Friday, January 15, 2010

Alcohol Treatment Center Guide

By Harold Freidman

So you have a family member that is an alcoholic? Well, do yourself a favor and read this article before you go any further. I know you've tried to get your loved one into alcohol addiction treatment and have failed. How has that worked out for you so far? Not very well? The truth is that it often takes a DWI arrest or a violent incident before you can get an alcoholic to seek alcohol addiction treatment.

But, if you can get him into treatment, he can get the alcohol out. Then he can get good food into his body and counseling into his mind. It really does not matter how he gets there, does it? After all, the right drug treatment center will take the responsibility off of you and put it on him....and that is where it belongs.

You cannot really ever "ask" an alcoholic to get treatment. You have to wait until some circumstance "forces" the alcoholic into treatment. Often, the circumstances take the form of a DUI arrest, domestic violence or other assault charge or even a manslaughter conviction.

Regardless of how your loved one gets to this point, you need to make sure that he seeks treatment from an alcohol treatment facility that will offer a full range of services including detox, individual and group counseling as well as an effective aftercare and integration program.

Alcohol treatment facilities offer a standard thirty day alcohol rehab program. However, additional treatment can be arranged if needed. The first seven days are devoted to purging the alcohol from the patient's system (called "detox").

Afterward, the patient is fed a healthy diet and taught proper nutrition and undergoes an intensive regimen of individual and group therapy. At the end of the thirty day time period, the patient is evaluated to determine if he can begin reintegration or needs additional inpatient treatment.

Aftercare, also called "reintegration" is the most important phase of the recovery process because it is the phase where relapse is most likely. As a result, most alcohol treatment centers continue out patient counseling and require that the patient join an addiction recovery group.

The combination of intense counseling and group accountability creates a positive environment to stay sober.

Understand how an alcohol treatment center works now? Good. Then you will put to rest these notions that you can somehow heal your loved one's alcohol addiction without professional help. Look, if you do not get him help, he is going to hurt someone.

On the other hand, once in treatment, your family member will be able to get rid of the booze and learn to live and eat right. He will get the mental health services that he needs both in the center and during the aftercare process. Why would you wait until your loved one hurts or kills someone? Now is the right time to contact an alcohol treatment center and get the help your loved one needs.

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