Pillars Of Drug Addiction Treatment

In order to treat drug addiction we must first define just what drug addiction is. Simply put, drug addiction describes a pattern of behavior by which an individual finds themselves compulsively administering a drug despite this pattern of behavior leading to negative life outcomes. The chronic nature of the abuse despite negative consequences is the defining criteria of drug addiction. At the outset, the individual uses the drug of their own volition, but as time progresses the use of the drug becomes more regimented as a dependency is bit by bit fostered in the user. It is plain to see that drug abuse is insidious and that it operates by the boiling frog method – that is to say that it creeps up on the user, and too often the user realizes the nature of their predicament at the point where the addiction has laid its roots firmly.

The principle pillars of  drug abuse treatment are (1) The cessation of drug use altogether (2) Remaining drug free (3) achieving functionality within the professional and personal domains of one’s life.

A holistic approach to treatment ensures a full and complete recovery. In practice this means that treatment cannot just focus on the drug abuse itself. Human beings are complex an multifaceted creatures and any number of factors may contribute to the drug addiction, and in order for the addiction to be treated these additional factors will need to be addressed. These factors can include mental illness. Dual Diagnosis is quite common in the realm of substance abuse treatment. Dual Diagnosis refers to a diagnosis of some kind of addiction disorder alongside a mental health disorder.

In order for treatment to be able to be effective the patient will need to remain in treatment long enough to complete the program, otherwise gains made will be at risk of being prematurely lost