I found this some where and can't recall where.I had it saved to my desk top of my computer. I copied and pasted it and thought it might be of some help for someone. It helped me understand a little better how treatment can help.
"How do behavioral therapies treat drug addiction"?
"Behavioral treatments help engage people in substance use disorder treatment, modifying their attitudes and behaviors related to drug use and increasing their life skills to handle stressful circumstances and environmental cues that may trigger intense craving for drugs and prompt another cycle of compulsive use. Behavioral therapies can also enhance the effectiveness of medications and help people remain in treatment longer.
Treatment must address the whole person.
How do the best treatment programs help patients recover from the pervasive effects of addiction?
Gaining the ability to stop abusing drugs is just one part of a long and complex recovery process. When people enter treatment for a substance use disorder, addiction has often taken over their lives. The compulsion to get drugs, take drugs, and experience the effects of drugs has dominated their every waking moment, and abusing drugs has taken the place of all the things they used to enjoy doing. It has disrupted how they function in their family lives, at work, and in the community, and has made them more likely to suffer from other serious illnesses. Because addiction can affect so many aspects of a persons life, treatment must address the needs of the whole person to be successful. This is why the best programs incorporate a variety of rehabilitative services into their comprehensive treatment regimens. Treatment counselors may select from a menu of services for meeting the specific medical, psychological, social, vocational, and legal needs of their patients to foster their recovery from addiction.
Group photo
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy seeks to help patients recognize, avoid, and cope with the situations in which they are most likely to abuse drugs.
Using abusable substances at teenhood, usually middle school, this age can disrupt brain function in areas critical to motivation, memory, learning, judgment, and behavior control.
So, it is not surprising that teens who use alcohol and other drugs often have family and social problems, poor academic performance, health-related problems (including mental health), and involvement with the juvenile justice system."
This is a good article. My take is a litle more simple - treatment is the first brick in building a foundation of recovery. In other words, my 28 days in treatment was sort of like my elementary schooling to build upon a lifelong education.
Treatment, by itself, does not "fix" the problem. It provives the recipe and ingredients to be used in building long term sobriety.
Recovery takes work - I have not seen the exception. In other words, the education part is helpful but it is useless until it is put into action. In my opinion, succesful recovery includes attending a lot of meetings (90 meetings for the first 90 days after treatment), getting a sponsor, reading the literature, working the steps, performing service work, sharing the good news with the still-suffering alcoholic/addict - etc. -- and then "rinse and repeat".
Those people who stick with the program will succeed. It is particularly important to get "back into the saddle" if there is a relapse. If you have not done so, read the AA Promises - they are inspiring, and they will become true to those who work the program with complete honesty.
Thanks for posting your excellent article.
Fly
Treatment, by itself, does not "fix" the problem. It provives the recipe and ingredients to be used in building long term sobriety.
Recovery takes work - I have not seen the exception. In other words, the education part is helpful but it is useless until it is put into action. In my opinion, succesful recovery includes attending a lot of meetings (90 meetings for the first 90 days after treatment), getting a sponsor, reading the literature, working the steps, performing service work, sharing the good news with the still-suffering alcoholic/addict - etc. -- and then "rinse and repeat".
Those people who stick with the program will succeed. It is particularly important to get "back into the saddle" if there is a relapse. If you have not done so, read the AA Promises - they are inspiring, and they will become true to those who work the program with complete honesty.
Thanks for posting your excellent article.
Fly
