Alcoholism Treatment Program: Options & Steps to Know Before Seeking Help

Alcohol recovery is a great step towards well being. We have compiled different alcoholism treatment program types for you! From effectiveness to timeframe to steps involved, read on to know more about these alcoholic treatment programs to help yourself and your loved ones!

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Hey there! Suffering from alcohol and drug addiction is never easy, even in the recovery stage. If you’ve made up your mind to quit alcohol then that’s a great step towards well being. But quitting alcohol is tough as there may be medical complications and you may require assistance.

Alcoholism treatment program is very much helpful to recover from alcoholism. There are a number of centers and organizations to help you out. Also, there are many different alcoholism treatment program types. We have compiled everything about treatment programs, timeframe and recovery for you. Let’s check them out!

What is Alcoholism Treatment Program?

When someone’s addicted to alcohol, it affects their health, physically and mentally, harms their relationships and happiness. Or an intervention by family or friends outlines alcohol’s consequences then these people may be pushed into treatment centers. Or at times, an individual may herself realize that she’s addicted to alcohol and volunteer to get help from treatment centers.

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So, these treatment centers have treatment programs like clinical withdrawal management, counseling sessions, relapse prevention coaching, and support group works to help recovery from alcohol. These are called alcoholism treatment programs. But one needs to work on aftercare for the rest of the life as relapse rate, too, is quite high.

A Drug and Alcohol Treatment Program Description

With an alcoholism treatment program, it gives you support to guide you through withdrawal. It usually includes medicine to help ease symptoms and care for medical and mental health conditions. Alcohol withdrawal or detox may last a week or more, with the symptoms hitting their worst within 24-48 hours.

Alcohol Treatment Programs | Alcohol Recovery Programs

There are a variety of alcohol recovery programs to help the alcoholics. The basic two options for detox are:

1. Inpatient: In this program, you live in a hospital, detox clinic, or rehab center during the process. You’ll have care around the clock to help you throughout. This program offers more services but it tends to cost more.

2. Outpatient: In this program, you get treatment in the day but can go back home every evening after the treatment. It’s almost similar to visiting your doctor for regular medicine. This program is best suited for the ones who don’t have a long history of drinking problem and is cost-effective.

In extreme cases, there are rehab programs that have a variety of services like medical care, counseling, life skills training and help to prevent a relapse. Let’s check out the alcohol detox rehab programs:

1. Residential rehab: In this program, you live at the center and usually, these programs run for 1-3 months. If you’ve serious problems or experiencing extreme withdrawal symptoms, then this program is apt for you.

2. Partial hospitalization or day treatment: In this program, you live at home but spend 4-8 hours a day in a hospital or clinic. These programs, too, last for 3 months. These programs are best suited for the ones who need medical care but have stable home life and supportive family and friends.

3. Intensive outpatient: You need to spend 9-20 hours a week in treatment for this program. They may last for 2 months or stretch upto a year sometimes.

alcohol-help-alcoholism-organization-withdrawalStatistics for Alcohol Recovery

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than 23% of admissions are due to alcohol abuse or addiction. In rehab facilities, admissions by age range are as follows:

  • The 25- to 29-year-old age range made up the highest percentage of admissions to treatment (14.8%)
  • The 20- to 24-year-old age range was the second highest (14.4%)
  • The 40- to 44-year-old age range was the third highest (12.6%)

The alcohol recovery statistics may not be perfect. This is because many members want to remain anonymous and a few may even drop out of the treatment program. The American Society of Addiction (ASAM) states about ten percent of individuals who join the 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous recover. However, The New York Times suggests Alcoholics Anonymous has a much higher success rating of approximately 75 percent. Even famous recovering alcoholics and celebrities have been AA members.

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So, are the alcoholism treatment program or alcohol recovery really effective? Well, first of all, you need to note down your needs and research the options and determine if their approach is ideal for you. However, a program like Alcoholics Anonymous may be beneficial for those who are looking for recovery support after their addiction treatment.

Lack of participation also reduces success rates. In other words, if someone doesn’t enjoy the approach and environment of the program is more likely to drop out of the program and relapse.

Steps of Alcohol Recovery | Alcohol Recovery Timeline

Addiction is a harmful disease that can capture you quickly (in some cases) or develop only after long-term substance abuse. Though there are certain similarities with addicted individuals, even though each addiction case is unique. Due to the intensive personal qualities, no two people follow an identical path to recovery.

For example, a few people may require outpatient alcoholism treatment program and years of alcohol recovery time whereas few people may recover just by medications and counseling. However, no way is better or worse than the other. An addict should discover what is the ideal recovery method for them, as the most important thing is to become healthy.

Even with so many influences and factors, most recovering addicts do pass through a similar phase. Let’s check out steps of alcohol recovery!

alcohol-withdrawal-anxiety-attacks-symptomsSteps to Alcohol Recovery

1. Awareness: The first stage is marked by admittance or a growing awareness that there is a problem. In some cases, the problem is realized through conversations with family members, friends or co-workers. And in some instances, this may occur when addiction has led to a serious health problem or affected one’s career or personal relationships. Although the addict hasn’t made any progress, it’s critical step for the addict to pave way for the rest of the alcohol recovery journey.

2. Action: The next step in the recovery process is a shift from awareness to action. This step is to make the addict look beyond himself/ herself. They’ll learn more about addiction and how it’s affecting their surroundings, too! Though they’re not actively pursuing alcoholism treatment program, they are moving in the direction in order to turn their awareness into action. In this step, addicts are likely to acquire knowledge about what the next steps should be.

3. Exploring Recovery: So, this is the real step towards alcohol recovery. In this step, the addict starts to know about the stage of addiction and the alcoholism treatment program to enroll.

4. Early Recovery: Early recovery is the stage where the addicts have stopped consuming alcohol. During this stage, it’s very important to self-control and relapse in this step may be problematic.

5. Active Recovery & Maintenance: By this stage, alcohol addicts would have made a great progress by quitting alcohol. It’s important to get support from family and friends to maintain recovery.

What is the First Step in an Alcoholic’s Recovery?

Alcohol detox is the very first step to recover from alcoholism. Detox or detoxification is a process wherein the body gets rid of toxic or unhealthy substances. Alcohol detox is the first step in treating alcoholism. In this stage, alcohol is flushed from the body. It’s when you stop drinking alcohol, which leads to withdrawal symptoms.

While having an alcohol detox, you may expect the following steps:

1. An overall test is done to check the blood pressure and other medical conditions. You may have to talk about your health and drinking history to your advisor.

2. A detox support will be provided, which may include medication for withdrawal symptoms and care for any other issues that may come up.

Inpatient Alcohol Treatment Programs

Inpatient alcoholism treatment program occurs when a person being treated for some condition remains in the treatment facility during the prescribed period. All the activities of the patient are monitored by the facility. Many normal daily activities are put on hold during the treatment. Here are a few advantages of inpatient alcohol programs:

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1. The identification and treatment of any other co-occurring psychological issues can be implemented more effectively when the patient can be observed around the clock.

2. Inpatient programs are run by multidisciplinary teams who can address clients’ issues from a number of different levels.

Usually, the inpatient treatment programs for alcohol abuse depends on mental health, gender, detox and length of stay. Here are a few residential treatment programs for alcoholism:

  • Individual and group therapy
  • Psychiatric consultation
  • Medication management
  • Family therapy

3. Even though it may be possible to self-enroll in an inpatient alcohol treatment program, the checking out always has to be approved by the doctors. The patient can only end their stay when their doctor seems fit and healthy.

Outpatient Alcohol Treatment Programs

Outpatient alcoholism treatment program is for severe addictions. The treatment programs come in various forms of behavioral addictions, substance abuse and more. There are standard rehab outpatient programs that provide 1-to-1 addiction counseling on a weekly basis. Then there are Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOPs), which, according to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, represent Level II treatment (inpatient and residential programs are considered Level III)

According to projectknow.com, IOPs are best suited for people who do not require medical detoxification or 24-hour supervision. Some of the common outpatient treatments include:

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1. Detox: Usually, detox is better with inpatient treatment program but for outpatient alcoholism treatment program, you’re less likely to receive medical assistance.

2. Individual Therapy: This involves meeting directly with the therapist to discuss the causes of addiction and to plan the strategies to reduce the risk of relapse.

3. Group Therapy: This involves group discussions where everyone shares their stories and discuss the common symptoms and differences.

4. Mental Health Therapy: In this type of treatment, a person with addiction will meet the counselor or therapist to discuss emotional or behavioral problems.

5. Aftercare Planning: You will work with your treatment team to develop a long-term sobriety plan.

6. 12-Step Meetings: Once aftercare treatment is done, the number of hours spent with the therapist will slowly reduce and may include the 12 step meetings to help you stay sober. The 12 step meetings or Alcoholics Anonymous are support groups for alcohol recovery. Read more about it at Alcohol Help: How to Know if You Need Alcohol Addiction Treatment

alcoholics-anonymous-steps-help-withdrawalAlcohol Residential Treatment Programs

Residential rehab programs provide the 24 hours, seven-day focus that helps people focus and detox safely under medical supervision. They also learn to manage addiction without distraction or temptation and improve their skills to overcome addiction, once they leave rehab. There are many centers that provide residential alcoholism treatment program, here are a few!

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1. Residential treatment varies from 30-90 days and involves living at a treatment facility to undergo intensive treatment.

2. Medical detox is yet another type of alcoholism treatment program. Detoxification takes almost 7-10 days to recover from alcohol. During detox, all traces of alcohol will be eliminated from your system while controlling withdrawal symptoms, too.

3. Counseling is an alcoholism treatment program where you’ll be able to identify the root cause of your alcohol addiction. It may involve individual, group, couple or family therapy, too!

4. Sober living home is a group of recovering alcoholics who live together in order to support each other and provide an environment free from alcohol and drugs. It is recommended for people who have just completed residential treatment and are at the risk of relapsing.

Other Alternative Therapies

5. Holistic therapy is a holistic approach to alcohol rehab treatments. It treats the individual, including their body, mind and spirit. It also includes alternative treatments like massage, acupuncture and yoga. It’s the most popular alcoholism treatment program as it helps patients to stay in recovery.

Also, check out: What is Holistic Health | Guide to Wellness of Body, Mind & Spirit

6. Cognitive behavioral therapy is treating alcohol dependence by teaching the person short-term coping skills for obtaining sobriety and long-term skills for maintaining sobriety.

7. Dual diagnosis therapy is for the people with a co-occurring disorder such as depression or anxiety will become addicted to alcohol after trying to self-medicate their symptoms.

Alcohol Recovery Centers Near Me

Drug and alcohol addiction have lasting effects on one’s life. Selecting a top alcohol detox center or rehab is not important. You should consider a few points like distance, need and the program you’re choosing and select the right center. However, I have mentioned a few popular alcohol detox treatment centers based on the best reviews online:

  1. Sunspire Health Recovery Road, Florida
  2. Desert Cove Recovery, Arizona
  3. Bluff Plantation, Georgia
  4. Desert Hope, Nevada
  5. JourneyPure Emerald Coast, Florida
  6. Behavioral Wellness & Recovery, Pennsylvania
  7. Beachside Rehab, Florida
  8. United Recovery Project, Florida
  9. Awakenings Hill Country, Texas
  10. Hope Canyon Recovery, California

Yoga for Alcohol Recovery

While there are many aids and alcoholism treatment program like alcoholics anonymous to help recover from alcoholism, self-recovery is the best solution. Yoga is yet another complementary and natural form of medicine.

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The Yoga Journal describes modern yoga as the use of physical postures to learn how to connect mind, body, and breath to gain self-awareness and focus attention inward. When a person feels stress, their heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, and body temperature increase. Yoga may actually act on this system by regulating and balancing some of the stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.

Yoga has many benefits like increased energy levels, stress relief, increased physical stamina and strength and many more. You can even check out our articles on Shakti Yoga, Iyengar Yoga and more and practice right at home, too!

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When someone abuses drugs or alcohol regularly, some of the pathways in the brain alter. In a report by Harvard health, yoga helps to relieve stress. Scientific evidence has provided a link between practicing yoga and reduction of stress by modulation of the stress.

How to Support an Alcoholic Spouse In Recovery?

Alcohol doesn’t affect only you but it may also affect others around you like your family, friends and children. But the most affected with alcoholism are the addict’s spouses. They need to deal with the addicts and themselves to cope with the worries. The worst part is it may affect the marriage, too. There are so many challenges that a spouse faces when the addict is abusing or there will be a sense of anger and restlessness when the addict is in the rehab center.

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But either way both the addict and the spouse need to support each other in the journey of alcohol recovery. If you have an alcoholic spouse, you’ll be able to support them with these steps:

Alcohol Recovery | Steps to Help an Alcoholic Spouse

1. Educate yourself about the process of recovery. From risk factors of relapse to relapse prevention plan with your spouse, try to understand your spouse’s journey into sobriety.

2. Communicate with your spouse about the kind of support they need. Also, make sure you take good care of your own health. In counseling, you’ll be able to understand new ways to communicate with each other and identify feelings.

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3. Your relationship will change during the recovery journey. Your spouse may recover quickly or too slowly, they may meet new friends, outshine you with regards to career. But it’s important to give time to your spouse to understand themselves without alcohol.

4. Try to be patient as your spouse may not take up all the responsibilities right after alcohol recovery.

5. Never blame your spouse for alcoholism. Always remember that addiction is not a moral failing or lack of will power. And your spouse, too, feels shameful for the past behaviors.

6. Prepare for setbacks, too. Your spouse may struggle on the path of addiction and you may notice lying, manipulations and selfishness to relapse.

7. Never take relapse personally. If your spouse gets back to previous old patterns, lend them support and get them back to drug rehab.

8. Praise your spouse’s progress. Encourage them to go to 12-step meetings and try to meet their counselor.

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9. Spend more time with each other. This helps you get to know the new person your spouse is growing into.

So, we hope that you found our alcoholism treatment program and recovery guide helpful. Also, share your thoughts by tweeting @shilpa1ahuja!

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