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Types of Alcohol Treatment Centers

Alcohol treatment refers to ways and means used to deal with
alcoholism; a deadly disease that has claimed many lives in our
communities. Alcoholism is also referred to as drug addiction or
substance abuse.

There are several ways of effecting alcohol treatment .However, one thing they all
have in common is the use of support groups, to accomplish
treatment. This is because alcoholism is mainly about behavior and
attitudes, and the only way that can be effectively changed, is through
group therapy, where you encounter others who are struggling with the
same problem and conquering it, and thus encouraging you to do the
same.

In -patient Alcohol Treatment is mainly done in residential
facilities, where the patient moves into and is provided with a team
of experts dealing with various aspects of the disease, be they
psychological, physiological, etc, and with the help of other resident
patients, through group talks and discussions, they help each other to
stop the substance abuse.

Out- patient Alcohol Treatment is where groups are organized
into communities, where former alcohol abusers come together to support
each other through their positive step of leaving alcohol. They
organize regular meetings, maybe fort-nightly or monthly, and monitor each other so that each can grow out of the habit of abuse.

Adolescent Alcohol Treatment is a recent increasing trend of substance abuse
amongst teenagers. This has necessitated the establishment of forums to
address this problem, focused specifically towards these
youngsters .Usually these programs also involve alternative ways of
expending energies amongst this youth, by coming up with sports
programs, volunteer programs, etc, and other ways of them having fun
without necessarily being self-destructive.

The treatment regime has several stages. The first stage is treatment initiation- This refers to the process of decision-making, where the patient accepts that they have a problem
and they need help dealing with it. The second stage is the early abstinence stage. After the decision to quit, the patient then enters a phase of early abstinence, where they learn to deal with their cravings for the alcohol.

The third stage is the maintained abstinence stage. This refers to the period after several weeks, when the body is adjusting to new habits. They learn to deal with
their pasts, and start acquiring new dietary and exercise habits. The final stage is the advanced recovery stage. This is where the patient now has acquired a new
lifestyle, cravings are minimal or non-existent, and they continue to
build better lives, and better habits.

Other alcohol treatment centers utilize the services of experts in various disciplines to take care of those suffering from alcoholism. Such alcohol centers have a resident medical doctor who handles medication for those who have come to the alcohol treatment centers. The doctor prescribes medicine that the alcoholic needs to take to overcome the negative withdrawal symptoms of his or her condition.  Alcohol treatment centers also have a resident physical trainer to help the alcoholics get in to better physical shape.  Finally they also have a psychologist who helps the patient have new thought processes and to discard the old ways of thinking.