Types of Drug Treatment

There are many different types of drug treatment that are available for individuals who struggle with a drug or alcohol addiction problem; the ultimate goal of all substance abuse treatment should be to enable the addict to get to a place where they can achieve lasting abstinence. Listed below are some of the most common types of drug treatment that are currently available in the United States today.

Types of Drug Treatment

Outpatient Drug Treatment - this type of drug treatment encompasses a wide variety of drug rehab programs for patients who visit a clinic at regular intervals to attend individual or group drug counseling sessions.

Short Term Drug Treatment - This type of drug treatment generally lasts an average of 28-30 days, depending on the rehabilitation center. In the big picture of addiction, this very limited period of time is not usually long enough to get the drugs and alcohol out of the individual's system and to also be able educate the them regarding how to live without abusing drugs.

Long Term Residential Drug Treatment - This type of drug treatment program is by far the most effective way to ensure success in drug recovery. Experts in the field of addiction have long recommend residential drug treatment for the most optimal recovery results. The reason for this is because this type of drug treatment allows ample time to be able to address all of the factors that have contributed to the cycle of addiction; due to limited time constraints, it is not possible to address all of these issues while attending short term drug treatment.

Holistic Drug Treatment - This type of drug treatment is one that focuses on the body, mind and spirit in approaching a substance abuse problem. Because of this generic definition, many drug rehab facilities include the word "Holistic" as an approach, but might not offer a truly Holistic Drug treatment approach; in other words, any drug rehabilitation program could claim to be holistic in nature, since every form of drug recovery will ultimately work on body, mind and spirit.

The first issue that drug treatment professionals will consider to determine what is the best type of drug treatment for an individual is to find out what type of drugs that the addict used, and the length of the individual's addiction. While drug treatment program methods are varied, all of their paths go through similar stages, beginning with the drug detox and withdrawal process. Once the early stages of drug withdrawal have passed, an individual can begin a directed, drug rehab program that addresses the addict's psychological dependency and imparts behavioral and social skills that will help them to learn how to function without reaching for alcohol or drugs.

The type of drug treatment that has ultimately proven to yield the best results for most individuals, who have struggled with a serious substance abuse problem, is long term residential drug treatment. Various other types of drug rehabilitation programs are commonly aimed at those with less severe levels of addiction.