What is an Addiction Service?
Addiction is a disorder that can lead to serious health consequences. It affects both your physical and mental health. It can interfere with your work life, family and relationships. Treatment is available for addiction.
The term "addiction service" refers to any of a number of specialized systems of treatment for people with substance abuse problems. Each system is different and varies widely throughout the country.
Intensive Outpatient Treatment for Chemical Dependence
Many people who are chemically dependent develop an addiction to drugs, alcohol or tobacco that can result in serious health consequences. The severity of the problem varies and can be related to genetic factors. Other risk factors include unemployment, poverty and emotional or professional stress.
Often, these people have poor impulse control and lack social skills. They also may show mood swings, glamorize drug or alcohol use and become preoccupied with their supply.
They often deny they have a problem and are very careful about protecting their supplies from others. They are often unable to cope with stressful situations or their own problems and may be suicidal.
Their behavior is often erratic and disruptive to the person's family, work and community. They often lose jobs or homes and can end up living in shelters.
In many cases, they are referred to an alcohol or drug Addiction Services treatment program by health care professionals. In addition, collaborations between treatment agencies and criminal justice, mental health, welfare or child welfare systems identify and refer chemically dependent persons to needed treatment.
During the course of their treatment, chemically dependent individuals receive individual counseling and psychosocial support; group therapy; occupational, educational and vocational rehabilitation; and detoxification. Most programs incorporate a process for assessing and monitoring clients' continued abstinence from chemicals through urine, blood or breath testing.
Social Skills Training for Relapse Prevention
Behavioral therapies have been shown to be effective in helping people who are chemically dependent and who exhibit a lack of normal interpersonal communication skills to overcome their problems and avoid relapse. These therapies include individual counseling, family sessions, group meetings and educational workshops.
These activities are designed to teach the individual how to express and react to specific feelings, to handle criticism, and to initiate social encounters. They also include teaching the individual about how to avoid triggers and reduce the risk of relapse.
Detoxification, which involves a careful withdrawal of the user from their addictive chemicals, is often supervised by a physician. The patient is usually provided with a variety of medications to alleviate the withdrawal symptoms and to prevent relapse. See here for first hand information about Meridian Addiction Services.
Despite the complexity of the chemical dependence problem, treatment is successful for most people with these disorders. Recent research has demonstrated that response rates for these types of disorders are similar to those for other chronic medical conditions (e.g., hypertension, diabetes, asthma) that require changes in behavior and compliance with medication to achieve a sustained recovery. For more understanding of this article, visit this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substance_abuse.