Many struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, or those who know loved ones who are struggling, come to Help4addiction when they need advice on how best to approach recovery. Admitting the problem and asking for help is the first and most important step, but it’s only natural you want to know what kind of help you may receive.
Here, we’re going to look at the most common approaches to alcohol & drug rehab in Brighton. These techniques are widely mixed together, whether you seek inpatient care at a residential facility or outpatient care while living as close to your normal routine as you can.
Detox
Largely depending on the severity of your addiction, detox may be recommended as a first step towards your recovery. It involves the process of getting clean, flushing out the alcohol or drugs that may already be in your system often with the help of medication. For instance, during a medically assisted alcohol detox, your medical professionals may give you Diazepam, Chlordiazepoxide, Lorazepam or Oxazepam to aid the detoxification process.
Medication may also be used to treat the withdrawal symptoms you might experience as a result of the process. Which symptoms you experience may depend on what the addicting substance is, the severity of your dependence, the length of detox (which also depends on severity) and more.
Using alcohol detox as an example again, the symptoms may include the following:
- Fatigue
- Drowsiness
- Poor muscle coordination
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Low blood pressure
- Nausea
- Rashes
- Incontinence
These are only examples, but before the detox, your doctor can help you better understand what to expect in your case. Detox is not a pleasant process, but it can be important to get fully clean for the best chances of recovery after.
Treatment with medication
There may be other medications which play a large factor as part of programs for alcohol & drug rehab programs in Brighton. For instance, those who are dependent on opioids like heroin may be prescribed with scheduled use of methadone or other replacements. These medications are used both to control intake and help you wean off the dependency but can also prevent more dangerous withdrawals and can stop you from worrying about having to turn to street drugs if your cravings grow too much to cope with on your own. This way, you can focus on your recovery more completely.
Types of therapy
Therapy and counselling play a huge role in almost all kinds of addiction treatment programs whether you’re seeking outpatient care, inpatient treatment at a hospital or long-term residential treatment. Often, the therapy on offer tackles not just the addiction and techniques you use to manage it but also addresses contributing factors like stress and depression or the ways your addiction has affected your life and relationships. Here are a few of the kinds of therapy and counselling you can expect:
- Cognitive behavioural therapy: CBT is widely used because it addresses the real-time mental factors that play a large role in addiction and the risk of relapse. It often involves becoming aware of environmental factors, friends, and situations that serve as “triggers” for your addiction. By growing healthier habits and becoming mindful of triggers to avoid, you can make it easier to reduce that risk over time.
- Psychotherapy: Addiction is often widely linked to a complexity of other issues in our life. Depression, stress, anxiety, abuse, neglect and other factors layer on top of one another, creating conditions for drug and alcohol dependencies to develop. Psychotherapy aims to analyse these layers, to better discover the issues that contribute to your addiction and help you resolve or manage what circumstances you can.
- Contingency management therapy: Many programs use this method, which is all about providing incentives to help you stay clean. In residential settings, it may mean access to extra goods, services, and privileges. Programs following the 12 steps method often provide tokens marking how much time you have stayed clean.
- Addiction counselling: Counselling may also involve helping to create and stick to healthy living routines, such as structuring an approach to education, job searches, family time, exercise and other habits that can help you stay away from addiction.
- Family/couples therapy: Drug and alcohol addictions impact families and loved ones, not just individuals. This type of therapy can both help loved ones get educated on addiction and better learn how to provide support while also helping to recover and heal the bonds that may have been damaged by the behaviour of someone with a drug or alcohol addiction.
- Group therapy: Many of the techniques used above may also be applied in a group setting. The extra support, accountability, and empathy from those who have been in similar situations can help provide perspective that can aid recovery.
- Holistic therapy: From musical therapy to yoga or reiki to art therapy, there are a lot of other treatments more broadly used to help strengthen the mind, body and soul in methods that aren’t strictly medical. Many patients find plenty of success with medical treatment supplemented by a holistic approach.
Which type of treatment you benefit from depends in which drug & alcohol rehab options in Brighton you take advantage of as well as the length of your treatment. However, most provide a mix of one or more type of therapy or counselling.
Self-help and support
Following the detox, therapy, and counselling treatment available at the outpatient or inpatient facility you turn to, there are also means of continuing the program in the long-run. Self-help and support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, community groups following the 12 Steps program, and halfway houses are all examples of ways you can continue to work on the techniques, habits, and routines you have developed over the long-term.
If you want to start looking at the different options for drug & alcohol rehab in Brighton near you, getting in touch with Help4Addiction on 0203 955 7700 may be the first step you need. Benefit from our free, impartial advice and links to many treatment facilities, counsellors, and medical professionals and get the best start to your recovery.
