Recovery From Alcoholism & Addiction
Types of Treatment in Recovery
There are many different ways people can recover from alcohol and addiction. I am in no way a medical professional, so all the information here is based on my experience with alcoholism and what has worked for me. There is no right way to get sober or live in recovery. It's all dependent on what works for you.
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When I went to Rehab, I was introduced to a 12 step treatment approach focusing on physical, mental, spiritual and emotional needs. I honestly didn't really care at the time what type of program it was or what I had to do, I just wanted to stop drinking - safely. You may not need each of these, but I highly recommend seeking out any and all options if you drank like I did, and want to live a better life.
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Many alcoholics and addicts also suffer from other emotional or mental health issues. In my experience, I used alcohol as a coping mechanism for anxiety and depression. Rather dealing with my emotions or working to understand why certain things bothered me, I drowned them with substances and ignored them. After hitting my bottom, I realized I couldn't live like that anymore and finally acknowledged I had a problem, and I couldn't fix it on my own.
Residential Treatment
Residential treatment centers, also referred to as Rehab, are live-in health care facilities providing therapy for substance use disorders, mental illness or other behavioral issues. This is a great option for those needing time to separate themselves from their normal day to day and focus fully on their recovery.
Medically Assisted Treatment
MAT or Medically Assisted Treatment is when medications are used in combination with counseling and behavioral therapy. These medications allow people to taper off their DOC (drug of choice) and safely lessen their physical dependency.
IOP
IOPs or Intensive Outpatient Programs are available for those looking for a treatment option that is a step down from residential. These programs treat substance use disorders, and co-occurring mental health disorders. IOP offers group therapy, individual therapy and life skill classes. The schedule for an IOP is typically 3 hours a day, 3-5 days a week.
Individual Therapy
Seeing a therapist who specializes in whatever you may be going through, whether it's trauma from childhood, relationship problems, addiction, anxiety, depression, etc. - individual thearpy is a great tool for anyone needing to work through problems life throws at us.
Detox
Detoxification from alcohol is a medically assisted process of the body removing any remaining toxins/alcohol from the system. There are options for at-home remedies, however, depending on the severity of the drug or alcohol dependence, it is best to consult a doctor in order to do what's safest. Detox can last anywhere between 3 days to two weeks.
OP
Outpatient Programs are very similar to IOP's, however, they are less time consuming, and tend to be the next step down after you have gone to residential and IOP. They include group and individual therapy, usually about 1 hour, 1 day a week.
PHP
Partial Hospitalization Programs are a type of intensive outpatient mental health or addiction treatment program. They are designed to address serious mental health issues and includes many different types of thearpy including medication management, group sessions, and family work. These are typically around 4 hours a day, 5 days a week.
Twelve step methods have been used to address a wide range of alcoholism, addiction, compulsion and dependency problems. It includes, admitting your powerlessness, coming to beleive in a higher power of your own understanding, examining past mistakes, making amends, living life based on new perspective and helping others.
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