What is Drug Abuse Treatment?
A brief overview of drug abuse treatment and its intent
Drug abuse (or addiction) treatment is oftentimes referred to as drug rehabilitation or just rehab. It is a type of medical and/or psychotherapeutic process that is utilized for the treatment of drug abuse or dependency on psychoactive substances including:
- alcohol
- prescription medications
- “street” drugs
Street drugs refer to the numerous addictive substances being sold on the street such as amphetamines, cocaine, or heroin. The specific intent of drug abuse treatment is to enable the individual to stop abusing drugs so that they avoid the emotional, mental, physical, and psychological consequences. It also helps them to avoid the financial, legal, and social consequences as well.
The common approaches to drug abuse treatment
Historically, there have been a number of different approaches to treating drug abuse and addiction. These include:
- 12-Step programs
- Client-centered approaches
- Disease model
- Psychoanalytic approaches
The 12-Step approach was originally used for helping recovery alcoholics. However, it has evolved into the field of abuse and addiction treatment as well and is now the most common of all treatment and recovery modalities. Today, there are more innovative drug abuse and addiction recovery modalities that are based in the cognitive behavioral therapy approach. This also involves learning relapse prevention techniques prior to the individual returning home to their community.
Interestingly enough, the most effective form of drug abuse and addiction treatment is a long-term in-patient program that uses a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and medication to help the individual overcome their drug abuse issues. The primary residential treatments are the out-patient and in-patient format long-term and short-term formats being the two types of in-patient programs.
Understanding the difference between drug abuse and drug addiction
In the field of drug rehab, the terminologies drug abuse and drug addiction are sometimes interchanged in error. There is a significant difference between the two and understanding the difference enables the rehab center to determine which form of treatment applies.
- Drug abuse is defined as the excessive or habitual use of a substance or substances in order to alter their emotions, moods, or states of consciousness.
- Drug addiction refers to the compulsive and uncontrollable physical and/or psychological craving for or dependency on a substance.
Although the difference between the two is slight, they are still significant enough to warrant different treatment methods and therapies.
Let our referral service find a rehab program that works
The Rehab Advisor is the internet’s premier drug abuse treatment referral website with listings of the most successful drug abuse and addiction rehab programs throughout the US. For more information about our referral site and our addiction recovery programs, call the toll-free phone number above.
