Alcohol Treatment Options

You should know all of your different alcohol treatment options.

Alcoholics who are seeking treatment for their addiction have many alcohol treatment options. This can be both a blessing and a curse. Having myriad options means that alcoholics can find a treatment program that is best suited for them. However, it also means that many addicts and their families may have a difficult time trying to sort through their options until they find the best one.

Below, you will learn about some of the different alcohol addiction treatment options, while also learning which methods work best for certain types of individuals.

Inpatient Alcohol Treatment

Inpatient treatment means that a patient maintains full-time residency at a treatment center or detox facility. This means that 24-hour supervision and care is provided, and it generally focuses on both mental and physical health assessments and rehabilitation. Inpatient alcohol addiction treatment options generally span a longer period of time.

The goal of inpatient alcohol treatment is to help an addict get sober and healthy, to assess the addict’s history with alcoholism, and to teach him or her the necessary skills in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle and avoid a relapse. This often involves a variety of therapies and counseling, as well as physical activity aimed at strengthening the mind and body.

Because this is such an intensive form of treatment, inpatient alcohol treatment options work well for people who have been addicts for a long time, or who have suffered greatly from the effects of alcoholism and need extra care and supervision.

Outpatient Alcohol Treatments

Outpatient alcohol treatment options are usually more flexible, as they do not involve 24-hour residency at a treatment center. As with any other form of treatment, the goal is to help alcoholics gain control over their addiction. Outpatient treatment, however, allows patients to fit treatment in around their regular lives. Treatment usually involves attending regular meetings, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), or receive counseling and therapy.

Because of its flexibility, outpatient alcohol treatment options are a great choice for people with jobs and families that they can’t leave in order to attend an inpatient program. However, since there is limited supervision and you are accountable for your own actions outside of treatment, this can be a difficult option for people who are unable to resist the temptations of alcohol on their own. Alcoholics participating in an outpatient treatment program must truly want to try and get sober. Otherwise, these types of alcohol addiction treatment options rarely work.

12 Step Programs

Twelve step programs are some of the most widely used alcohol addiction treatment options. The program involves twelve “steps,” from recognizing that one has a problem with alcohol to going back out into the world as a healthy, changed person. These steps comprise a larger journey to a healthy mind, body, and spirit.

The idea is that an alcoholic works through the steps sequentially, and in doing so, an addict
learns how to rid himself of his addiction to alcohol. Twelve step alcohol treatment options, at their root, are religious in nature, but many current 12 step programs have taken the basic ideas and worked them into a secular program for those addicts who are not particularly religious.

Twelve step alcohol treatment options work well for people who favor a spiritual approach to treatment. Understandably, they also work well for people who like to tackle issues one at a time, because the 12 step method allows addicts to become comfortable working through one step before moving on to the next.

Finding the Best Alcohol Addiction Treatment Options for You

There are countless treatment resources and options available, and the ones you have just learned about are some general categories of some of the most effective and widely-used alcohol treatment options. Having so many options for treatment is a great thing, and in order to find the best option for you, it’s important to be honest with yourself about your own needs. The best alcohol addiction treatment options are the ones that an addict feels will best allow him or her to succeed in staying sober.