How Successful is Addiction Treatment?
The addiction treatment success rate is low. However, it does not have to be this way. With new treatments coming out every day and new medications, drug rehabilitation success rates gradually increase. Of course, addiction treatment is not easy. Anyone who tells you it is easy is not being honest. Nevertheless, the success rate of rehabilitation, particularly when someone is willing to put in the work, is rising.
Every person who is struggling with a substance use disorder (SUD) deserves the chance to get clean and have a happy, healthy, normal life. No matter the drug of choice (DOC), everyone can win over their addiction. The challenge is having the right treatment with the right support system to clean and stay clean.
Undeniably, the drug rehab success rate needs to become better-which means the programs need to become better. However, the programs available today help many, many people with SUDs. The goal is to get those struggling with addiction to get clean and continue to help others to succeed in everything they do. Having an addiction is a painful experience. For those suffering from a relapse or a SUD, we can help. Please call (385)327-7418 today to speak to an addiction specialist. People are awaiting your call to help because YOU matter!
Do Addiction Treatments Work?
Most programs start with a detoxification (detox) process, where the body clears itself of the drugs. Dependent upon your DOC, medications can provide relief. Also, this step is key for a high drug rehab success rate within a facility.
Consider this the first stage of your treatment. Advantageous medications will help manage detox’s acute and potentially dangerous physical effects. These medications need a physician’s prescription for you to receive them. When you do, this process goes by “medically assisted withdrawal.”
Different Types of Treatment
Long-Term Residential Treatment
Long-term Residential Treatment provides care 24 hours a day in a residential, therapeutic community (TC) setting. The most common stay is six to twelve months and focuses on the “resocialization” of everyone. Treatment focuses on developing personal accountability and responsibility and socially productive lives. Treatment is highly structured, and most include comprehensive services such as employment training, self-care, and other support services onsite.
Short-Term Residential Treatment
Programs provide intensive but relatively brief treatment based on a modified 12-step approach. They were originally designed to treat alcohol problems, but since the mid-1980s, many began to treat other types of substance use disorders with this program. The most important part is to stay engaged in outpatient treatment and participate in self-help groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Celebrate Recovery, and Smart Recovery. These programs help reduce the risk of relapse once you leave the residential setting.
Outpatient Treatment
Many different types of outpatient treatments exist. They vary in services offered, intensity, and time. Outpatient programs cost less than residential or inpatient treatment and are often more suitable for those with jobs and extensive external support systems. These can be quite effective depending upon services and the individual patient’s characteristics and needs. Some programs will even help treat those in recovery with medical and behavioral health problems to treat the “whole” person and not just one part.
Individualized Drug Counseling
Personal counseling focuses on the actual issues that caused the drug use, not just stopping usage. Counseling can also address other areas of impairment, including employment status, illegal activity, and family and social relations. Emphasis is placed on short-term behavioral goals such as developing coping strategies and tools to maintain abstinence from drug use. Also, this means encouraging 12-step participation and referrals that can be made for other needed services.
Many therapeutic settings use group therapy to capitalize on the social reinforcement offered by peer discussion and to help promote drug-free lifestyles. Research has shown that positive outcomes are achieved when group therapy is offered in conjunction with individualized drug counseling. Currently, researchers are testing conditions in which group therapy can be standardized and made more community-friendly.
Effective Therapies
Behavioral therapy is the first choice for assisting with SUDs as it has been found to be the most effective. Plenty of centers relies on this for a high drug rehab success rate. Many evidence-based behavioral treatments exist, but three are the most supported. They are as follows:
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT can help individuals overcome substance abuse by teaching them to recognize and avoid destructive thoughts and behaviors. A CBT therapist can teach a patient to recognize the triggers that cause their craving for drugs, then avoid or manage those triggers.
Motivational interviewing. This involves structured conversations that help patients increase their motivation to overcome substance abuse by helping them recognize the difference between how they are living right now and how they wish to live in the future.
Contingency management. Using this method, addiction counselors provide tangible incentives to encourage patients to stay off drugs. Those rewards might include offering cash, clinical privileges, work at a steady wage, or even restaurant vouchers for each clean drug test. Although these rewards might seem small compared to the force of addiction, studies have found that carefully structured contingency management programs can help people stay clean.
So, you have decided that it is time to get treatment for your addiction. This is great news. Our team of specialists is here to help you start your new journey to a happy and sober life.
Helping a Loved One During Treatment
When friends and family show someone suffering from a SUD that they care, it helps those people stick with treatment-even when it is hard. Similarly, drug rehab statistic success rates depend heavily on this. Due to the support, a loved one can give, the success rate grows substantially. As an adult, there are many things you can do to help someone in treatment. Here are some to get you started:
- Find them treatment services and information
- Offer rides to treatment and support groups
- Remind them to take any medicine their doctor gives them
- Help them find a place to live
- Help them get a job
- Find things to do that will take their mind off drugs
- Help them avoid places and people that might tempt them to take drugs again
- Talk with them about their feelings and drug cravings
- Be understanding if they relapse, and help them get back into treatment quickly
Your participation in your loved one’s treatment can be the difference between success and failure. When the stigmas are set aside, the judgment is removed, and the best interest of the one suffering is put first, success will be a given. Keep working together so the loved one’s life can be saved and yours can regain some sort of normalcy. You both deserve that and more!
Success of Treatment
Many ask this very question: what is the success rate of drug treatment programs? In general, treatment is very successful when the patient is ready to make changes and remains in treatment. Actual numbers are shaky for the overall success of treatment as so many factors are involved and difficult to track. Individual treatment outcomes depend on the extent and nature of the patient’s problems, the appropriateness of treatment and related services used to address those problems, and the quality of interaction between the patient and his or her treatment providers.
Your treatment being successful is not just about stopping drugs. The ultimate goal of treatment is to help those recovering from SUDs to become productive members of society in the family, workplace, and community. Most people who get into and stay in treatment stop using drugs, decrease criminal activity, and improve their ability to function on many levels.
Treatment Retention and Follow-up
The length of time spent in treatment has a direct impact on how successful individuals are at getting and staying clean. It is one of the most reliable predictors of post treatment outcomes. Overall, the longer the stay in treatment, the more favorable the outcomes. However, an important thing to remember is each person is different. So, each client’s attributes, program structure and services, and environmental factors will influence their engagement in treatment, retention, and final outcome.
For the best results, one suffering from a SUD must engage in and participate in the treatment process of a longer time. The longer the treatment with better follow-up care shows the largest reduction in drug use and related problems.
Through research, client relationships with counselors, satisfaction with treatment, and services provided are related to staying in treatment. A good relationship with one’s counselor actually doubles the odds of staying at least 90 days. If a client is able to be in an educational program along with treatment, the success of the client is increased by six times of one who is not.
If you are ready for treatment then call us today. Our professionals will help you find the right path for you and your situation. You are not alone. Get the help that you need today.
Spirituality and Religion
The connection between religion/spirituality and deviance, like substance abuse, is the absence of expected behaviors and social bonding. Spirituality lowers deviance by preserving those norms and social bonds. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), through its research DATOS, has found those with lower spirituality have higher relapse rates, and those with high spirituality have higher remission rates-almost ten times more successful. The strongest association between remission and spirituality involves attending religious services weekly.
In short, the stronger your spiritual and religious beliefs and practices, the better the remission from active drug abuse. Like having a sponsor in AA, regular spiritual practice, particularly weekly attendance at the religious services of your choice, is associated with a significantly higher success rate in recovery. Hence, spirituality and social bonding are important in a treatment environment, whether inpatient or outpatient. Why not give God a try?
The Final Hoorah
Successful addiction treatment truly depends on the individual, the extent of the SUD, engagement, retention, and the program itself. If you stumble, it is absolutely okay! No one is perfect. What is important is to get back up, dust yourself off, and have at sobriety again.
Remember, relapse is not treatment failure. Like other chronic diseases, addiction can be managed successfully. Drug rehab success enables people to go against addiction’s powerful effects on the brain and behavior and to get control of their lives again. The chronic nature of the disease means that relapsing to drug abuse is not only possible, but likely. Symptom recurrence is about the same as those with diabetes, hypertension, and asthma-which also have physiological and behavioral parts.
With it being a chronic disease, you need to treat it as such. Just be sure if you relapse, you get help again immediately. Do not be embarrassed! We can help you. You deserve success and with any length of time in recovery, increase in your spirituality, and drawing nearer to God, you are winning against an ugly disease. Give us a call now at (385)327-7418 so we can help you with your journey.
by Judith Raschka
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Resources
- https://easyread.drugabuse.gov/content/how-can-friends-and-family-help
- https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-addiction-treatment-research-based-guide-third-edition/frequently-asked-questions/how-effective-drug-addiction-treatment
- https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-addiction-treatment-research-based-guide-third-edition/drug-addiction-treatment-in-united-states/types-treatment-programs
- https://www.apa.org/monitor/2013/06/addiction
- https://psycnet.apa.org/search/display?id=fc7c2c3c-15c1-2b68-d56d-10cbc5c80a89&recordId=20&tab=PA&page=1&display=25&sort=PublicationYearMSSort%20desc,AuthorSort%20asc&sr=1
