Can addiction be treated successfully?
Yes. Addiction is a treatable disease. Discoveries in the science of addiction have led to advances in drug abuse treatment that help
people stop abusing drugs and resume their productive lives.
Can addiction be cured?
Addiction need not be a life sentence. Like other chronic diseases, addiction can be managed successfully. Treatment enables people to
counteract addiction's powerful disruptive effects on brain and behavior and regain control of their lives.
|
These images of the dopamine transporter show the brain's
remarkable potential to recover,
at least partially, after a long
abstinence from drugs - in this
case, methamphetamine. |
Source: The Journal of Neuroscience, 21(23):9414-9418. 200126
Addiction need not be a life sentence.
|
Does relapse to drug abuse mean
treatment has failed?
No. The chronic nature of the disease means that relapsing to drug abuse is not only possible, but likely, with relapse rates similar to those for other well-characterized chronic medical illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, and asthma27, which also have both physiological and behavioral components. Treatment of chronic diseases involves changing deeply imbedded behaviors, and relapse does not mean treatment failure. For the addicted patient, lapses back to drug abuse indicate that treatment needs to be reinstated or adjusted, or that alternate treatment is needed.
|
Relapse rates for drug-addicted patients are compared with those suffering from diabetes,
hypertension, and asthma. Relapse is common and similar across these illnesses (as is adherence
to medication). Thus, drug addiction should be treated like any other chronic illness, with relapse
serving as a trigger for renewed intervention. |
Source: McLellan et al., JAMA, 284:1689-1695, 200027.
What are the basics of effective
addiction treatment?
Research shows that combining treatment medications, where
available, with behavioral therapy is the best way to ensure success
for most patients. Treatment approaches must be tailored to address
each patient's drug abuse patterns and drug-related medical,
psychiatric, and social problems.
How can medications help treat
drug addiction?
Different types of medications may be useful at different stages of
treatment to help a patient stop abusing drugs, stay in treatment, and
avoid relapse.
- Treating Withdrawal. When patients first stop abusing drugs,
they can experience a variety of physical and emotional symptoms,
including depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders; restlessness; and sleeplessness. Certain treatment
medications are designed to reduce these
symptoms, which makes it easier to stop
the abuse.
|
Discoveries in science lead to advances in drug abuse treatment. |
- Staying in Treatment. Some treatment
medications are used to help the brain
adapt gradually to the absence of the
abused drug. These medications act slowly
to stave off drug cravings, and have a
calming effect on body systems. They can
help patients focus on counseling and
other psychotherapies related to their drug
treatment.
- Preventing Relapse. Science has
taught us that stress, cues linked to the
drug experience (e.g., people, places,
things, moods), and exposure to drugs
are the most common triggers for relapse.
Medications are being developed to
interfere with these triggers to help patients
sustain recovery.
MEDICATIONS USED TO
TREAT DRUG ADDICTION |
- Tobacco Addiction
- Nicotine replacement
therapies (e.g., patch,
inhaler, gum)
- Bupropion
- Varenicline
- Opioid Addiction
- Alcohol and Drug Addiction
- Naltrexone - helps prevent
relapse to alcohol and heroin
abuse
- Disulfiram - helps prevent
relapse to alcohol abuse; currently
being tested for treating cocaine
abuse
- Acamprosate - helps prevent
relapse to alcohol abuse
|
How do behavioral therapies
treat drug addiction?
Behavioral treatments help engage people in
drug abuse treatment, modifying their attitudes
and behaviors related to drug abuse and
increasing their life skills to handle stressful
circumstances and environmental cues that
may trigger intense craving for drugs and
prompt another cycle of compulsive abuse.
Moreover, behavioral therapies can enhance
the effectiveness of medications and help
people remain in treatment longer.
Treatment must address the whole person.
|
How do the best treatment programs
help patients recover from the pervasive
effects of addiction?
Getting an addicted person to stop abusing drugs is just one part of a
long and complex recovery process. When people enter treatment,
addiction has often taken over their lives. The compulsion to get
drugs, take drugs, and experience the effects of drugs has dominated
their every waking moment, and drug abuse has taken the place of all
the things they used to enjoy doing. It has disrupted how they function
in their family lives, at work, and in the community, and has made
them more likely to suffer from other serious illnesses. Because
addiction can affect so many aspects of a person's life, treatment must
address the needs of the whole person to be successful. This is why the
best programs incorporate a variety of rehabilitative services into their
comprehensive treatment regimens. Treatment counselors select from
a menu of services for meeting the individual medical, psychological,
social, vocational, and legal needs of their patients to foster their
recovery from addiction.
|
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Seeks to help patients recognize, avoid,
and cope with the situations in which they are most likely to abuse drugs.
- Motivational Incentives. Uses positive reinforcement such as providing
rewards or privileges for remaining drug free, for attending and participating
in counseling sessions, or for taking treatment medications as prescribed.
- Motivational Interviewing. Employs strategies to evoke rapid and
internally motivated behavior change to stop drug use and facilitate treatment entry.
- Group Therapy. Helps patients face their drug abuse realistically, come to
terms with its harmful consequences, and boost their motivation to stay drug
free. Patients learn effective ways to solve their emotional and interpersonal
problems without resorting to drugs.
|
For more information on drug treatment, NIDA offers a
selection of free treatment manuals and guides for practitioners,
including Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide )
and Brief Strategic Family Therapy for Adolescent Drug Abuse.
[ Previous Page ] [ Next Page ]
|