Rehab Centers For Alcoholism

It’s easy to excuse your drinking habits as occasional, social, and not a big deal. But if you want to drink regularly, even if it’s only on the weekends, then you may have a drinking problem.

Ten percent of Americans over the age of 12 have alcohol use disorder (AUD). Many people who have some type of substance use disorder (SUD) receive a dual diagnosis of a mental health disorder.

The right alcohol addiction treatment can help you with withdrawal symptoms and any co-occurring disorders. The recovery process will last the rest of your life.

This guide includes:

• What’s involved in treatment for alcohol addiction
• How long it lasts
• The benefits of alcohol rehab
• Approximate costs
• Ways to maintain your sobriety

Taking ownership of your alcohol addiction and deciding to seek help for it is a huge step. And if you have no idea what you’re getting into, it can make the decision more challenging.

Keep reading to understand better what you or a loved one might experience while undergoing treatment services.

Alcohol Detoxification

The first part of rehab for alcohol use disorder (AUD) is often to detox the substance from your body. The severity of your addiction will factor strongly into whether that is an inpatient or outpatient treatment program.

Medical care may include administering medication, IV fluids, and supplements as part of the process, especially for inpatient rehab. Your vital signs may also be monitored.

You’ll undergo different assessments to determine your readiness for the next steps. Full detoxification can take several weeks, and you’ll need to attend multiple appointments during that time.

Follow-Up Inpatient Or Outpatient Treatment

Once you’ve detoxed, you’ll enter inpatient or outpatient treatment. This can include multiple types of therapy, usually in a combination of individual and group settings.

You may take medicine that makes drinking less appealing, also known as medication-assisted treatment. Disulfiram makes you feel sick when you drink, while naltrexone and acamprosate reduce cravings. All three help you cope with alcohol withdrawal.

Behavioral Therapy

Behavioral therapy can happen in a one-on-one appointment with a mental healthcare provider, or it can be a group treatment. Part of your assessments will determine which kinds of behavioral therapy might work best for your unique situation.

Common types of behavioral therapy for substance abuse include:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
• Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT)
• Motivational enhancement therapy
• Marital and family therapy

Group Therapy

Sitting around in a group of people you don’t know and spilling your guts about your problems may seem daunting to you. But when you adjust that perspective to account for those strangers going through similar challenges, it’s not so bad suddenly.

Studies have shown that peer support increases the success of substance abuse treatment. Even if your family members are supportive, they sometimes can’t understand what addiction recovery is like.

Aftercare

As you develop tools and coping mechanisms, your time in treatment will decrease. However, it’s essential to continue with regular meetings and therapy sessions to stay in recovery. You’ll want to maintain that regimen with your healthcare provider if you’re on medication.

You may need additional help to change your lifestyle and living situation. Sober living communities can be a great way to break out of your old normal and start anew.

Anyone who is addicted to alcohol can benefit from appropriate treatment. And if the traditional methods don’t quite meet your needs, you can investigate alternative treatment options.

There are so many treatment programs available. For more severe cases, inpatient treatment might be best. For those who can live at home and commute, an outpatient program at a rehab facility can be a good option.

If you recognize that you have a drinking problem and need help, know that an alcohol rehab program can fill that need.

If you’re unsure whether you have drinking issues, take our alcohol self-assessment test.

The number of days you need to spend in rehab is something to discuss with a health professional as part of your treatment plan. The minimum amount of time is 30 days, but it can be weeks or even months beyond that.

Factors that affect the length of rehab:

• Level of addiction
• Overall health
• Location
• Health insurance
• Cost
• Veteran status

Expect to relapse. Substance abuse often starts and continues because a person has problems with their life. It may be the life they had, the life they have, or the life they want but can’t seem to get.

Therapy helps with all these situations by helping you explore these different versions of your life. With the help of treatment providers and in a safe environment, you can examine why you began drinking.

You can view trauma and pain through the lens of an observer. You can look at what’s not working in your life now. You can figure out how to take the next step toward a solution.

Addiction treatment isn’t a miracle worker; it’s a hard worker. With it, you’ll understand why you’ve made your choices and how you make better ones in the future. And each time you need a reset, you re-examine what’s going on and how to do it better next time.

Completing treatment is a massive step in the right direction, but the end of it doesn’t signal the end of your recovery. It’s best if you continue the work to maintain your sobriety and adjust as needed.

Sober Living or Transitional Living

When part of the problem has been your living situation, you can’t return to that place when you’ve put so much into getting over it. Moving into residential treatment through sober or transitional housing can give you a support community while you design your next chapter.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Other Support Groups

Treatment after rehab should include a 12-step program or other type of group to support your recovery.

Some of the options for those recovering from AUD include:

• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Al-Anon
• Alateen
• LifeRing Secular Recovery
• Secular Organizations for Sobriety (S.O.S.)
• SMART Recovery
• Women for Sobriety (WFS)

Continuing Care

How your continuing care is structured will vary in each situation. For example, it will look one way for someone with a loving family and stable home environment and another for someone who can’t depend on family and is in an unsafe environment.

The most essential part of continuing care is that you’re able to stay sober. You’ll want to discuss that protocol with your doctor if you’re on medication.

You may need help finding a job, reconnecting with friends, making new friends, and simply learning how to function in a world you’re suddenly seeing through a different lens.

Addiction is a chronic disease, which means you’ll always be in recovery. And because you’re also human, you’ll make mistakes like relapsing. What matters most is that you reduce the chances of doing so by establishing a solid foundation.

These are a few pieces of advice for how you move forward.

1. Find a Sober Sponsor

No one will understand better than someone who’s already been there why you’re calling in the middle of the night to keep from drinking. Locate the person who will answer the phone every time.

2. Build a Sobriety Network

It matters that you surround yourself with people and things that don’t involve alcohol. It will get easier as you recover, but it will always be tempting. Build relationships with your friends, family, and community as you’re able.

3. Prioritize Your Alcohol Recovery

Know who and what your triggers are. Don’t put yourself in situations that can cause those just because or to please someone else. Learn the word “no,” like it, and use it.

4. Go at Your Own Recovery Pace

There’s not another person on the planet who has lived your life, and therefore, no one can tell you how best to be you. You know yourself, so honor that person by respecting what you can handle and when.

5. Have a Relapse Plan

Relapsing is a normal part of recovery. It’s vastly more important to make sure you can bounce back when it happens than to get wrapped up in the fact that it happened.

Work with your support team to figure out what you should do when facing the other side of relapse. Who do you call? Where do you go? What are your first few steps when you sober up? Figure it out so you can make it happen and stay sober when the time comes.

No table outlines what alcohol rehab will cost you. You may have self-pay costs or be well-insured.

If you’ve got a plan under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including Medicare and Medicaid, you’ll have some coverage for rehab treatment.

However, the treatment facility in your area may not accept your health insurance. It may cost a lot more than the insurance company will pay.

Here’s a quick rundown of some basic cost averages:

• Detox: $1,750 – $5,600 for seven days
• Rapid Detox: $5,000 – $10,000
• Outpatient treatment: $1,400 – $10,000 for 30 days
• Inpatient treatment: $5,000 – $20,000 for 30 days
• Residential treatment: $5,000 – $80,000 for three weeks to 12 months

As you can see, the total cost is a broad range. Factors like health insurance, level of care, types of treatment, treatment center location, and severity of addiction can increase or decrease the bottom line.

Starting recovery from alcohol is tough to face, and it’s okay. You’ve made it this far, and you owe yourself a little positivity for the decisions that led you here.

If you’re ready to stop drinking, RehabNet.com is happy to help with this next part. Contact our helpline today, and we can help you locate an appropriate alcohol rehab center.