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Everything You Need To Know About The Addiction Rehabilitation Process – The Four Stages of Rehabilitation

The journey from drug use and abuse to a healthy, sober life is not a quick and easy one. For most people, it requires a life-long commitment of hard work and dedication. The road to full recovery may be challenging, but professional treatment helps many people start the process.

Drug and alcohol rehab can cause a lot of confusion and anxiety for most people. Rehab usually involves extensive therapy, which primarily aims to rectify drug and alcohol-seeking behaviors. As part of the recovery and treatment process, many aftercare outlets provide you with long-term support and continued relapse prevention care.

Though individual experiences may vary for most people who manage to complete an addiction rehab program can expect to pass through the four stages of treatment – intake, detox, rehabilitation, and ongoing or aftercare recovery. Let’s delve into these stages one by one.

Stage 1: Intake – creating a customized plan for each individual

While various rehabilitation facilities use different processes, the intake process will most likely involve meeting with a professional to discuss your situation and treatment options and work out the best approach for your program. At this stage, the goal is to create a personalized treatment plan based on assessing your emotional, social, and medical status.

The center may carry out extensive assessments at this stage that may include psychological assessment, medical examination, and psychosocial assessment. In addition to your information on drug or alcohol addiction, history of family addiction, and the financial arrangements for your treatment, these assessments help determine how they can tailor the program to fit your needs better.

Stage 2: Detox – safely removing any addictive substances from your body

Some withdrawal symptoms associated with dependency on some substance can be unpleasant and sometimes even dangerous to your health. Individuals at risk of developing any withdrawal symptoms benefit from the added monitoring, supervision, and the guided medical detox options. In some instances, you may receive medication to ease some of the withdrawal symptoms associated with certain drugs, such as prescription drugs or even heroin.

When dealing with some of the withdrawal symptoms, medical supervision ensures your comfort and safety throughout the entire process.

The method of treatment is explicitly catered depending on the substances you were using. Before the detox, at stage one of the treatment process, you will be assessed by a professional to determine the extent of the withdrawal symptoms you are likely to experience and the likelihood of any complications.

Stage 3: Rehab - Building a foundation of long-term treatment efforts

With the successful completion of the detox stage, the next stage of recovery is rehabilitation. In this stage of rehabilitation, you are presented with different treatment options. These include;

Impatient, outpatient, or partial hospitalization

Impatient treatment programs strive to help remove those struggling with Substance Use Disorder (SUD) from their usual way of life by taking them out of the tempting and problematic environment and placing them in a treatment facility that offers care around the clock.

If you have work or family obligations such as small children or caring for elderly parents, the outpatient treatment option allows you to maintain some of those responsibilities. Outpatient is also the preferred option for patients with mild or short-lived addictions but may not be an ideal option for serious long-term addiction.

A partial hospitalization program is a hospital-based form of drug rehabilitation. While partial hospitalization can occur in the same setting as an impatient treatment setup, the levels of care are distinct. Partial hospitalization will provide treatments to people who experience mild to moderate withdrawal symptoms that are likely not to prove dangerous to the patient and do not require medical supervision.

Rehab therapy

After effective withdrawal, supervision and management and successful detox completion will allow for long-term focus on recovery. That's where rehabilitation comes in. Rehabilitation consists of therapy which is the foundation of long-term treatment effort. Through extensive therapy and counseling, you will be able to address any underlying issues causing your addictions. This is the stage where most patients get to the core reasons behind their addictions and addressing the issues so that they can effectively move on with their lives without the fear of relapse. There will be individual therapy, group therapy, and family therapy, to help the patient get better.

Stage 4; Recovery and Aftercare – continued healing for long term recovery

Even after you have gone through all the rehabilitation program stages, the recovery work is not over. Recovery is usually a lifelong process. Before completing your addiction program, you will meet with your counselors to discuss an aftercare plan.

Building an excellent plan of aftercare is crucial to ensure that the whole process is a success. The aftercare components usually vary from patient to patient. After rehabilitation, regular therapy sessions, both personal and group therapy, can help you stay accountable to your sobriety path.

Most rehab centers host their follow-up programs to assist you and help you return to your daily life. Such aftercare programs may consist of additional meetings and classes for follow-ups with the patient and their family.

Most patients maintain regular sessions afterward, and some are even submitted to scheduled drug testing to keep them accountable and avoid them relapsing. Regular group therapies are also another way to build a support system in your local area.

Narcotics Anonymous (NA) or Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) are examples of group therapy sessions usually hosted around the country that many individuals recovering can attend regularly and gain support. With the pandemic and social distancing measures in place, such meetings are held online on Zoom and Skype.

Recovery is a lifelong process. If you are ready to start the journey and quit drug and alcohol abuse, then start today and contact a rehabilitation center to help. Whichever rehabilitation center you choose, be confident that they will take care of you, and you will soon be on the road to sobriety.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or the management of EconoTimes

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