Contingency Management (CM) can be used to treat a range of addictions including drugs, alcohol as well as tobacco. Contingency management therapy reinforces your positive behavior (ie maintaining sobriety) by giving you tangible rewards. This kind therapy has been employed successfully to combat relapse, in the words of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
But it's not simple. Because addiction is a lifelong illness, it's not possible to stop using drugs for a few days and be healed. Patients require long-term, or repeated care to completely stop using and to regain their lives.
Twelve-step facilitation therapy ("12-step programmes") are a method to treat substance and alcohol abuse. It's a type of group therapy that involves acceptance that addiction can have a variety of negative consequences that can be physical, emotional, social and physical. The process begins with acceptanceand then it moves to giving up to the higher power, and eventually transitions to involvement in regular group sessions. The programs such as the well-known Alcoholics Anonymous use group meetings for discussion and mutual support.
Based on scientific research since the mid-1970s, these important principles should form the foundation of any effective treatment program:
Medicines can play a crucial role in recovery when paired with behavioral therapy. Certain drugs can be utilized to reduce cravings, improve mood, and reduce addictive behavior. For example, the FDA has recently approved lofexidine as a medication to help reduce withdrawal symptoms and cravings among patients receiving treatment for opioid addiction. Acamprosate is a medication that can reduce drinking behavior.
The availability of a variety of treatments with a customized treatment plan and follow-up services are essential to the success. Treatment should include both medical and mental health treatments as required. The follow-up treatment could include community- or family-based Recovery support services.
If you or a loved one suffer from addiction, there is no need to battle the issue on your own. Speak to a doctor. There are effective treatments available that can help you overcome the addiction.
Medications and devices can be employed to control withdrawal symptoms, prevent relapses, and treat co-occurring conditions.
Drug dependence (also known as substance use disorder) can be described as an illness that is progressive and can cause people to lose control over the use of some substance despite worsening consequences of that usage. The condition can be life-threatening.
Withdrawal. Medical devices and medications can to reduce withdrawal symptoms in detoxification. Detoxification is not in itself "treatment," but only the initial step in the process. Patients who don't receive further treatment following detoxification usually resume their use of drugs. A research study on treatment centers found that drugs were utilized in more than 80 percent of detoxifications (SAMHSA 2014). In November 2017 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave a new approval for an electrical stimulation gadget, NSS-2 Bridge, for use in aiding in the reduction of symptoms of withdrawal from opioids. The device is placed behind the ear and emits electrical signals to stimulate certain brain nerves. In May 2018, too, FDA approved lofexidine. FDA approved lofexidine as a non-opioid medicine designed to reduce withdrawal symptoms from opioids.
Addictions are not problems of willpower or morality. Addiction is a ferocious and complex illness. People who have an addiction to drugs can't simply stop the habit, no matter how much they wish to. The effects of drugs alter the brain in a way making quitting both physically and mentally challenging. Treatment for addiction usually requires ongoing therapy and care.
Relapse prevention. Patients may take medications to aid in restoring normal brain function and decrease cravings. There are medications available to treat of opioid (heroin, prescription pain relievers), tobacco (nicotine) and alcohol addiction. Researchers are working on other drugs to treat stimulants (cocaine methamphetamine) as well as marijuana (marijuana) addiction. Patients who take more than one substance that is prevalent, require treatment for all the substances they consume.
While the drugs mentioned are different from each other, they all strongly activate the addiction center in the brain. That's what makes these substances habit-forming, while others are not.
Outpatient behavioral therapy includes a wide variety of services for those who meet with a behavioral health counselor on a regular schedule. Most of these programs provide groups or individual drug counseling or both. These programs usually offer different types of behavioral therapy such as: