DRUG REHABILITATION
Drug rehabilitation programmes
Drug rehabilitation means helping addicted individuals stop compulsive drug seeking and use. As drug addiction is typically a chronic disorder characterized by occasional relapses, a short-term, one-time treatment is usually not sufficient. For many, treatment is a long-term process that involves multiple interventions and regular monitoring.
There are different types of drug rehabilitation programmes. The most common are: residential treatment, local support groups, recovery houses, addiction counselling, mental and medical care.
Scientific research, back in the 1970s, showed that an effective treatment addresses the multiple needs of the patient rather than treating only the addiction. In fact, a medical drug detoxification alone is ineffective.
A successful treatment includes both medical and behavioural therapy, followed by relapse prevention.
WARM UP
Do you know which of the following is the most commonly used drug in Italy?
- a. cannabis
- b. cocaine
- c. opioids
MORE
1 Drug rehabilitation may be a very long process but as Confucius says, "It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop".
2 Detoxification (or detoxification) is a serious topic, but the expression "detox diet" is often used on a lighter level to describe a regime adopted by people who want to keep fit and healthy.
Medical treatment
Detoxification is the first step in the process, then further medical treatment is needed. In fact, if the patients do not receive any further treatment, they will resume drug use.
Sometimes electric devices are also used, as in the case of opioid addiction: a device is placed behind the ear and it sends electric pulses to stimulate certain brain nerves.
Sometimes, medications are necessary to re-establish normal brain function.
Behavioural therapy
Behavioural therapy includes:
- cognitive-behavioural therapy, which tries to help patients recognize, avoid and cope with situations in which they are most likely to relapse;
- multidimensional family therapy, with the aim of supporting recovery by improving family functioning;
- motivational interviewing, to increase motivation to change behaviour and enter treatment;
- motivation incentives, with a positive reinforcement to encourage abstinence.
Group therapy
Rehabilitation programmes use both individual and group therapy.
Group therapy can provide social reinforcement and help behavioural therapies which promote abstinence and a non-drug-using lifestyle.
However, with adolescents, there can also be a danger of unintended harmful effects of group treatment because some group members can reinforce drug use. For this reason, trained counsellors have to monitor the group.
