Combating Addiction Problem

The effects of addiction-drugs or alcohol-can be very serious. Hence it is important to seek medical and psychological help as soon as possible. Fortunately there is reason to smile as there are numerous addiction centers for treatment available these days that are performing well in helping the addicts get rid of these problems. Let us take a glance at the approaches implemented by these addiction centers as a remedy of this emerging menace of drug abuse.

Counseling Sessions

We all are vulnerable to bad influence, bad company and difficult situations that can result in addiction. During counseling sessions, the counselor and the addict has a one on one chat. During these sessions, the counselor tries to extract the root of the problem of substance abuse. Apart from one on one counseling, there are several other kinds of counseling like group counseling involving other addicts or family counseling with family members. Basically, counseling is like a cognitive therapy. There is also a new method that focuses on controlling stimulus. Here the patients are taught how they can avoid drug addiction or avoid situations that may lead to drug addiction. This includes providing some tips to trigger those situations with some conditions which foster involvement in other healthy activities as well.

· Medication Treatment

Medication treatment is also an important part of the addiction treatment process in the addiction centers. The medication aims at washing off the toxic agents generated in the body due to addiction, and enhancing the immune system as well. For example in the cases of nicotine abuse, an antidepressant drug Buproprin is usually prescribed, and in case of the opiate drug (e.g. heroin) a strong withdrawal method is adopted after the detoxification process. For detoxification of opiate drugs, medicines like Buprenorphine hydrochloride, levo-alpha-acetyl-methadol and naltrexone are used.

· Family Intervention

In an addiction center, the aspect of family intervention matters a lot for the treatment to be effective. This aspect of treatment involves the multi-dimensional family therapy in which family members provide full cooperation and motivate the patient.

Apart from these phases the treatment process also involves motivation enhancement therapies to encourage the patient to stay away from such addictions. For successful treatment the duration of the course is from three to five months. It is best to start the treatment at initial stages of addiction only. Therefore if you see any signal of any type of addiction in your child, then it is advisable for you to consult a good addiction center for his well being. This is because the more advanced the addiction, the more painful withdrawal will be and chances of relapse will be increased. To avoid any chances of relapse, make sure the patient after successful treatment is not exposed to the same situations which were the causes for this problem in the first place.