Substance use disorders are a reality for many people. In 2007, an estimated 23.2 million people aged 12 or older needed treatment for a substance use disorder in the United States.1 Fortunately, treatment is effective and recovery is possible. Studies indicate that in the last 25 years, treatment and recovery services have worked to reduce drug use.2
National Alcohol and
Drug Addiction Recovery Month (Recovery Month) is supported by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s
(SAMHSA’s) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is in its 20th
year of showcasing the success of recovery. The 2009 Recovery Month theme, “Join the Voices for Recovery: Together We Learn, Together We Heal,” emphasizes the need to use all available resources, in our communities and on the Internet, to educate people about the disease and to help those with substance use disorders and their families, and those close to them, get support.
In the past 20 years, the field has evolved. In place of the traditional idea of “rehab,” many who are getting help for an addiction are doing so on their own terms. From support groups and therapeutic communities to online programs, there is a solution for anyone who needs treatment and recovery support, including family members.
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Many Paths to Recovery
People experience recovery in different ways.3 Some recover on their own; others recover through treatment and/or the assistance of self-help, mutual-aid groups, or medication-assisted therapies. Over the past five years, policymakers, community service workers, and researchers have focused on holistic and recovery-oriented approaches that use a wide range of age-, gender-, culturally, faith-, and drug-appropriate services to help people recover not just physically, but mentally and spiritually as well.
Elements of the recovery process may include:
- Receiving medical attention through detoxification and individual and/or group therapy in an inpatient treatment setting
- Focusing on improving overall health and redefining oneself
- Exploring spirituality through faith-based communities
- Changing social interactions and expanding social networks – particularly to include others in recovery and participate in mutual support groups
- Empowering oneself by helping others
A well-rounded recovery support network complements this process and is central for successful rehabilitation from substance use disorders. The support of family, friends, employers, and other concerned community members can help make recovery lifelong.4
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Treatment: On the Road to Recovery
Treatment programs are designed to help people and their families cope with the physical and psychological pressures of their dependency. There are more than 11,000 specialized drug treatment facilities in the United States that provide rehabilitation, behavioral therapy, counseling, medications, and other services.5 Keep in mind that:
- Treatment embodies a variety of forms and approaches; it can occur in a number of settings and is most effective when catered specifically to the individual.6, 7, 8
- No single treatment is appropriate for everyone.9
- Behavioral and medication therapies are central elements of the overall therapeutic recovery process that can be used alone or in combination with each other.10
- Treatment can be long or short term. Like a chronic disorder characterized by occasional relapses, addiction can involve multiple interventions and attempts at abstinence.11, 12
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Common Types of Treatment and Recovery Services
Below are some common services that many people access as part of their recovery process.
- Outpatient treatment emphasizes individual or group counseling for people who visit a clinic at regular intervals. It also can include family therapy.
- Medication-assisted treatment is an outpatient clinical program focused on individualized patient care.13 Medications help suppress a drug craving and are often used in conjunction with counseling and other behavioral therapies.14, 15
- Short-term residential treatment is a 3- to 6-week treatment program followed by participation in mutual-support groups or extended outpatient therapy.16, 17
- Long-term residential treatment offers care 24 hours a day and entails an average stay of 6 to 12 months.18
- Self-help/mutual aid groups or recovery support services are 12-step programs, support groups, and peer counseling groups that meet on a regular basis.19
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Online Treatment and Recovery Support
The following resources can help identify treatment and recovery resources for people in need:
Click here for a longer version of this treatment and recovery guide. Information about treatment options and special services in your area can be found at http://www.samhsa.gov/treatment, a portal that
includes a database of more than 11,000 U.S. treatment options and additional treatment resources, as well as by calling 1-800-662-HELP.
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Sources
1 Results From the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings. DHHS Publication No. (SMA) 08-4343. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies, September 2008, p. 80.
2 NIDA InfoFacts – Drug Addiction Treatment Methods. CenterSite, LLC Web site: http://www.centersite.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=9143&cn=14. Accessed August 15, 2008.
3 Venner, K.L., Matzger, H., Forcehimes, A.A., Moos, R.H., Feldstein, S.W., Willenbring, M.L., et al. Course of recovery from alcoholism. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 30, 2006, pp. 1079-1090.
4 National Summit on Recovery Conference Report. DHHS Publication No. (SMA) 07-4276. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, September 2007, pp. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 49.
5 Find Substance Abuse and Mental Health Treatment Web site: http://www.samhsa.gov/treatment.
6 Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment, A Research-Based Guide. NIH Publication No. 99-4180. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, October 1999, pp. 4, 5.
7 NIDA InfoFacts – Treatment Approaches for Drug Addiction. National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse. June 2008. NIDA Web site: www.nida.nih.gov/PDF/InfoFacts/Treatment08.pdf. Accessed August 16, 2008.
8 Treatment Methods for Drug Addiction. Connecticut Clearinghouse, A Program of the Wheeler Clinic by the Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services, July 2004. Connecticut Clearinghouse Web site: http://www.ctclearinghouse.org/topics/customer-files/Treatment-Methods-for-Drug-Addiction.pdf. Accessed August 16, 2008.
9 Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment, A Research-Based Guide, p. 3.
10 NIDA InfoFacts – Treatment Approaches for Drug Addiction. NIDA Web site: http://www.nida.nih.gov/PDF/InfoFacts/Treatment08.pdf. Accessed August 16, 2008.
11 Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment, A Research-Based Guide, p. 3.
12 NIDA InfoFacts – Treatment Approaches for Drug Addiction. NIDA Web site: http://www.nida.nih.gov/PDF/InfoFacts/Treatment08.pdf. Accessed August 16, 2008.
13 About Medication-Assisted Treatment. Division of Pharmacologic Therapies Web site: http://www.dpt.samhsa.gov/patients/mat.aspx. Accessed August 18, 2008.
14 Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment, A Research-Based Guide, p. 4.
15 Treatment Methods for Drug Addiction. Connecticut Clearinghouse Web site: http://www.ctclearinghouse.org/topics/customer-files/Treatment-Methods-for-Drug-Addiction.pdf. Accessed August 16, 2008.
16 Ibid.
17 NIDA InfoFacts – Treatment Approaches for Drug Addiction. NIDA Web site: http://www.nida.nih.gov/PDF/InfoFacts/Treatment08.pdf. Accessed August 17, 2008.
18 Ibid.
19 National Summit on Recovery Conference Report, pp. 5, 7.
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