The Alcoholic Rehab Center
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traditional alcohol rehab methodologies are often based on the 12-step approach that was developed by and put
into operation by Alcoholics Anonymous.
Other less mainstream alcohol rehab programs, however, have come into existence and are commonly undertaken
in a rehab hospital, a drug and alcohol treatment clinic, or in an alcoholic rehab center and provide non-12-step
alcohol counseling and treatment.
The Alcoholic Rehab Center: Counseling, Medications, and
Support
Most of the non-12-step alcohol rehab methodologies take place in an alcoholic rehab
center, a rehabilitation hospital, or in a drug and alcohol clinic.
Healthcare professionals in these treatment facilities emphasize therapeutic practices that focus on the use
of doctor prescribed medications, extensive counseling, education, and training, and staff support.
In addition, more than a few these non-12-step rehab approaches treat alcoholism and alcohol abuse from both a
physiological and an emotional vantage point.
Some of the more effective alcohol treatment programs are more inclusive than others and accordingly direct
their attention to how alcoholics and alcohol abusers will respond to and manage their finances, employment issues,
and relationships after they complete rehab, become sober, and return home.
Finally, some of the more successful alcoholic rehab centers operate from a holistic standpoint that helps
alcohol abusers and alcoholics single out and cope with various circumstances that most probably led to their
drinking problems in the first place.
Some of these important and potentially hazardous issues include the following:
- Poor interpersonal relationship skills
- A sense of loss
- Pain
- Poor anger management skills
- Grief
- Unemployment
- Poor financial management skills
- Spirituality issues
- Poor coping skills
- Career indecision
The Need For Outpatient Follow-Up Treatment
When a problem drinker undergoes alcohol rehab, it becomes vitally important to concentrate on what he or she
will do after he or she has finished treatment.
Indeed, overcoming one's alcohol withdrawal symptoms and getting through the detoxification process are
indispensable to the treatment process, but so is the “follow-up” counseling, training, and education that
highly competent alcoholic rehab centers commonly begin as soon as the problem drinker completes inpatient,
residential treatment.
Some of the more successful non-12-step alcoholic rehab centers, for instance, provide follow-up outpatient
counseling, education, and training for one year after the residential part of rehab is finished.
Simply put, the higher quality and more broad-based alcoholic rehab centers focus their rehab on methodologies
that are developed and put into practice for long-lasting success rather than on short-term, quick and easy
therapeutic results.
| According to a report published by the National Center on Addiction and Substance
Abuse at Columbia University, most teens who experiment with alcohol continue using it. Among high
school seniors who had tried alcohol, 91.3 percent still were drinking in the 12th grade. |
The Significance of The Rehab Environment
The rehab atmosphere in which problem drinkers find themselves is an important therapeutic issue.
Indeed, some of the higher quality and more comprehensive alcoholic rehab centers intentionally create a
relaxing, supportive, and safe environment that fosters long-lasting, effective, and productive alcohol
recovery.
While it probably will come as no surprise that most of the alcohol treatment programs are relatively expensive,
especially those that offer inpatient, residential rehab, the better and more successful alcoholic rehab centers,
it can be highlighted, many times place financial matters low on their priority list as they keep a tight rein on
the number of alcohol abusers and alcoholics they accept for treatment.
Without much doubt, this is more of a "rehab” consideration and less of a profit and loss deliberation that
helps staff give the time, effort, resources, compassion that top-quality, effective alcohol treatment demands.
| Scientific research has shown that participation in support groups, combined with
other treatment efforts, is more effective in helping alcoholics remain sober than participating in
treatment by itself. For those who do not prefer the 12-step approach, many other support groups
are available. |
Characteristics of a Successful Alcoholic Rehab Center
The following characterizes some of the more prominent features of a successful alcoholic rehab center:
- Medications to control and manage alcohol withdrawal symptoms
- Programs with special time periods and length of counseling options that are tailored to the needs of each
client
- A caring, efficient, and success-oriented staff
- Hotel or rehab facility suites for out-of-town clients or visitors
- Private detox services
- Success rates well beyond the national averages
- Outpatient programs that are individualized to “fit” the financial capabilities, the personality, and the
needs of each problem drinker
- Hospital and non-hospital treatment methodologies
- Competitive pricing
- Medications to help alcoholics and alcohol abusers abstain from alcohol relapse
- Extensive day and night therapeutic and educational programs
| While drinking may be a singular problem behavior for some, research suggests that
for others it may be an expression of general turmoil that includes other problem behaviors
and that these behaviors are linked to unconventionality, impulsiveness, and sensation
seeking. |
The Alcoholic Rehab Center: Conclusion
Many of the mainstream alcohol rehab programs are built on the 12-step recovery approach that was initiated by
Alcoholics Anonymous.
Other non-12-step alcohol rehabilitation methodologies, nevertheless, have appeared and have become more
accepted by the medical and therapeutic community.
Typically, these non-12-step approaches focus less on considerations such as a "higher power, the number of
meetings attended by an individual, or group support and more on factors such as scientific, empirically validated
information that verifies the success of rehab approaches that utilize medications in combination with staff
support, comprehensive education, training, and counseling, and an attainable and practical follow-up
rehabilitation regimen.
| It is important for drinkers to realize that when they frequently abuse alcohol on a
regular basis, they increase the risk of becoming an alcoholic. |
Many of the effective non-12-step rehabilitation programs take place in a drug and alcohol rehab clinic, a rehab
hospital, or in an alcoholic rehab center.
These treatment facilities are routinely staffed with high quality, accommodating, and considerate healthcare
professionals who do everything they can to help problem drinkers learn more effective decision-making,
relationship, coping, and "life" skills; overcome their destructive, unhealthy, and abusive drinking; and help them
learn how to reestablish their lives, maintain sobriety, and strive for long-term recovery.
| Individuals who increase their binge drinking from age 18 to 24 and those who
consistently binge drink at least once a week during this period may have problems attaining the
goals typical of the transition from adolescence to young adulthood (e.g., educational attainment,
marriage, financial independence, and employment). |
| To make a successful recovery, the alcoholic needs new tools in order to deal with
situations and problems which arise. Factors such as encountering someone from their days of
abusive drinking, returning to the same environment and places, or even small things such as smells
and objects trigger memories which can create psychological stress. This can hinder the alcoholic's
goal of complete recovery, thus not allowing the him or her to permanently regain control of his or
her life. |
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