There is no one simple solution when it comes to addiction treatment and effective drug rehab requires a complete understanding of the complexities surrounding an individual’s need to use. Individualized drug addiction treatment is essential for the demanding challenges a person faces when they enter into a program as everyone responds to the tough mental and physical challenges and demands of rehab differently.
Why Individualized Programs Are the Most Effective
People struggling with addiction issues have their own unique set of circumstances to deal with and each case will have a unique history surrounding their use, habits, and perceptions. Even if people are addicted to the same substances, they can both display very different responses to their situation. This is why the most important step in the initial stage of drug rehab is assessment and evaluation.
Specialists need to fully understand the substances involved, the severity of the addiction and its duration, related physical health concerns, what triggers and stressors are involved and any underlying mental health concerns for each and every patient entering drug rehab in order to design the most appropriate program of treatment. This process requires complete honesty from each patient in order to get effective treatment and is often the first time someone with addiction problems will have been able to open up to another about their issues.
Evaluation and assessment are important in addiction treatment, allowing clinicians to create a personalized approach that will ultimately be more successful. For example, some patients may need dialectical behavior therapy to help them manage the symptoms of underlying mental health issues such as bipolar disorder, whereas another may do just as well within group and individual therapy. Successful treatment is based on the specific physical, emotional and spiritual needs of each patient entering a drug rehab center.
What Is Involved in an Assessment?
Accurate assessment is possibly one of the most crucial aspects of addiction treatment and is typically used to gauge addiction and determine the level of care required. The areas that will be evaluated and assessed include:
- The level of intoxication and dangers attached to withdrawal, which serves to gauge someone’s experiences with substance abuse and how they are likely to respond to detox.
- Physical health and any family history of complications that may have contributed to addiction.
- Emotional and behavioral conditions and any related complications.
- The willingness of the patient to quit using substances and make the changes needed to recover.
- Dangers of relapse once treatment is completed or evaluation of any past relapse history.
This kind of assessment allows therapists and addiction specialists to create a picture of addiction in each individual patient and an understanding of the challenges they are likely to face in treatment. For example, someone who is suffering from depression at the same time as addiction is likely to need a different treatment approach than someone who has a concurrent personality disorder.
Benefits of Individualized Approaches
Entering into addiction treatment having made the decision to seek help in an enormously challenging process for many, making it hard for many to commit to a program. The benefits of an individualized approach are that patients become more aware of their specific relationship with substances and together with specialist staff, are able to define a clear path towards their personal recovery.
The specific benefits of individualized addiction treatment include:
- Individual physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health concerns are more effectively managed in actionable ways.
- Multiple therapy options can be created to treat patients holistically with their specific needs in mind.
- Tests and treats any physical or mental health problems that are underlying a patient’s addiction.
- Allows patients to build a strong social recovery network to bridge the gap between alienation and socialization that is so often seen in addiction.
Attending a program at a drug addiction treatment center is an intensely personal experience that is different for each patient. Understanding the issues building up to developing addiction and their context in the daily lives of patients is crucial in devising the most effective strategies for recovery.
