Is Drug Rehab Therapy Effective For Drug Abuse?

In drug rehabilitation, both the physical and psychological dependencies of the patient are addressed. Similarly, drug rehab therapy combats both the physical and psychological aspects of drug addiction. It helps fight physical dependency via detoxification to help the patient cope with withdrawal symptoms. It also helps fight psychological dependency by using some coping tactics that are based on psychological principles.

A type of therapy that has played a big part in drug rehabilitation programs is pharmacotherapy. It involves the use of medical drugs like methadone and buprenorphine to reduce a person's dependency on drugs. The mentioned medicines are said to be successful in lessening drug and substance dependence as they bring stability to an otherwise abnormal opioid system.

Another type of therapy involves detoxification. It is based on the belief that one should understand his body's condition and purge it of toxins before other recovery systems are begun. It is important that the patient first consults with a health professional before he starts with any type of drug rehabilitation program. Detoxification is a cleansing process that rids the body of drugs or toxic substances. The doctor interviews the patient thoroughly to determine which detoxification is best for him.

Recent discoveries showed that recovery is also dependent on how a patient copes with the chemical imbalances in his body. Drug addiction is seen to cause a chemical imbalance in the body, thus, the need for a biochemical restoration. This is the principle of detoxification and along with it comes the need to improve ones diet, take nutritional supplements and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Psychotherapy is another type of treatment. This is almost always used in drug rehabilitation programs. Psychotherapy involves continuous assessment of the patient's progress and counseling. What is missing at this point are conclusive studies that can pinpoint the most effective form of psychotherapy.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) involves looking at the patient's behavior (particularly the problematic ones) and the events that led to the behavior. The therapist can go as far back as the recent week or the past few days. By studying the events and the reactions of the patient, the therapist can then suggest some adaptive behaviors that can help the patient face the situation instead of dodging it.

This therapy processes at-issue behaviors in a descending manner such that highly-crucial behaviors, issues, or concerns are first dealt with until the therapy reaches the least important concern of the patient.

Brief Strategic Family Therapy (BSFT) is focused more on parents and family members of the patient. It has been discovered that negative reactions towards a teenager's drug addiction further pushes the child into continuing with the addiction. BSFT opens discussions with the parents and family members to help them use positive interaction to help the child deal with his problem and eventually recover from it.

The family's closeness is a great contributing factor towards the speed and ease of the patient's recovery. As the patient becomes less dependent on drugs and decreases his problematic behavior, psychologists urge family members to positively interact with the patient to provide him with the support he needs.