26 Apr Is Relapse Part of Addiction Treatment?
Over the decades drug addiction treatment has changed in many ways. Once, it was mainly about detoxing and learning how to white knuckle your way through life. Then, we realized there may be other contributing factors, so psychology began to play a role. Then we discovered how addiction works in the brain and more science came into treatment.
But early on, during the white knuckle era, it was felt that relapse was inevitable, that it was bound to happen a couple of times before the addict or alcoholic finally “got it”. It was often said that relapse was just a part of treatment – in other words, it’s going to happen. Well, that may be a nice way of telling people that if it does happen, don’t let it consume you, just pick up your recovery program again. But if you actually say relapse is a part of treatment, there’s a danger in that. In a way, you’re pre-approving a relapse. An addict feeling a craving or experiencing a trigger may feel it’s okay to relapse because, “it’s just a part of treatment.”
It’s clear people relapse. What has also become clear is that the longer a recovering addict is in some form of treatment the less likely he, or she, is to relapse. There is a direct correlation between length or treatment and relapse. Most people have trouble with relapse within the first 30 days of treatment, then again at three months and again at six months. Which is why it makes great sense to start in a residential treatment center, where you are out of harm’s way completely for the first 30 days, you’re not confronted by the “relapse triggers” you would encounter in your everyday life, and you can focus completely on your recovery. But you can’t stop there.
Following residential treatment for drug addiction should come some continuing treatment, such as a partial hospitalization program (PHP) in which the recovering addict lives in a sober living home and attends a treatment program daily during the week at an outpatient center. After a few weeks, this is usually followed by an intensive outpatient program (IOP), which consists of treatment for three hours, three days a week. Following this it is customary to continue outpatient therapy, or a weekly therapy session with a psychotherapist.
This may sound like a lot of treatment. But this is a chronic condition. It needs constant attention, and it needs more attention in the beginning. It truly means changing your life.
This is our focus at Lanna. To get you started with the best therapy and treatment in the best environment possible and then to help structure continuing care so, when you leave here, you’re not going home to relapse. We work with our treatment provider network around the world to help set you with a continuing program when you get home, so you’re set up to succeed and lead a happy, contented life of fulfillment. Which is all anybody really wants.
Call us and let’s get started.
