Understanding Alcoholism
Alcoholism Treatment
Alcoholism treatment works - However, just like any chronic disease, there are varying levels of success when it comes to treatment. Some people stop drinking and remain sober. Others have long periods of sobriety with bouts of relapse. And still others cannot stop drinking for any length of time. With treatment, one thing is clear, however: the longer a person abstains from alcohol, the more likely he or she will be able to stay sober.
There are various kinds of treatment and programs for alcoholism. Though some alcoholics do stop drinking on their own, this is rare.
Most alcoholics require some type of treatment or help for their alcoholism. The following are some common types of programs and settings treatment:
Detoxification – Also known as "detox," is a process whereby the alcoholic undergoes a supervised withdrawal. The body can begin to recover from the toxic effects of alcohol and the patient can become sober. This is something that is best done in a medical setting where the patient can be closely monitored and have his or her medical condition evaluated. This process can last anywhere from two to seven days. It is sometimes required before entering treatment, but should not be thought of on its own as treatment. Many people mistakenly believe that because they have undergone detox they are ready to live a sober life. This situation frequently leads to relapse. For the best results further treatment is essential.
Inpatient treatment – This consists of a formal, residential program which may include detox at the beginning. Typically an residential treatment would include education about the disease; medical treatment for related medical conditions and nutritional stabilization; counseling, including individual and group therapy sessions; an introduction to self-help programs; and monitoring of the patient including drug and/or alcohol testing to ensure compliance with the program. Inpatient programs last anywhere from one to six weeks, typically 3-4 weeks. Some are connected with hospitals while others are not. There are some programs called "day treatment" in which patients spend the entire day at the treatment center but go home at night or on weekends.
Outpatient treatment – This consists of counseling and treatment on a daily or weekly basis in an office or clinic setting. Outpatient treatment is often a follow-up to an inpatient or detox program. In some cases, the severity of the addiction is such that inpatient care is not needed, and the client undergoes only outpatient treatment. It may include education about the disease, individual or group therapy, or follow-up counseling. Outpatient treatment is not as expensive as inpatient treatment and may last anywhere from one month to a year.
Quite often, treatment will consist of a combination of all of the above, depending on such factors as the severity of the problem, the individual’s insurance coverage, whether detox is needed, and the availability of programs. The cost of treatment is the employee’s responsibility. All Federal Employee Health Benefit Plans have some kind of coverage; however, that coverage is limited. The EAP counselor and the employee benefits representative will have information on health benefits coverage. Employees should direct any questions to one of these resources.
Post Treatment
After the initial treatment program, the employee may be in follow-up counseling and treatment for an extended period of time, possibly up to a year. This will most likely consist of outpatient counseling, AA meetings, and follow-up sessions with the EAP counselor. It can be very beneficial for the EAP counselor to schedule a back-to-work conference with the employee, the supervisor, and other interested parties such as an employee relations specialist or a counselor from the treatment program. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the employee’s treatment, the expectations in terms of the employee’s performance and conduct, scheduling concerns in terms of follow-up counseling and AA meetings, and to help get the employee back into the regular work routine.
Relapse
An important and frustrating facet of treating alcoholism is relapse or a return to drinking. An alcoholic often relapses due to a variety of factors including: inadequate treatment or follow-up, cravings for alcohol that are difficult to control, failure by the alcoholic to follow treatment instructions, failure to change lifestyle, use of other mood altering drugs, and other untreated mental or physical illnesses. Relapses are not always a return to constant drinking and may only be a one time occurrence. However, relapses must be dealt with and seen as a sign to the alcoholic that there are areas of his or her treatment and recovery that need work. Relapse prevention is an area in the treatment that is receiving increased attention and research. A basic part of any effective field treatment program will include relapse prevention activities. Good coordination between the EAP counselor and the treatment program can help the employee deal with and prevent relapse.
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) – AA is what is called a 12-Step program and involves a spiritual component (not affiliated with any particular religion) and a supportive group of fellow alcoholics to provide a network for total abstinence from alcohol. There are AA meetings where alcoholics can gather to learn about the disease, hear talks from recovering alcoholics, and enjoy the support of fellow alcoholics who are learning, or have learned, how to stay sober. AA is not really a formal organization as it has no leaders. It is a loose confederation of groups formed by recovering alcoholics operating on common principles spelled out in the book Alcoholics Anonymous (it is also known as the "Big Book") which spells out the Twelve Steps and the principles of AA.
Other support groups: such as Rational Recovery which have a different focus than AA. Some individuals find approaches other than AA to be more useful in their treatment.
http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org
Alcoholism Treatment Options
By: Heather ColmanMedications
The classical use of medications for alcoholism is to encourage abstinence. Antabuse (also known as disulfiram), for instance, prevents the elimination of chemicals which cause severe discomfort when alcohol is ingested, effectively preventing the alcoholic from drinking in significant amounts while they take the medicine. Heavy drinking while on antabuse can result in severe illness and death.
Naltrexone has also been used because it helps curb cravings for alcohol while the person is on it. Both of these, however, have been demonstrated to cause a rebound effect when the user stops taking them. These do allow a person to overcome psychological addictions to alcohol, but they do not treat the neurochemical addiction.
In more recent studies it has been demonstrated that the use of naltrexone while the alcoholic continues to drink can result in extinction of the neurochemical addiction. Referred to as the "Sinclair Method", this technique is used with good results some US states and in Finland but has failed to penetrate much of the world because of the long-standing bias against any treatment that doesn't involve detoxification and abstinence.
Rationing
Rationing or other attempts to control use are increasingly ineffective as pathological attachment to the drug develops. Use often continues despite serious adverse health, personal, legal, work-related, and financial consequences.
Detoxification
Detoxification programs run by medical institutions often involve stays for a number of weeks in specialized hospital wards, where drugs may be used to avoid withdrawal symptoms. In severe cases, detoxification may lead to death. To that point, even a simple "de-tox" can involve seizures, if not properly monitored.
Post Detox Therapy
After detoxification, various forms of group therapy or psychotherapy are recommended to deal with underlying psychological issues leading to alcohol dependence. It is also used to provide the recovering addict with relapse prevention skills.
Aversion therapies may be supported by drugs like Disulfiram, which causes a strong and prompt sensitivity reaction whenever alcohol is consumed. Naltrexone or Acamprosate may improve compliance with abstinence planning by treating the physical aspects of cravings to drink. The standard pharmocopoeia of antidepressants, anxiolytics, and other psychotropic drugs treat underlying mood disorders, neuroses, and psychoses associated with alcoholic symptoms.
Group Counseling
In the mid-1930s, the mutual-help group-counseling approach to treatment began and has become very popular. Alcoholics Anonymous is the best-known example of this movement. Various branches are available for family members of the alcoholic or commonly referred to as the co-dependents. Other groups include LifeRing Secular Recovery and SMART Recovery.
Prevention
Some programs attempt to help problem drinkers before they become dependents. These programs focus on harm-reduction and reducing alcohol intake as opposed to cold-turkey approaches. One such program is called Moderation Management.
Nutritional therapy
Another treatment program is based on nutritional therapy. Many alcohol dependents have insulin resistance syndrome, a metabolic disorder where the body's difficulty in processing sugars causes an unsteady supply to the blood stream. While the disorder can be treated by a hypoglycemic diet, this can affect behavior and emotions, side-effects often seen among alcohol dependents in treatment. The metabolic aspects of such dependence are often overlooked, resulting in poor results.
Return to normal drinking
Although it has long been argued that alcoholic dependents cannot learn to drink in moderation, research by the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) indicates a small percentage of individuals in the US whose dependence began more than one year earlier are now drinking in moderation. In contrast, a high percentage who undergo naltrexone use-reduction therapy are capable of normal drinking habits. Use of Naltrexone involves taking the medication an hour before any drinking occurs in order to maintain this.
Societal Impact
Today, alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence are major public health problems in North America, costing the region's inhabitants, by some estimates, as much as US$170 billion annually. Alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence sometimes cause death, particularly through liver, pancreatic, or kidney disease, internal bleeding, brain deterioration, alcohol poisoning, and suicide. Heavy alcohol consumption by a pregnant mother can also lead to fetal alcohol syndrome, an incurable and damaging condition.
Additionally, alcohol abuse and dependence are major contributing factors for head injuries, motor vehicle accidents, violence and assaults, neurological, and other medical problems.
Alcohol addiction is a treatable disease. If you are an alcoholic or are a family member of an alcoholic, contact your physician for the most current treatments available.
This article is Copyright © 2006, Heather Colman. Permission is granted to reprint this article as long as no changes are made, and this entire resource box is included. Find more alcoholism resources at ebookpalace.com
Article Source: http://www.wellnessarticlelibrary.com
