Friday, April 20, 2007

Teen Drug Rehab



Whether you are a parent, grandparent or any other person who cares about a child’s future, we thank you for your interest in preventing drug abuse. It’s hard for us to imagine that a child we love could end up using drugs. But chances are, most children will be faced with, “Should I, or shouldn’t I?” This booklet will help you teach your child to know that the answer is, “I shouldn’t, and I won’t.”

Here are some facts about kids and drug use: Forty percent of U.S. teens say they expect to use a drug in the future. One out of every five kids in eighth grade has already tried marijuana. Use of substances such as marijuana and inhalants can result in social consequences (e.g., failing in school) and physical consequences such as reduced stamina and fitness or damage to the lungs and brain. Teens who smoke cigarettes are more likely to drink alcohol. Teens who smoke and drink are more likely to use marijuana. And those who use all three are more likely to use other illicit drugs. Long-term studies show that use of other illicit drugs among youth almost never occurs unless they have first used marijuana.

Be especially scrutinizing as you determine the drug rehab program that meets your specific needs. This site has listings of teen drug rehab programs and teen treatment centers, teen alcohol rehabilitation programs, teen drug rehab, sober houses, teen drug detox and teen alcohol detox centers.

Teen Drug Rehab


Whether you are a parent, grandparent or any other person who cares about a child’s future, we thank you for your interest in preventing drug abuse. It’s hard for us to imagine that a child we love could end up using drugs. But chances are, most children will be faced with, “Should I, or shouldn’t I?” This booklet will help you teach your child to know that the answer is, “I shouldn’t, and I won’t.”

Here are some facts about kids and drug use: Forty percent of U.S. teens say they expect to use a drug in the future. One out of every five kids in eighth grade has already tried marijuana. Use of substances such as marijuana and inhalants can result in social consequences (e.g., failing in school) and physical consequences such as reduced stamina and fitness or damage to the lungs and brain. Teens who smoke cigarettes are more likely to drink alcohol. Teens who smoke and drink are more likely to use marijuana. And those who use all three are more likely to use other illicit drugs. Long-term studies show that use of other illicit drugs among youth almost never occurs unless they have first used marijuana.

Be especially scrutinizing as you determine the drug rehab program that meets your specific needs. This site has listings of teen drug rehab programs and teen treatment centers, teen alcohol rehabilitation programs, teen drug rehab, sober houses, teen drug detox and teen alcohol detox centers.

Please call (866) 762-3712 to find the right drug rehabilitation center for you or your loved one.

Adolescent Drug Rehab.

Being a teenager and raising a teenager are individually, and collectively, enormous challenges. For many teens, illicit substance use and abuse become part of the landscape of their teenage years. Although most adolescents who use drugs do not progress to become drug abusers, or drug addicts in adulthood, drug use in adolescence is a very risky proposition. Even small degrees of substance abuse (for example, alcohol, marijuana, and inhalants) can have negative consequences. Typically, school and relationships, notably family relationships, are among the life areas that are most influenced by drug use and abuse.

One of the most telling signs of a teen's increasing involvement with drugs is when drug use becomes part of the teen's daily life. Preoccupation with drugs can crowd out previously important activities, and the manner in which the teen views him or her self may change in unrealistic and inaccurate directions. Friendship groups may change, sometimes dramatically, and relationships with family members can become more distant or conflictual. Further bad signs include more frequent use or use of greater amounts of a certain drug, or use of more dangerous drugs, such as cocaine, amphetamines, or heroin. Persistent patterns of drug use in adolescence are a sign that problems in that teen's environment exist and need to be addressed immediately.

What causes adolescent substance abuse?
There is no single cause of adolescent drug problems. Drug abuse develops over time; it does not start as full-blown abuse or addiction. There are different pathways or routes to the development of a teen's drug problems. Some of the factors that may place teens at risk for developing drug problems include:

    • insufficient parental supervision and monitoring
    • lack of communication and interaction between parents and kids
    • poorly defined and poorly communicated rules and expectations against drug use
    • inconsistent and excessively severe discipline
    • family conflict
    • favorable parental attitudes toward adolescent alcohol and drug use, and parental alcoholism or drug use

It is important to also pay attention to individual risk factors. These include:

    • high sensation seeking
    • impulsiveness
    • psychological distress
    • difficulty maintaining emotional stability
    • perceptions of extensive use by peers
    • perceived low harmfulness to use

How do you know when to seek help?
The earlier one seeks help for their teen's behavioral or drug problems, the better. How is a parent to know if their teen is experimenting with or moving more deeply into the drug culture? Above all, a parent must be a good and careful observer, particularly of the little details that make up a teen's life. Overall signs of dramatic change in appearance, friends, or physical health may be signs of trouble. If a parent believes his or her child may be drinking or using drugs, here are some things to watch for:

    • Physical evidence of drugs and drug paraphernalia
    • Behavior problems and poor grades in school
    • Emotional distancing, isolation, depression, or fatigue
    • Change in friendships or extreme influence by peers
    • Hostility, irritability, or change in level of cooperation around the house
    • Lying or increased evasiveness about after school or weekend whereabouts
    • Decrease in interest in personal appearance
    • Physical changes such as bloodshot eyes, runny nose, frequent sore throats, rapid weight loss
    • Changes in mood, eating, or sleeping patterns
    • Dizziness and memory problems.
Drug Rehab and alcohol rehab services is a no-cost public benefit service designed to help addicts, alcoholics, chronic relapse victims, and their families find effective treatment and intervention for alcoholism and addiction of the highest quality. There are thousands of rehabilitation organizations throughout the country, and knowing which one to send your loved one to is a daunting task. Does more expensive mean better drug treatment? Does a drug rehabilitation center or alcohol rehab program that comes up #1 in a search on the internet mean it is the best treatment center for the addict? Not necessarily. We at Drug and Alcohol Rehab Services know our nation's drug rehabilitation centers inside and out, and can place your loved one in the center most appropriate for them. Our consultation services are free of charge for Drug Rehabilitation and Alcohol Rehab Services.
Alcohol rehab programs, Drug rehab centers, dual-diagnosis drug treatment centers, sober living homes, and therapeutic communities exist to provide the alcoholic or addict a safe place to heal from the devastating effects of chemical dependency. It is important to know, when the problem is alcohol, methamphetamines (crystal, ice, shards etc.), heroin, cocaine, marijuana, oxycontin, prescription drugs, vicodin, lortab, norco, methadone other opiates benzodiazepines (xanax, valium, ativan, restoril, klonipin), crack, LSD, phychadellic mushrooms (shrooms), ecstasy (X, MDMA), PCP, club drugs (GHB, Special K) (Ketamine)- and the list goes on - which organization is the best? Which drug rehabilitation program or alcohol rehab center specializes in treating one drug rather than another? Who knows how to treat the substance-induced psychoses resulting from methamphetamines and meth abuse or overdose? Who specializes in the physically violent, painful detoxification from opiates using the latest, cutting edge, and innovative treatment? Is rapid opiate detox safe? Are there Gender Specific Programs? Is buprenorphine (buprenex, subutex, suboxone) the best opiate detox option available? Does the drug treatment center or alcohol rehab program use a 12-step methodology, an alternative treatment model, a holistic approach, scientology, ibogaine, SMART recovery, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), online treatment, wilderness treatment, Native American, or another approach? All of these methodologies have their merits for treating specific populations, and making these distinctions is where DARS (Drug and Alcohol Rehab Services) shines.

Drug Rehab Program.

Alcohol rehab and drug rehab centers and programs require a sincere dedication on the part of the addict to make sure that they are successful in their task. Some say that if the person addicted to the substance abuse is dedicated and sincere about wanting to be rehabilitated, that is as much as 50% of the way to the road to recovery. So clearly, finding the right alcohol rehab program or drug rehabilitation center can make all the difference. If you choose the wrong program, your chances for successful treatment are greatly reduced.

Depending on the type of addiction, treatments vary from center to center and from program to program. Alcohol rehab programs will concentrate on various aspects of the addiction, but the focus areas will be different for drug rehabilitation. And even further for drug rehab, there is a difference in treatments depending on whether the drug addiction is prescription drugs or street drugs such as heroin or amphetamines. The rehab center is almost an all-encompassing term for the medical and psychotherapeutic treatments that are used during the rehabilitation process.

The first step in the treatment process is to make an evaluation of the addict. One of the steps here is to determine the addict’s sincerity in wanting to enter the rehab program, which again plays a key ingredient to the success of the program for the individual. A complete profile of the person being treated will be gathered, and one of the many focal points will be the reason for the addiction. Was it related to job stress, marital problems, financial problems, or what? Typically, a person does not start with substance abuse out of a clear blue sky, so part of the profiling is done to determine the reason for it, as well as to work with the family during the rehab process to see if the issues that caused the patient to turn to substance abuse still exist in their life.

Another step in the rehab process will focus on the aspects of withdrawal, whether the withdrawal is from alcohol or drugs. Depending on the severity of the addiction as well as the personality of the patient, the detoxification process can be grueling, although this step is absolutely necessary. The patient’s body has become accustomed to being pacified with the abused substance, and taking away that substance will almost guarantee a reaction. It may not be pleasant but it is a very necessary part.

Since people who are diagnosed with substance abuse are frequently at the point of ignoring other daily necessities, the program will keep a close eye on providing the proper nutrition for the patient, who frequently has nutritional deficiencies. The diet of the patient during the rehab process is one of the important parts of rehab, creating a very balanced a vitamin-rich diet.

If someone you love is addicted to alcohol or drugs, the best thing you can do for them is to encourage them to seek help. Their addiction is going to continue to get worse, and the final outcome without help is bleak. The best thing you can do for them is to convince them that they need the help to kick the habit permanently. Getting them into an alcohol rehab or drug rehab program will be the best thing you could ever do for them.

Arizona Drug Rehab.

The state of Arizona has one of the worst drug problems in the United States. Historically and currently, the state is known as a transhipment location for a variety of drugs, including heroin, cocaine and marijuana, which are imported from other countries. As a result, these and other drugs are widely available in the state, and their abuse is common. There are probably few states that require the presence of rehabilitation centers as this one does - thankfully Arizona drug rehab centers are some of the best in the world.

There is a wide range of treatment centers in Arizona that employ a range of different techniques to help the patient break their addiction. Some of these will have particular specialisations, which might be more appropriate for certain types of patient, so it is always sensible to find out as much as you can about an Arizona drug rehab before making an appointment. Services like drugs-rehabs.org will be able to provide you with treatment center listings in your area, with basic descriptive information to help you make the best decision for you. Some of the features that might help influence your decision for the best:

· Does the center have a particular religious affiliation? While Christian centers, for example, might be willing to accept non-Christian patients, many will feel more comfortable in a non-denominational center, or one that practises their own faith.

· What type of care is available? Ensure that your chosen center has a program specifically for drug detoxification. Other kinds of therapy will be useful, but it will be necessary for the patient to make a commitment to ceasing drug use also.

· What facilities are available? Some Arizona drug rehab centers will only cater to outpatients, which may not offer enough support to a badly addicted patient. Find a center that provides inpatient care.

· What payments options are available? Does the center accept Medicare, Medicaid or private health insurance? If you are not involved with any of these programs, can your center offer sliding scale payments?

There are many high quality Arizona drug rehab treatment centers available, but it is important that you choose the best one for you or your loved one. Never hesitate to contact a center directly to find out more about their facilities, or to find out whether they can cater to any special needs you might have. The right treatment center is out there, and with a little investment of time and effort, you will find it. The best treatment for you or your loved one will be well worth it.

Drug Rehab Treatment.

The adolescent behavioral health industry has exploded in recent years with new wilderness programs, alcohol and drug rehabilitation programs, and therapeutic schools and programs popping up, it seems, almost on a weekly basis. As this industry's growth has captured more of the public's attention, allegations of abuse and mismanagement have appeared with increasing frequency in the media. This kind of scrutiny is important and serves as a quality-control mechanism for the behavioral-health industry. But these reports can also give the false impression that the industry is rife with abuses and mismanagement, making the prospect of looking for a program confusing and scary for parents.

In my 20 years in both traditional education and adolescent behavioral healthcare, I have visited, consulted with, and worked for dozens of schools and programs. The vast majority of these programs do high-quality, ethically sound therapeutic work and take excellent care of their young clients. With the advent and evolution of professional associations such as the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP), as well as increased public scrutiny and consumer sophistication, overall quality at these programs is on the rise, not the decline. Nonetheless, as with any industry-especially those with implications for the health and welfare of young people-consumers bear a high responsibility for evaluating their options with great care.

If your are considering a treatment program for an adolescent who is struggling with emotional and/or behavioral issues such as depression, anxiety, anger, drug and alcohol involvement, self-harm, etc. the following tips may help you make an appropriate selection.

· Hire an Educational Consultant. Educational consultants are placement professionals, typically with educational or therapeutic credentials, whose job is to match students with appropriate schools or programs. To find an educational consultant in your area, talk to your family therapist, look in your yellow pages, or visit the Independent Educational Consultant Association webpage at www.ieca.com http://www.ieca.com.

· Visit Prospective Programs. Sometimes family crises escalate so quickly that visiting multiple programs prior to enrollment can be quite difficult. If at all possible, however, visit more than one program so that you can get a comparative sense of how different programs operate. Meet as many people as you can-the director, therapists, teachers, line or dorm staff, cooks, maintenance staff, and definitely some students. Is the staff open, relaxed and warm? Visit dorm rooms and tour the entire campus. Is the environment clean and well maintained? How's the food? Are the dorms tidy but comfortable.

· Understand the Student Profile: Therapeutic schools and programs should provide you with a written student profile. Before you describe your child to the program, have them send you this written profile. See if the school staff is consistent in their description both of students they accept and students they do not accept; then compare this to your understanding of your own child.

· References. Insist on talking to the parents of current and past students, unaffiliated professionals who have worked with the program (e.g. therapists, other programs), graduates of the program, and, if possible, neighbors of the program. Most quality schools have a list of volunteers for this. Write down a list of questions to cover so that the information you gather for each program and from each reference is consistent.

· Accreditations. Accreditation is generally a voluntary process whereby an outside organization evaluates a program's quality according to baseline standards. Accreditation functions as a kind of good housekeeping stamp of approval. Some accreditations evaluate overall program quality and some evaluate a specific component, for instance academics or therapeutics. Ask for a photocopy of the school's most recent accreditation certificate(s) and for a copy of their continuous improvement plan, which is generally a part of the accreditation process. Also check the accrediting body's website for their basic requirements and for definitions of their accreditation levels-some accreditations are full and some are partial with stipulations.

· Licensure. Each state has its own requirements regarding licensure of residential treatment programs. Ask for copies of the program's most recent license(s) to operate, and check with the state regarding their requirements for licensure and for any recorded licensure violations.

· Staff Credentials. Ask for a list of the professional credentials of the program staff and make sure that the credentials listed represent the appropriate training for what your child will need. Are the therapists master's level and/or licensed? Is there a qualified pediatric psychiatrist involved in medication management? If your child is learning disabled, does the teaching staff include a certified LD specialist?

· Least Restrictive. It is advisable to look for the least restrictive environment that your child can safely and successfully handle (this should be determined in consultation with your family therapist, physician, and/or educational consultant). Residential options vary greatly in degree of restrictiveness and it is important to understand this variation and the reasons for it before selecting a program. There are now non-residential treatment options such as therapeutic day schools, so-called “wraparound” programs, and at-home mentoring and parent-coaching programs. These non-residential options represent the least restrictive end of the spectrum. Such options, while not appropriate for all adolescents, have the advantage of allowing the adolescent to practice new skills and behaviors in the ideal context of home and family. They can be particularly effective for prevention and aftercare.

Will Laughlin, MA,, M.Ed., has been a teacher, professor, and program director in both traditional and special needs education for the past twenty years. He is currently the director of business development for Vive! Inc. a therapeutic, action-oriented program that works with troubled youth and at-risk teens and their families in the home environment. The program has been particularly effective in continuing the progress gained in residential treatment programs for the transition home.

Drug Abuse Rehab.

The best solution for a drinking or alcohol problem is to find the proper drug or alcohol abuse treatment program and then gently discuss with patient, if he is not the one initiating the alcohol rehabilitation, the dangers of continuing alcohol or abuse, the benefits of rehabilitation and your love for them. The patient may not be amenable to your appeal initially, don’t give up.

Tell them lovingly the need to get back on a healthy track and that going to an alcohol rehab center is like taking off on a deserved holiday, and that the healing effects of such a holiday will give them a new lease of life that brings about a behavioural advancement away from the influences of alcohol and its negative tendencies.

Whether you are the patient or you are the patient’s counsellor, I want you to bear in mind that rehabilitation is a very serious issue, which emotional impact on the patient you must try to understand in other to be able to deal with it. No one wants to lose their freedom to anyone or institution, but that is what an alcohol rehabilitation program is all about. The rehab center takes over your life in such a way that it shuts out a habit you have enjoyed for a long while.

This is why you should be careful in choosing an alcohol rehab that will in turn choose an appropriate medium and motivation for you or your loved one. Every alcohol rehab patient is an individual whose agreeable tendency must be found and used for his own good.

Whether an alcohol rehab should rely heavily on prescription drugs and techniques, holistic or natural methods, will depend on the individual patient’s readiness to embrace such a therapy without force. No matter how good an alcohol rehab may claim to be, only the cooperation of the patient can bring about a successful alcohol rehabilitation.

Aside from prescription drugs and natural treatments, ensure that your choice of alcohol rehab engages in psychological repair of their patients, because though the patient be purged of both alcohol use and cravings, their view of themselves is the main cause of alcohol abuse.

Whether an alcohol rehab patient should be an in or out patient depends on the gravity of the abuse, however, this decision should be left for the rehab center to take after thorough examination of patient and the patients financial ability to foot the bills.

There are lots of alcohol rehab centers in the United States and overseas, the best alcohol rehab centers for patients are ones that a little far removed from home.

Drug Rehab Clinics.

Many consider alcohol and/or drug addiction a disease. There are drug rehab clinics located all over the United States created to assist those with an addiction problem. Since most drug rehab clinics allow patients to check in with the help of insurance, more and more people are taking advantage of their services. Typically drug rehab clinics require the patient to stay anywhere from seven to twenty-eight days. Sometimes the person may only require a short, outpatient session such as one counseling session or a dose of medication.

In the most extreme cases, the addict may end up staying there for months at a time, or even longer. These clinics offer people hope and a real sense that they can “kick the habit” of drug addiction and lead a clean, sober, and healthier life.

The treatments used in drug rehab clinics vary, and most use a combination of different therapies in order to get the best results. Drug addicts have special needs, and should be monitored carefully upon admission to be sure they do not panic, have adverse withdrawal effects, or in some cases get violent. Over time, and after an extended stay at drug rehab clinics, most people find that they have a clearer head and a straightforward vision of their futures. Medication is sometimes used, depending upon the severity of the addiction. Group and individual therapies are essential to the mental well being of patients and many claim that this was the key to their drug recovery. Knowing that you are not alone can have a huge impact on your outcome. If you or someone you love is considering choosing to go into a drug rehab clinic, be sure to find out whether or not they are licensed and certified, whether they accept your insurance, and whether they have a good success rate or not. While entering into a rehab center can be extremely hard and sometimes embarrassing, the final result will be well worth it.

Drug Rehab Center.

Repairing the damage of drug abuse can require a multifaceted approach to physical and mental treatment. Passages Malibu offers a battery of one-on-one therapeutic sessions to treat and counsel patients suffering from the ravages of addiction. Here on our immaculate 16,500 acre campus by the Pacific Ocean, patients get well in a limited enrollment program designed to probe for the underlying issues that are provoking the need to do drugs.

Whether you or a loved one is in the thrall of heroin addiction, morphine dependency, or cocaine addiction, or whether you have been dealing with chronic alcoholism for years, we can remediate the physical symptoms you are enduring and pave the way for a cleaner, sober future. The Passages Malibu drug treatment center has graduated hundreds of sober, profoundly grateful people. Feel free to read some of their stories and testimonials while here at our site.

The road to recovery does not have to be a constant nail-biting experience. Willpower alone is not sufficient to battle the deep-rooted inner impulses to drink or do drugs. Instead, what most addicts need is a fully holistic solution that treats and manages inner hurts that provoke feelings of helplessness and chaos. After all, people abuse drugs primarily to cope with this helplessness, and drug treatment centers such as Passages Malibu are well-equipped to handle these aspects of rehab.

In other words, far from being a spiritual or mental weakness, the addictive impulse is actually a protective one. It is just a misguided attempt to restore order. At Passages, patients learn how to handle their addictive impulses through 70 private sessions of professional one-on-one addiction treatment. Before addiction takes over your life completely, give a call to one of our caring Admissions Counselors.

Let’s look in detail at what makes Passages such a special treatment center. Unlike other programs that put clients in crowded rooms and force them to do chores to “earn their keep,” we treat our guests as we would want to be treated ourselves, and provide extensive luxuries and amenities. Enjoy your own bathroom, a first class tennis court, a kitchen offering wide assortments great gourmet foods, a gymnasium, beautiful vistas of the Pacific Ocean and quiet places to consider your life in a relaxed atmosphere.

We also believe fundamentally that addicts shouldn’t be deprived of friends and family while they’re undergoing drug treatment. After all, would you keep a heart patient from seeing his family before, during, or after surgery? Indeed, by surrounding clients with love, attention, and good food and exercise options, we’re able to get them to relax to the point that they can really open up about what is going on inside them.

Something magical happens during the course of a month in our intensive drug treatment program. You really have to be at the facility to believe it. The testimonials onsite, including Pax Prentiss’s own recounting of his addiction saga, do the experience justice. However, to watch someone transform (often between weeks two and three) and renew their lives is one of the most thrilling experiences anyone can imagine.

Tens of millions of Americans suffer from mild to severe addiction to drugs and alcohol. With incredible advances in addiction rehab techniques and psychotherapy, one would think that most clinics out there have relatively good track records as far as rehabilitating users goes. Sadly, the truth is that practically every drug treatment center out there uses what’s known as “group” therapies. Basically, addicts meet with other addicts to talk about their symptoms, their lives, and their treatments.

While groups offer solace and a sense of community, they are not really substitutes for individual attention. Think about this analogy: if you got sick with a lung ailment, would you expect that the only people in the world that could possibly treat you were other people who had that same ailment? Absolutely not--you would want doctors who have studied the subject.

Group-oriented drug treatment centers offer only one solution to all addictions--more group treatment. This idea similarly doesn’t hold water. If you came in to the doctor’s office with an unknown pain in your chest or head, would you want that doctor treat you blindly--without asking about your history, other symptoms that might be related to your pain, or past failed attempts?

These holes in the logic of group drug treatment centers can be very costly. Typical programs have a cure rate hovering around 5 percent and a relapse rate approaching 95 percent. Sure, some group programs may show higher numbers--but look at these statistics carefully. Often, group programs will only track successes for the first six months or year. After that, statistics are very difficult to keep. Many studies show that, while group treatment may in the short term provide much needed drug detox and rehabilitation help, over the long term, group therapy has approximately the same success rate as placebo therapy.

Enter Passages Malibu. We are a completely different kind of drug treatment center. Our success rate blows the roof off of traditional statistics. We have an 84.4 percent rate of success--and that’s for the long term. Might that be a statistical hiccup? Not at all--we’ve treated hundreds of clients, including A-list celebrities, heads of state, and people who have wrestled with major addiction problems for years to decades.

How do we get the job done? We put a team of 10 therapists with each client. Our unmatched Drug Treatment Program offers massive amounts of one-on-one attention and therapy (70 sessions during a month long residential treatment). We revise our approach as we become more familiar with your case. We invite relatives and friends to help you in your recovery. We treat you with dignity. We get to the bottom of your drug issues by exploring everything from your habits to your diet to your childhood. Each addiction story is different, and we understand that unpacking someone’s personal history takes patience, kindness, and savvy.

Introduction.

Drug rehabilitation tends to address a stated two-fold nature of drug dependency: physical and psychological dependency. Physical dependency involves a detoxification process to cope with withdrawal symptoms from regular use of a drug. With regular use of many drugs, legal or otherwise, the brain gradually adapts to the presence of the drug so that normal functioning can occur. This is how physical tolerance develops to drugs such as heroin, amphetamines, cocaine, nicotine or alcohol. It also explains why more of the drug is needed to get the same effect with regular use. The abrupt cessation of taking a drug can lead to withdrawal symptoms where the body may take weeks or months (depending on the drug involved) to return to normal.

Psychological dependency is addressed in many drug rehabilitation programs by attempting to teach the patient new methods of interacting in a drug-free environment. In particular, patients are generally encouraged or required not to associate with friends who still use the addictive substance. Twelve-step programs encourage addicts not only to stop using alcohol or other drugs, but to examine and change habits related to their addictions. Many programs emphasize that recovery is a permanent process without culmination. For legal drugs such as alcohol, complete abstention--rather than attempts at moderation, which may lead to relapse--is also emphasized ("One drink is too many; one hundred drinks is not enough.") Whether moderation is achievable by those with a history of abuse remains a controversial point but is generally considered unsustainable.

Various types of programs offer help in drug rehabilitation, including: residential treatment (in-patient), out-patient, local support groups, extended care centres, and sober houses.

Pharmacotherapies to a greater or lesser extent have come to play a part in drug rehabilitation. Certain opioid medications such as methadone and more recently buprenorphine are widely used and show significant efficacy in the treatment of dependence on other opioids such as heroin, morphine or oxycodone. Methadone and buprenorphine are maintenance therapies used with an intent of stabilizing an abnormal opioid system and used for long durations of time though both may be used to withdraw patients from narcotics over short term periods as well. Ibogaine is an experimental medication proposed to interrupt both physical dependence and psychological craving to a broad range or drugs including narcotics, stimulants, alcohol and nicotine. Some antidepressants also show use in moderating drug use, particularly to nicotine, and it has become common for researchers to re-examine already approved drugs for new uses in drug rehabilitation.

Drug rehabilitation is sometimes part of the criminal justice system. People convicted of minor drug offences may be sentenced to rehabilitation instead of prison, and those convicted of driving while intoxicated are sometimes required to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. There have been lawsuits filed, and won, regarding the requirement of attending Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step meetings as being inconsistent with the United States' Constitutional mandate of separation of church and state, although there is no such provision in the Constitution itself. Opponents cite a personal letter from President Thomas Jefferson, and attribute it to the First Amendment right. (source: http://www.usconstitution.net/jeffwall.html) (source: http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danpre.html)

Some psychotherapists question the validity of the "diseased person" model used within the drug rehabilitation environment. Instead, they state that the individual person is entirely capable of rejecting previous behaviours. Further, they contend that the use of the disease model of addiction simply perpetuates the addicts' feelings of worthlessness, powerlessness, and inevitably causes inner conflicts that would be easily resolved if the addict were to approach addiction as simply behaviour that is no longer productive, the same as childhood tantrums. Drug rehabilitation does not utilize any of these ideas, inasmuch as they intrinsically contradict the assumption that the addict is a sick person in need of help.

Traditional addiction treatment is based primarily on counselling. However, recent discoveries have shown that those suffering from addiction often have chemical imbalances that make the recovery process more difficult. Often times, these imbalances may be corrected through improved diet, nutritional supplements and leading a healthy lifestyle. Some of the more innovative treatment centres are now offering a "Biochemical Restoration" process to supplement the counselling portion of treatment.