and are pretty closely followed by everyone. Alcohol and drug rehab programs haven't reached that level of understanding and scientific scrutiny and therefore leave it up to the consumer to wade through all of the testimonials on the internet about why everyone favors their own particular program. In fact, many intake counselors will fabricate lies about other programs in an attempt to sway you towards their program.
Alcohol and drug treatment program modalities, or types, are based on whatever management "feels" is successful, and is usually the type of program that the staff have attended as their personal treatment. That my sound absurd, but in reviewing over 150 programs throughout the U.S. and Europe, it is the rule, rather than the exception. Routinely, whatever was successful in helping the owners or mangers of the program in their recovery, will be the emphasis in the clinical style that they will be using. That is one reason why you find programs where you can complete their regime in 21 days and others that require a year or more. The alcohol and drug rehab field has yet to establish a program model of success that is followed by all.
Naturally, most people think that the longer a program takes, the better its outcomes, but that isn't necessarily the case. Many times the year-long programs get about the same, shameful, lack of success as the 21-30 day programs.
So, which ones are the best programs and how do you choose which programs have the best success in handling your problem or that of someone you love?
You enlist the help of trained and experienced, third party specialist who can guide you through your treatment options carefully explaining the pros and cons of each and documenting recovery rate statistics. However, the internet does not guarantee that you are necessarily talking with someone that really is a trusted and trained professional that has the education and experience to actually be an "expert" in this field. In fact, you may be talking with someone who knows very little about the comparative analysis of different modalities of treatment or the qualities and problems of individual rehab centers.
If you call our hotline, 1-877-444-1137, you will be talking to a professional with a Master's Degree and PhD training in the alcohol and drug rehab field, someone that has over 30 years of experience as a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor and has reviewed over 150 rehab program on site.
Many of the other sites on the web have "counselors" that have attended rehab and are speaking from their experience. That information is important, as well, but it isn't a legitimate comparative analysis of the different programs. It is an opinion. They may be "certified drug counselors", which is also important, but certification indicates that the person has two to three years of experience in the field and was able to pass an exam regarding his knowledge in the field. This could be valuable information and we are not saying that you shouldn't get as much data as possible, but keep in mind that there are many level of advice given on the web and the more education and experience that the telephone counselor has, naturally, the more reliable is the information and guidance.
In calling other web site, we have found that the above information is accurate, but there are also people who profess to be knowledgeable and educated, but we were able to discern that their data was inaccurate and it would be more truthful if they said that they were salesmen and not alcohol and drug rehab professionals. We Guarantee that you will be Speaking with a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Professional with education above a Master's Degree.
Is Location an Important Consideration in Selecting an Alcohol and Drug Rehab Programs?
Drug and alcohol addiction involves habitual routines and contacts for its support. This is why it is so important to create Drug Free Zones around schools and other areas where youth congregate. Drug or alcohol addiction is not just drug and alcohol use, it revolves around people and things in their immediate environment which help to trigger the addictive behavior. The abusers location & routines of drug and alcohol use further trigger drug and alcohol use.
Therefore, most knowledgeable counselors and researchers will tell you that removing the addict or alcoholic from his comfortable surrounding plays an important role in ensuring that his attention will be focused on rehabilitation and not how his "friends" pick him up or deliver drugs to him in while he is in treatment.
Since nearly all alcoholics and drug addicts want to stop using, they will be the first to tell you that they would like to go somewhere out of their familiar area to find help. If they are wanting to stay near their home, then they are probably hedging their bets in case the treatment isn't giving them what they are expecting on an immediate basis.
Also, Colorado Drug Rehab reviewed over 150 centers throughout the US and, unfortunately, there aren't that many that are actually effective and worth your serious consideration...therefore, many times it will be necessary, but also beneficial, for the family to help the alcohol or addict leave their geographical area to seek effective alcohol and drug treatment.
Major Types of Drug Rehab Programs
Across the United States there are four main modalities or types of alcohol and other drug rehab or drug treatment programs. The drug rehab and/or alcohol and drug treatment centers that are evaluated by Colorado drug rehab programs reflect these national trends in the types of drug rehab or treatment programs offered. The majority of the residential programs are based on the 12-step approach, however, all four of these following modalities are represented in the state of Colorado. With Colorado leading the nation in the incidence and prevalence of drug abuse and addiction. Colorado ranks first in more of the negative top categories of drug use than any other state, making it imperative that someone establish a Biophysical program within Colorado. In March, 2008, in Fort Collins, the first Biophysical drug rehab program began accepting clients. A month later, nearly all of the 28 beds had been filled, obviously this spoke to a need for this Biophysical drug rehab center to expand it capacity to 60 beds. Even at this new capacity, the center has a waiting list for new clients. Only through effective alcohol and drug rehab or residential drug treatment can we begin to have a positive effect on society's downward spiral of addiction.
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 dromat fat tissue for 5 – 7 years after drug use/abuse. When a person stops using drugs, this residue of the fat-soluable drugs begins to be released back into the blood stream which causes cravings, anxiety, and depression in the addict who may be trying desparately 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 perscribe a psychiatric medication, which leads to more toxins in the body to add to the emotional rollercoaster 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 "recoverying" addicts cannot take the anxiety and depression they are causing for any length of time without relapsing back to otheir 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 wjy these types of programs don't subscribe to the addige, "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 growning form of treatment.
In March, 2008 a Biophysical Colorado Drug Rehab residental program opened in Fort Collins, Colorado. Call 1-877-444-1137 to find out more!
2. Drug Rehab using behavioral 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 reiducule and shamming tatics 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 privledges for being a "perfect client", the compliance is high, but for those that need support to make changes, it can be devistating 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 Anonymousof (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 retrobates of society and were usually institutionalized in psychiatric centers as being insane and given horendous 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 reclassifing 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 relables 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 progams oped througout 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 fundimental religious beliefs into the void of spiritual feelings seen in all addicts. To develop the moral/ethics and spiriual 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 miminal 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. |
