Many people suffering from drug addiction always have that wish of recovery. However, considering the complexity of the drug addiction treatment and the length of time it takes, you wonder whether the treatment will work. In addition, many drug treatment providers are constantly responding to questions that relate to the effectiveness of drug treatment. In this article, we evaluate whether drug addiction can be effective for you or your loved one. Essentially, whether drug addiction treatment is effective or not is not a question that you would correctly respond to with a mere yes or no. However, with the amount of research data and clinical trials that professionals have conducted, we can undoubtedly say that drug addiction is effective. However, the effectiveness of the treatment is an aggregate of various factors that tend to vary from individual to individual. Therefore, to better understand how everything patches up, we evaluate a few terms and conditions.
What is Drug Addiction Treatment?
Drug addiction treatment is the process through which an individual is rehabilitated from drug abuse. In essence, this process involves medication and psychotherapy to break the dependency that an individual has on drugs. Typically, though the outcome is the same, drug addiction treatment can take different approaches. Some of these approaches include behavioral therapy, where a person is trained to live without the drug. Other methods include medication or a combination of therapy and medication.
Medication
In most cases, your doctor can prescribe medication such as naltrexone, buprenorphine, and methadone if you are an opium addict. If your addiction stems from nicotine, your addiction can be treated using preparations such as lozenges, patches, gums, and nasal sprays. Tobacco addicts are mainly treated with medications such as bupropion and varenicline. If you suffer from alcohol addiction, you get prescriptions such as acamprosate, naltrexone, and disulfiram.
Behavioral Therapies
Typically, behavioral therapies are excellent in motivating addicts to participate in particular drug treatments. In addition, these therapies will teach you strategies that will help you cope with cravings and how to stay clean. In essence, behavioral therapies are intended to keep the addict as away from the drug as possible to prevent possible relapse. Additionally, these therapies are critical in restoring individuals who have had a relapse. In essence, relapsing back into drug abuse is averted by helping individuals develop better relationships with other people and improve communication.
Which of These Treatments Is More Effective?
Either of the above drug addiction treatment is effective on its merit. Essentially, either treatment can be used regarding the particular individual or the extent of the addiction. For instance, minor cases of drug addiction can be treated with one of the two. However, scientists have found out that the most effective drug addiction treatment is a combination of medication and therapy. Mainly, this combination works as follows.
- Initiation of the treatment
- Promotion of early abstinence
- Maintenance of the abstinence
- Long term recovery
Now, many people have given up on addiction treatment in the first few hours of their stay at rehab. With the initiation of the treatment, the addict is motivated to get treatment through evaluation of the adverse effects of the addiction. Once a person is ready to continue with the rehabilitation, they are taught how to stay without the drug. Essentially, this has always been the most challenging stage for most addicts considering they have to withdraw from drug abuse. In addition, this is where the withdrawal symptoms start to set in. You might have to cope with cravings, hard-hitting withdrawal symptoms, possible relapse, and psychological dependence in this stage. On completing this step, you can now begin maintaining your abstinence. This will include counseling and follow-up rehab sessions through an outpatient program. The final step becomes maintaining the recovery for the long term.
Factors That Determine the Effectiveness of the Treatment
A few factors anchor the effectiveness of any medication. These are:
- Modalities and basic concepts of the treatment – This includes the theories and particular designs that your doctor will use. It also spans the specific medication and addict type that the design intends to treat.
- The extent of addiction – Different levels of addiction will require different treatment approaches. Therefore, a particular treatment can only be effective for a particular level of addiction.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, drug addiction treatment effectiveness is a question of what treatment fits what level of addiction. Essentially, all treatments have been proven to be effective for particular drug addiction treatment. However, the go-to treatment for most providers is a combination of therapy and medication. This treatment has garnered a lot of traction due to its level of effectiveness and success. To learn more about the effectiveness of drug addiction treatment, our experts are readily available. Call us today at 833-846-5669.