How Successful are Rehabilitation Centers for Drug Addicts
It is difficult to keep the mind cool and think clearly when you have to deal with a number of problems daily. There are work-related problems, personal and relationship problems. Add to that the recession, job loss and salary cuts and it becomes difficult to stay sane.
People always want relief in one way or the other. Some people talk to others and vent their emotions. There are many who work harder and longer to keep the other tensions at bay. Some people find relief in churches and religion, while others take to drinking and drugs. And then, even if the problems disappear, the substance addiction doesn’t. And then you have to walk into a Christian rehab center.
Getting away from addiction is not an easy job. It requires a lot of patience, courage and above all, time. While it is easy to get addicted, it takes a long time to get completely de-addicted. De-addiction is not just getting off the drug but also keeping away from it for life. Being able to live without it after being an addict is a huge challenge. The de-addiction battle continues even after the recovered person leaves the rehab.
There is an alarming rate of relapses in the country. The Christian rehab centers are trying to fight this menace with their customized treatment procedures. They have a pre-admission phase, where they try to investigate the reasons why the person got addicted. They have talks with his family and friends to understand his personality, temper and other characteristics. They also try to find out when and how he started using drugs. This will help in laying out a module for his treatment, based on the intensity and duration of the addiction. Also, if there are certain things he does not like or is not comfortable with, they can be removed from his path.
The treatment combines counseling and medication. It includes talks, discussions and creative sessions, which urge the patient to speak. With the sharing of ideas, the patient will feel more at ease to discuss his problems and thoughts. Pastoral counseling brings him closer to God and the feeling of submission and humility are restored in him. Christ’s life is used to explain how to think clearly, choose between right and wrong and how to react in a situation. However, these centers take great care in not forcing a person into religious sessions if he is not happy with it.
Then, there is another important segment of the treatment – the post-treatment sessions. These sessions have been incorporated into the Christian drug treatment programs to check the rate of relapses. The addict is often lost in a world that he once knew so well after a bout of addiction and de-addiction. There is some change in the way he sees things and reacts to them and most of his areas of conduct throw up challenges. It is not easy to face these difficulties. So, the person is invited to come again to the center, after treatment and release, so that he finds some support. This helps him to keep communicating and the therapists offer solutions for the immediate problems he faces.
Though these centers are based on faith and religion, their intention is not to convert people to any religion or turn non-believers into believers. They use Christ and his teachings in their treatment but do not place any binding on the patient to follow the teachings.
Some treatment facilities offer therapeutic help to people who do not wish to stay at the center to recover. There may be 3-4 hourly sessions a week. However, this kind of treatment may take longer to effectively cure a person of the addiction. Also, staying away from the center increases accessibility to the banned substances. While at the center, in the clean environment, they will not feel the need for the drug as much.
Though secular rehabs have seen many cases of relapses, it cannot be counted as a failure. They also do a commendable job in rehabilitating a large number of people. Christian facilities have only tried to improve their results.
Many Americans are brought up in Christian and religious households. However, addiction takes them away from God and the practices they have followed since childhood. Christian rehab centers bring them back to these practices and enable them to start life afresh on Christ’s principles.
Before you check into a rehab, it would be wise to check out a few points.
- The performance and success rate of the center. The center should have many examples to offer and an additional advantage would be lesser rate of relapses.
- The location of the center. If it is closer to your home, the better. It gives the patient a sense of security.
- Treatment procedure and cost. Check out the various modes of treatment and the costs involved in each. Choose the most viable option.
Transformations Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center | | 
December 10, 2009 12:35 am
