Drug Addiction Treatment

1. Addiction is a serious but manageable disease that can affect brain function and behavior. The brain’s structure, function and substance abuse can cause changes that last long after the drug has been stopped. This could explain why drug addicts can relapse, even after long periods without using drugs and despite potentially fatal consequences.

2. There is no one treatment that works for everyone. The type of drug used and the patient’s characteristics will determine which treatment is best. To ensure that a patient’s return to a heatlhy life within the home, family, and society is possible, it is important to match treatment settings, interventions, services, and programs to their particular needs.

3. Access to treatment must be available immediately. It is important to take advantage of the available services as soon as someone is ready. If treatment is not available immediately or easily accessible, potential for relapse or death is possible.  Like other chronic diseases, it is more likely that positive outcomes will be achieved if treatment is administered earlier.

4. Effective treatment addresses multiple needs, not just drug abuse. It must address both the individual’s substance abuse and any related legal, medical, psychological, vocational, or social problems. The treatment must be tailored to the individual’s gender, age, culture, and ethnicity.

5. It is important to remain in treatment for a sufficient time, and that time frame is dependent on the severity and nature of the individual’s needs and problems. Most addicts require at least three months of treatment to reduce or stop using drugs. Research shows that longer treatment periods are more effective and drug addiction recovery is a long-term process that often requires multiple sessions of treatment. Relapses to drug addiction, as with other chronic diseases, can happen and should be a sign that treatment needs to be reinstituted or modified. Programs should have strategies to keep patients in treatment and engage them, as people often leave treatment too early.

6. The most common form of treatment for drug abuse is behavioral therapies. These may include but are not limited to individual, family, and group counseling. The focus of behavioral therapies is different. They may address the patient’s motivation, provide incentives to abstain, build skills for resisting drug use, replace drug-using activities with constructive and rewarding activities and improve problem-solving skills. Participating in peer support programs and group therapy can also help to maintain abstinence during treatment.

7. Many patients find medication an essential part of their treatment, especially when they are combined with counseling or other behavioral therapies. Methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone (including the new long-acting formulation) can be effective in stabilizing heroin addicts and decreasing their drug use. For the treatment of alcohol dependence, medications such as disulfiram and acamprosate have been approved. A nicotine replacement product, such as lozenges, patches, or nasal spray, can be used to treat nicotine dependence. Oral medication, such as bupropion and varenicline, may also be helpful in treating opioid addiction.

8. The individual’s treatment plan and services must be reviewed regularly and adjusted as needed to meet his or her changing needs. Patients may need a variety of services and components to help them recover and stay healthy. A patient may need counseling and psychotherapy as well as medication, legal services, family therapy and parental instruction. A continuing care approach is the best option for many patients and intensity of treatment can be adjusted to suit the patient’s changing needs.

9. Many people who are addicted to drugs also suffer from other mental disorders. Patients with drug addiction and or a history of abuse (both of which can be mental disorders) should be evaluated as a whole for any other potential instabilities. When these conditions co-occur, treatment should include both the administration of medication as well as understanding these issues at their core with therapy.

10. Medically assisted detoxification does not change long-term drug use. It is only the beginning stage of addiction treatment. Medically assisted detoxification is able to manage withdrawal symptoms and may be helpful for those who are struggling with addiction, however it will not necessarily resolve the problem forever. Patients should be encouraged to continue their drug treatment well after detoxification is completed. Treatment engagement can be improved by motivational enhancement and incentive strategies that are implemented during the initial patient intake.

11. In order to be effective, treatment does not have to be voluntary. Treatment can be reinforced by enticements or sanctions from the family, the criminal justice system, and/or employment.