Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Hali Brown
Professor Stalbird
English 1201.231
April 5, 2018
The road to recovery is often challenging for those who have a problem with substance
abuse. The amount of lives that are claimed by different substance addictions begs the
questions: Is there a better way to treat these individuals? Is there a one-size fits all kind of
cure for addicts? I have a family member who has struggled with addiction most of his life. The
first time he began his journey to sobriety, it did not work out. He had to try many different
treatments before he found one that worked for him. There are many different forms of
treatment for these addictions; however the most effective treatments: counseling, twelve-step
approach, inpatient programs, medications, therapy, and those that are individualized work
because people have different psychosocial, mental, physical, and a variety of other needs.
There is no treatment that has worked for everyone. Each patient is different from the
next in many ways and the treatment should reflect this. People are have different biological
makeups from one another. Individuals could have vastly different circumstances from each
other. Some individuals that suffer from substance addiction are also dealing with other issues.
Whether it is a mental illness, a psychological issue, or family history of abuse, all things that
can contribute to the addiction or where the addiction can stem from have to be addressed
during treatment as well. In “Principles of Effective Treatment” it is said that in order “To be
effective, treatment must address the individual’s drug abuse and any associated medical,
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psychological, social, vocational, and legal problems. It is also important that treatment be
appropriate to the individual’s age, gender, ethnicity, and culture.” Due to the different
makeup each person with addiction has, the course of treatment must be treated differently
from one another. To illustrate, two people using the same drug could be successful with two
different methods of treatment because the substance abused may be identical, but the users
are not.
The first treatment method that follows the individualized criteria is counseling.
Counseling is often accompanied with another form of treatment. It is used to reinforce certain
behaviors and mind sets to refrain from abusing substances. Depending on the age of the
addicts can depend on what type of counseling they receive, for example, with younger
individuals a family element might be involved. Having a strong support system to help the
addicts with their search for sobriety can make a large difference in the success of the
treatment program chosen. Also offered to the youth population of addicts is a program
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designed for building skills and supporting participation in constructive activities. The counselor
will often give a variety of services including an assessment, treatment, and planning during
counseling. This is again to reinforce the point that treatment has to fit each person
Counseling has multiple components and can have an impact on the other forms of treatment.
Group counseling can help offer peer support to encourage individual to maintain sobriety
together. Having a support system that can understand what the addict is going through may
The most heard of treatment is the twelve-step approach used in Alcoholics Anonymous
and Narcotics Anonymous. The basis of these programs are the idea of self-help. The programs
have three main principles: behavioral, cognitive, and spiritual. Jhanjee in “Evidence Based
themselves (and another people) the harm substance use has caused to
themselves and others, admit that they are powerless over drug use and
The individuals have to acknowledge the negative effects the substances they abuse have had
on their lives and on the lives of their loved ones. There are many colloquialisms that are
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associated to letting a higher power help the addicts through their addictions. One person
cannot battle addiction on one’s own. The twelve-step approach is not the most effective form
of treatment, but it does provide benefits by continuing to keep the changes that the program
In contrast, if a more involved and intensive form of treatment and recovery is required,
the persons afflicted by addiction can try an inpatient program. Inpatient programs or
rehabilitation centers can be used to treat addiction. These are not the most effective courses
to take because there is a large number of dropouts. To support this claim, Gustafson in
Trial” writes:
In a review of the literature, Humphreys & McLellan found that although process
improvements can change how treatment programs work, the link to better
Some of these programs have special facilities and some can take place in the hospital. Most of
the shorter programs focus more on detox rather than long term recovery. The shorter lengths
of treatment are often more intensive. After being in this form of treatment, patients will often
continue a course of treatment through an outpatient service to help sustain their sobriety.
Jhanjee in “Evidence Based Psychosocial Interventions in Substance Use” describes these types
of treatments on how they, “Focus on the ‘resocialization’ of the individual and use the
program’s entire community—including other residents, staff, and the social context—as active
responsibility and accountability. The daily structure, activities, therapies, and group
counseling sessions are all a part of developing the skills persons would need to continue their
sobriety and these behaviors once they have completed the program. The patients are able to
continue using the coping mechanisms they learned after they have finished their treatment.
In relation to the hospitalization form of treatment, medications used during these can
be fairly effective. Medications on their own can be used to treat addiction. This process is
Effective, Study Finds” writes, “Medically assisted treatment is widely considered the most
successful way to recover from a substance use disorder.” The most effective drug used during
treatment is called Suboxone. The drug works by occupying the receptors that are triggered by
the use of opioids so that when opioids are used, the host feels little effect from the drug.
Depending on which substance is being abused will depend on the medication administered for
treatment. Alcohol, stimulants, marijuana, and opioids all have several medications that have
been proven to help with treatment and recovery. Woody in “Advances in the Treatment of
The development of medications for treating persons with opioid use disorders
persons with the most severe disorders. It has also improved outcomes
There was a study done to see if the use of medications could be valuable and effective for
longer term sobriety. The trend shown in the data of the article suggests as such, but also
states that more evidence would need to be collected to more strongly support this claim.
Therapy is another effective treatment option. There are different types of therapy
used to help with addiction. If an addict also struggles with a mental disorder, the best therapy
behavioral therapy has the main point of trying to change the way that the patient thinks and
feels about the substance abused. Motivational therapy is another form of psychotherapy that
deals more with accountability. The idea that addiction stems from the addict’s lack of
willpower, gives cause to having to be accountable to someone else and seeing the positive
effects and attitudes of others towards the addicts can encourage them to prolong their
sobriety. The third type of psychotherapy is sociocultural therapy. This therapy tries to identify
the major stressors in an addict’s life in order to avoid or learn techniques to deal with those
The therapy tries to cover multiple effects that may trigger someone to use. Instead of
depending on those substances as crutches or escapes, the therapy tries to instill different
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coping mechanisms to help addicts remain sober and provide a bigger sense of overall health,
Most people believe that the same treatment should fix all addicts of substance abuse.
Most folks think that the longer one is an addict the harder recovery is. Most individuals
believe that people relapse because deep down they never wanted to get sober. Most human
beings think that people who abuse substances only suffer from an addiction problem.
Needless to say, the treatment has to be individualized for each addict based on multiple
needs. No matter how long a period of time the addiction spans over, the road to recovery will
always be a challenge. Most addicts relapse because of a failure in treatment. People who
suffer from addiction could face multiple illnesses that are intertwined with their substance
abuse that must be treated as well. One crisis is that people think the better healthcare one
has as an addict, the more effective treatments one will receive, when the opposite is true.
Another crisis is that there are not enough experienced physicians to treat all of the issues of a
patient at once. The crisis of addicts overdosing is becoming an epidemic. Even after their lives
are saved, addicts continue to use despite that seriousness of a near death experience.
Treatment not being affordable for everyone has become another crisis. Mankind should
understand that recovery from addiction is a life long struggle and that support of friends and
family is crucial for success. Everyone should realize that addiction is more than just a chemical
dependency, and often people suffer from other diseases along with their addiction. As
Mohammad states in The Anatomy of Addiction: What Science and Research Tell Us About the
True Causes, Best Preventive Techniques, and Most Successful Treatments states, “The effective
both the patient’s physical and psychosocial condition” (91). There is no one solution that is
guaranteed to work for everyone. It is imperative that addicts receive individualized care based
on all of their needs that are accompanied by the addiction or that their addiction stems from.
To reiterate there are many different treatments used to combat substance addiction.
treatments that are individualized are the most effective because people have different
psychosocial, mental, physical, and a variety of other needs. Finding the best fit plan of
treatment for the individual suffering from addiction is paramount to ensure they can retain
their sobriety.
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Works Cited
Berstein, Lenny. “Medications to Kick Opioid Addiction are Equally Effective, Study Finds.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/medications-to-kick-opioid-
addiction-are-equally-effective-study-finds/2017/11/14/26a238dc-c95b-11e7-8321-
481fd63f174d_story.html>.
Cluster-Randomized Trial." Addiction, vol. 108, no. 6, June 2013, pp. 1145-1157. Food
Mohammad, Akikur. The Anatomy of Addiction: What Science and Research Tell Us About the
True Causes, Best Preventive Techniques, and Most Successful Treatments. New York
“Principles of Effective Treatment.” NIH. National Institute on Drug Abuse. January 2018.
addiction-treatment-research-based-guide-third-edition/principles-effective-treatment>.
Substance Abuse Treatment. Digital image. Rehab Center. Web. 5 April 2018.
<http://www.rehabcenter.net/>.
“Treatments for Substance Use Disorders.” SAMHSA. Substance Abuse and Mental Health
<https://www.samhsa.gov/treatment/substance-use-disorders>.
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Woody, George E. "Advances in the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorders [Version 1; Referees: 3