Hawaii Psychiatric

Posts Tagged ‘treatment’

Many drug addicts and alcoholics believe that 12 step programs are the only options available to them when they want to get sober. 12 step programs have been useful for many people, but some alcohol and drug treatment centers focus on a different set of recovery strategies that can help addicts regain control of their lives.

Drug and alcohol treatment centers that do not rely on the 12 steps usually focus on the role that the individual’s decisions have played in that person’s addiction. From this perspective, addiction is not seen as a disease. It’s a dependency that can be unlearned by changing the addict’s behaviors and decision-making abilities.

Programs like AA and NA tell addicts that they are not the source of their problems and that they need to give their lives over to an outside “higher power” that can make necessary changes in their lives. The problem with this approach is that it never teaches the addict how he or she made bad choices that led to addiction. Even though they have to admit their wrongs and confess their addictions, they never have to take full responsibility for their decisions. This could be one of the reasons that programs such as AA have such high recidivism rates.

The opposite approach to sobriety insists that the addict learn how to change his or her behaviors so that they do not have to depend on substances to cope with life. Many addicts start using drugs and alcohol because they want to escape from their problems. This escape means that they never learn how to cope with stress the way that most people do. Learning new ways to make healthier decisions, however, can reveal the flawed thinking that often leads to addiction. It’s a way for the addict to accept responsibility and start making changes that will improve his or her life.