Some alcoholics are able to stop on their own cold turkey and never go back. But for others, treating alcoholism in a treatment center is the only way they can overcome their addiction. Because everyone is different, treatment centers offer a variety of treatment methods from psychological to pharmacological to holistic.

You're Not Alone
Alcohol is the most popular and abused drug in the world. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, over 19 million people in the U.S. needed treatment for their alcohol problem in the past year. What may be harder to swallow is the number of people who needed but didn't get treatment:

  • Of those who needed treatment, only 8.1% received treatment at a specialty treatment center, 4.5% did not get treatment but felt they needed it, and 87.4% neither got treatment nor even thought they needed it.
  • The most common reason for not getting treatment among those that thought they needed it: 42% said they weren't ready to stop using alcohol.

At least these folks recognized they weren't ready to quit. You've heard it before, but we'll say it again: You have to want to quit. At least, statistics show, you're more likely to be successful if you want to quit before you enter a treatment center than if you weren't ready to give up drinking.

Dual Diagnosis: An Important Consideration
If you've never tried to quit drinking in a professional environment, you won't be sure what kind of treatment will work best. Sometimes it takes trying several different approaches before you find the right path. Most medical professionals recommend a combination of approaches. And here's another important consideration in the treatment process: dual diagnosis.

A dual diagnosis is having both an alcohol addiction and a mental disorder at the same time. It's also known as a co-occurring disorder. Because one affects the other and vice versa, the addiction and mental disorder should be treated simultaneously.

The Journal of the American Medical Association says that 37% of alcoholics have at least one serious illness. Any treatment center worth its accreditation will be prepared to handle dual diagnosis cases.

Types of Treatment

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is psychotherapy that focuses on changing your unproductive thought patterns to help change how you feel. It also attempts to change your undesired behaviors. It helps you to:

  • Change the way you think about alcohol
  • Find strategies to help you cope with alcohol cravings
  • Distinguish between thoughts and feelings
  • Be aware of ways thoughts can influence your feelings in negative ways
  • Develop skills to notice, stop and then correct biased thoughts
  • Identify and avoid "triggers" to your drinking.

Medication
One approach to alcohol treatment is the use of pharmaceuticals. These drugs are administered within the treatment center to deter drinking in several ways. For example:

Naltrexone (brand names ReVia and Depade) decreases alcohol use by reducing the pleasurable effects of alcohol. Alcohol stimulates release of opioids, which in turn stimulate release of dopamine--the chemical in the brain responsible for pleasure. Naltrexone prevents these opioids from attaching to the opioid receptors, reducing the release of dopamine. It is not addictive, provides no high, and doesn't withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking it.

Disulfiram (brand name Antabuse) creates disagreeable symptoms--nausea and vomiting--when you drinks alcohol while taking it. Other symptoms may include chest pain, weakness, blurred vision, mental confusion, sweating, choking, breathing difficulty, and anxiety. These symptoms can begin "10 minutes after alcohol enters the body and last for 1 hour or more," according to The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

Acamprosate (brand name Campral) reduces you cravings for alcohol. According to The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, "Acamprosate works by helping the brains of people who have drunk large amounts of alcohol to work normally again."

Other medications, such as antidepressants (Zoloft, Paxil, etc.) and anti-anxiety medications (Xanax, etc.) help with the mental stress of quitting and may be required after one leaves treatment.

Support Groups

In support groups, alcoholics share their experiences and attempt to learn from each other in a supportive environment. Attending these meetings takes commitment and discipline, two important components in the long-term road to recovery.

The most popular support group is Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and their 12-step model. Other groups include Secular Organizations for Sobriety (SOS) and Women for Sobriety (WFS) and the SMART Recovery group that emphasizes a cognitive behavioral approach.

Holistic Treatment
Holistic addiction treatment is treating the whole person--body, mind, and spirit. Holistic treatment uses a combination of traditional and non-traditional methods. This type of treatment has become popular in treatment centers throughout the country.
Some non-traditional treatment may include spiritual guidance (Western and Eastern), nutrition, massage, biofeedback, acupuncture, and self-hypnosis. And it can be physical exercise like Pilates, yoga, tai chi, and walking.

If you're ready to start your recovery in an alcohol treatment center, search Recoverycorps.org's database.

Sources:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alcoholism.html
http://oas.samhsa.gov
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a682602.html