Drug Treatment Addiction Center Principles

The general categories of therapies used at a drug treatment addiction center will include a wide range of treatments and methodologies. General principles are laid down in the National Institute on Drug Abuse manual, Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment.

Therapies will include the Agonist Maintenance Treatment and to be found in almost any drug addiction treatment center. This treatment usually requires outpatient attendance and uses a replacement therapy such as methadone to counteract the use of opioid substances. Whatever the replacement medication used, it often long lasting and allows the addict to function at a level that they are able to participate and benefit from the socialization aspect of the treatment regime. A drug addiction treatment center will monitor the addict to ensure that the level of dosage is sufficient to prevent withdrawal and curb the effects of further opioid use while blocking the brain receptors that produce the drug craving.

A patient of a drug addiction treatment center following this course of treatment is likely to be able to continue to live at home and maintain employment, while becoming aware of the dangers their behavior has been exposing themselves and others too, particularly in high risk cases involving HIV for instance.

Patients so stabilized are more able to participate in counseling sessions held by a drug addiction treatment center as well as other treatments that are necessary in order to break the cycle of addictive behavior. The drug addiction treatment center is also able to refer other services, such as mental health professionals to the patient as required.

A further treatment that a drug addiction treatment center will be commonly delivering, will be Narcotic Antagonist Treatment using Naltrexone and again this is useful for dealing with opioid abusers. This is also used in an outpatient setting though detoxification of the patient needs to take place in a secure, safe and medically supervised unit and this necessitates a residential facility.

Naltrexone is long acting and with little side effect that requires an oral dosage usually daily. It is essential that the patient is detoxified and free of opioids for several days before administering the medication. This requires the drug addiction treatment center to manage the patients withdrawal symptoms during detoxification.

The idea behind this treatment is that the Naltrexone completely blocks the opioid receptors in the brain, thus if a patient attempts opioid use there will be a lack of effect. Over time, this will result in the breaking of the cycle of addiction in the patient. Problems with this therapy that a drug addiction treatment center should be aware of is the non-compliance with treatment that patients often demonstrate requiring detoxification to be repeated. Naltrexone however is non-addictive and offers no potential for the patient to abuse the medication as sometimes occurs with methadone.

Again a patient that is being treated by Naltrexone under the supervision and monitoring of a drug addiction treatment facility, will be able to hold down employment and function at a normal level, as well as being able to avoid high risk situations and behaviors.

Drug addiction treatment center practitioners favor Naltrexone for patients who have undergone detoxification and are looking for a life style after therapy that includes total abstinence from substance abuse.

A drug addiction treatment center will form a vital service within the community by providing outpatient drug free treatment care and counseling. The center acts as a referral agency to other services for patients as they are required, commonly alcohol rehab and mental health services. An outpatient drug addiction treatment center is well placed to deliver low intensity programs such as drug education and outreach support to patients discharged into the community.

Long term residential treatment at a drug addiction treatment center will provide 24/7 care and is usually not found within a hospital environment. Many of these centers provide therapeutic care as patients are encouraged to be resocialized and the entire community of staff and patients are used as active participants in patient treatment.

Treatment tends to be highly structured with the imposition of routine and activities provided to better help the patient reflect and understand the cause and effect of their condition, not only upon themselves but their family, social circle and the community at large.

A patient at a residential drug addiction treatment center tends to have greater difficulties with dealing with their condition than a patient who is treated on an outpatient basis. Treatment also entails regaining or learning new life skills in order to help with gaining employment and leading a productive life without drugs upon discharge from the facility.

As there is no linear progression of a patients response to therapy, it may be the case that an individual may commence treatment as an outpatient at one drug addiction treatment center, but over time may need the different care and approach of another type. This is particularly true when a residential patient is discharged only to find that the environment and social factors that led to the original cause of addiction confront the patient post-discharge. In these circumstances, the availability of an outreach facility or emergency support network that can assume responsibility for the patient upon discharge forms the basis of many contingency plans to help prevent relapses and handle them quickly and effectively if a relapse in fact does occur.

A drug addiction treatment center will therefore be able to deliver a range of treatment protocols depending upon the type of patient under it’s care, however it will also be aware of the availability of other services and resources to handle patients that no longer will benefit from their care at that time. It is common to find a drug addiction treatment center working in close cooperation with other service providers such as alcohol rehabilitation clinics as drug and alcohol abuse frequently are found in the same patient. Similarly, drug abuse may have caused or have been caused by mental health issues that require specialist intervention if drug addiction treatment is itself going to be successful.