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How Effective is Drug Addiction Treatment?

I work in a Christian drug treatment program--and even we have people who relapse on a regular basis. But we also have a lot of success stories.Secular drug treatment is much less effective. Generally speaking, most people relapse on a regular basis.The best way to stay clean and sober is to get saved, read your Bible every day, pray and have an accountability partner.For information on getting saved and more, check out this website: www.mentalhealthsolutions.info

Drug Addiction treatment is meant to give the addict knowledge of their disease and to give them the skills needed to cope with it. This works well only if the addict is willing to put in work outside of treatment, which usually involves daily contact with other addicts in recovery. You also have to keep in mind that there is no cure for addiction/ alcoholism, it is a chronic illness that requires daily treatment for the rest of your life. The twelve step program (AA/NA) is the best outline for recovery. An addiction counselor can help get you started in AA/NA. After discharge from treatment you must continue to attend these twelve step programs in order to maintain sobriety. Just about anyone who leaves AA/NA does so because they feel the problem doesnt exist anymore. They all eventually find out that the addiction is still there, and end up relapsing. You have to keep in mind that with these programs, there is no finish line. I hear so many people who have relapsed say that they have "completed" AA in the past, they don't understand why they relapsed. A drug addiction counselor will give you a better understanding of how this whole process works. BTW, I'm a recovering addict myself with 5 months clean. Treatment, AA has brought meaning back to my life and can do the same for you if you're willing to commit to doing the work!

"In addition to stopping drug use, the goal of treatment is to return the individual to productive functioning in the family, workplace, and community.Measures of effectiveness typically include levels of criminal behavior, family functioning, employability, and medical condition. Overall, treatment of addiction is as successful as treatment of other chronic diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, and asthma.According to several studies, drug treatment reduces drug use by 40 to 60 percent and significantly decreases criminal activity during and after treatment. For example, a study of therapeutic community treatment for drug offenders (See Treatment Section) demonstrated that arrests for violent and nonviolent criminal acts were reduced by 40 percent or more.Methadone treatment has been shown to decrease criminal behavior by as much as 50 percent. Research shows that drug addiction treatment reduces the risk of HIV infection and that interventions to prevent HIV are much less costly than treating HIV-related illnesses. Treatment can improve the prospects for employment, with gains of up to 40 percent after treatment.Although these effectiveness rates hold in general, individual treatment outcomes depend on the extent and nature of the patient's presenting problems, the appropriateness of the treatment components and related services used to address those problems, and the degree of active engagement of the patient in the treatment process."