Custom Addiction Treatment Programs

While addiction problems have similarities in every case, every case also has challenges and issues unique to each suffering individual. Recognizing the importance of treating each addict’s unique challenges is behind the approach to custom addiction treatment program therapy. Customizing the treatment so it makes an impacting difference in an addict’s life is crucial to long term recovery and can be the difference between getting sober and staying sober.

Alternative Inpatient Residential Therapies

No matter what addiction the patient is suffering with, a custom addiction treatment program can help uncover the underlying issues that contribute to the illness and find ways to adequately address them. The answer may be an inpatient residential treatment program that seeks to instill stability, routine and safety for the patient. Alternative therapies such as art therapy, equine therapy, group therapies and other therapeutic approaches may also be used to help addicts get and stay sober.

Short-Term And Group Treatment Programs

A smart way for addicted individuals to gain control over their addictions is through short term residential treatment programs. Customized treatment programs that are less than thirty days in length allow the individuals to make a change in their life without feeling like they are abandoning their jobs, friends and families. In these treatment programs, expert counselors, doctors and addiction specialists work intensively with people suffering with addictions to help them regroup and recover. Patients often get support through group meetings and gain friendships and relationships they can count on once they re-enter their regular lives. Having a support group they can call on if they feel weak, vulnerable or like relapsing can give people the strength and help they need to stay sober even when life gets difficult or overwhelming.

Long-Term Treatment Programs

Customized long term residential treatment programs are another option people struggling with addiction can explore. Many times, people weighed down by addiction need extensive time and therapy to work through their addiction to get to recovery. Lasting thirty days and longer, these long term programs are designed to teach patients new ways of viewing themselves, the world, their addictions and their abilities to overcome their struggles. Long term treatment programs can be beneficial in helping the patient create new habits and coping strategies during their extended stay that they can put into practice once they return home.

Addiction Recovery Help

Dealing with addiction and the problems and pain it causes is never easy. Admitting to yourself or loved ones that you need help can be one of the most humbling experiences of your life, but it can also be the point where your life takes a turn for the better. If you or someone you love needs help overcoming an addiction, look into our custom treatment programs to see how they can help you make a clean, fresh start to long-term sobriety!

Cory Monteith Emmy Tribute Shines Spotlight On Addiction And Treatment

The television industry took time to remember the late Cory Monteith at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards. Glee costar Jane Lynch described the late actor, who died in July at age 31 from a drug overdose, as a “beautiful soul.” She commented that his death was “tragic reminder of the rapacious, senseless destruction that is brought on by addiction.”

Despite his obvious talent and the warmth and wonderful sense of humor that friends and family will always remember about him, Monteith also struggled with a disease that took his life. He had sought addiction treatment more than once during his life. As a chronic illness, it needs to be constantly monitored for signs of relapse. Monteith’s tragic death shines a light on the issue of addiction and underlines the need to seek help immediately.

Effective Inpatient Addiction Treatment

Are you looking at long term vs. short term rehab for yourself or a loved one? Long term rehabilitation treatment involves a 90-day stay at an inpatient facility. During this time, you can focus your attention on getting well.

No two people seeking help for addiction are exactly the same. Each person’s treatment needs are evaluated, and in some instances, a short-term 14-28 day treatment program may be recommended. There is no quick-fix to deal with the issues around addiction, but some clients can benefit from this type of program.

Short term drug rehab treatment may be recommended when a client cannot be admitted into a program for 90 days due to work or family obligations. It may also be appropriate for a client who has been treated at an inpatient facility previously.

Customized Approach To Treatment

Each client entering a drug and alcohol treatment program for a short-term program will be given an individualized course of treatment. It will include attending 12-step program meetings, as well as:

  • Individual therapy sessions
  • Group therapy
  • One-on-one counseling
  • Life skills instruction
  • Education about addiction

The program also includes physical exercise, including hiking, nature walks, and yoga. Proper nutrition is important for clients in recovery, and they receive instruction on how to eat well.

Family Support During Addiction Treatment

Family support is important to help clients achieve long-term sobriety, and the Above It All Treatment Center includes them in this process. Through family sessions, they can share their feelings about addiction and understand the disease known as addiction. Everyone can help to move forward together to present a united front to help provide support once you or your loved one leaves the treatment program.

Above It All in Lake Arrowhead offers short and long-term rehab treatment programs for drug and alcohol addiction. Our experienced staff can help you or your loved one find the right path to long-term sobriety.

Why Should You Seek Alcohol Rehab

Without the aid of alcohol rehab, a drinking problem won’t go away on its own. Instead, it becomes more and more damaging to both the alcoholic, and his or her family.

What we know is this: In nearly every case, alcohol and drug abuse are nothing more than symptoms of a much larger problem. Most often, substance abuse is used as a coping mechanism to avoid feelings of guilt or shame; sometimes it is used to address a spiritual malady, or to fill an emptiness that can’t be resolved without assistance from an outside source. You build walls to protect yourself from harmful feelings, but as those barriers go up, your willpower goes down… and soon you find yourself trapped in a never-ending cycle, with no resolution in sight. The farther you travel down the path of addiction, the harder it is to see how lost you really are, or to regain your footing after a stumble.

At Above It All Treatment Center, our clinical treatment will help you tear down those walls and map a route to move past them. Our highly trained, professional and compassionate staff stands ready to help you every step of the way. With our support, you will soon begin to function productively, without the feelings of guilt and shame and other barriers holding you back now.

The true strength of the Above It All program lies in its blend of clinical therapies and a 12-step immersion program; this powerful combination creates a synergistic balance that is unique to Above It All Treatment Center. As you progress in the program, you will be assigned specific Big Book studies best suited to help you work though the steps.

There is hope. With the right alcohol rehab program — treatment available with our help — alcoholics can, and have, learned to conquer their disease.

Alcohol rehabilitation is, simply put, an alcoholic’s best shot at starting a healthier, happier new life. The path won’t always be easy — the process begins with an alcohol detox period of several days, during which the body is cleansed of the toxins that come from wine, liquor or beer. The cleaning process can include unpleasant withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, depression and sweats or chills, but it’s necessary in combating the disease.

Once the detox is complete, the patient will continue with intensive, inpatient counseling that provides a chance to get to the bottom of the issues that caused the alcoholism in the first place. This is sometimes done through group therapy sessions where the patient can receive emotional support from others also starting a new life in recovery.

If you find that you or a family member are in need of alcohol rehabilitation, please contact us today and get started on the road to recovery.  Above It All Treatment Center is here to help you every step of the way.

Intervention – Step By Step

Once friends and family members have exhausted their energy, efforts and resources on a struggling addict, an intervention is often the best and last available hope. When it comes to locating the best intervention help Los Angeles has to offer, Above It All is the name to trust. If you are considering an intervention for a friend or loved one, the following entry will provide you with an idea of what to expect when hiring Above It All’s team of intervention specialists.

Once you’ve made the decision to seek out professional help, it only takes a quick phone call to our substance abuse rehabilitation facility set the plan in motion. You will be promptly connected with a professional intervention specialist who can answer your questions and schedule a time to meet with you and your family.

During your initial meeting, your invention specialist will walk you and the other participants through the process involved in staging an intervention. Participants will be afforded the opportunity to ask questions, pose concerns and communicate exactly how the addict has impacted their life in a negative fashion. Participants will also be encouraged to write letters to the individual in question, which will be read during the actual intervention. With everything in place, there’s nothing left but to hope for a positive outcome.

Intervention participants will meet up at a neutral location alongside the intervention specialist. In addition to planning and organizing the intervention, your specialist will also serve as a moderator during the actual intervention.

When the subject arrives at the intervention, participants are encouraged to receive them with positive embrace. Though centered around a somewhat negative focus, a negative attitude will do little to aid the process.

If and when a “yes” answer is uttered, your intervention specialist will place the individual on a plane or drive them personally to our beautiful California mountain facility to begin immediate treatment.

Outpatient vs. Residential Treatment Centers

Once you’ve decided to enter a drug or alcohol addiction program, you must determine which type of facility is right for you. Simplified, your available options come down to outpatient vs. residential treatment centers. Do you feel it necessary to reside at your chosen facility in order to achieve a successful outcome? Would a short-term treatment plan suffice in providing you with the results you’re after? These are questions that must be answered to ensure the best possible outcome. If you’re having difficulty deciding which option best suits your needs, the following entry will serve in outlining the differences between the two.

Residential/Inpatient

Studies show residential/inpatient rehab facilities to be the most effective means in addressing addiction. The first stage, alcohol drug detox, is extremely difficult to complete on an outpatient basis, with the vast majority of specialists recommending a medically monitored withdrawal. Those who are physically dependent to a substance will begin to experience withdrawal symptoms once intake is hindered. To alleviate and minimize these symptoms, patients can opt to enter a medically supervised detox program at an inpatient rehab center.

The second phase of treatment deals primarily with the psychological aspects of the addiction… a stage that is integrated seamlessly into the treatment plan at a residential facility. Patients are provided with 24/7 psychological, medical and peer support, thus increasing the chances of a successful recovery exponentially. In most cases, the longer an addict chooses to remain in rehab, the longer they will remain sober following the program’s completion.

Outpatient

Most outpatient programs will hold patients to a commitment minimum in regard to the amount of time each they must attend on a weekly basis. Typically short-term in nature, this recovery option incorporates treatment education classes, support groups and 12-step meetings into their recovery platform. Some facilities will require weekly therapy sessions as well. Patients are afforded the ability to return home in the evenings. Many people find these types of programs beneficial due to the freedom and scheduling aspects. With this option, patients can continue working and caring for loved ones at a cost far less than what they might pay at a residential/inpatient facility. However, studies find very few patients able to maintain sobriety, as the afforded freedom ultimately allows for easier access to the problem substances.

Which One Is For You?

While both options can prove effective long-term, the real variant is the patient themselves. Aspects including personal circumstance, abuse history and other exterior factors can all play a part in determining exactly how a patient will respond to treatment.

Those who have only been using heavily for a year or so, are actively participating in a career, still have their family and do not experience withdrawal symptoms when use is hindered may benefit greatly from an outpatient program. However, if you find yourself experiencing withdrawal symptoms, losing friends and family members and are having difficulty holding a job, an inpatient facility may very well be the best option for you.

When in doubt, it’s always a good idea to seek the advice of an addiction specialist with the knowledge and experience necessary to properly assess your condition. Call up a local treatment facility and schedule an appointment to speak with someone regarding your potential recovery options to best determine which course of action is right for you!

A Big Change and a Fresh Start in California Rehab

They are restless, irritable and discontent, unless they can experience the sense of ease and comfort which comes at once by taking a few drinks, drinks they see others taking with impunity, after they succumb to the desire again, as so many people do, and the phenomenon of craving develops, they pass through the well known stages of a spree emerging remorseful with a firm resolution not to drink again This is repeated over and over and unless this person can experience an entire psychic change, there is very little hope of his recovery — the doctor’s opinion — PAGE XXIX — Big Book of AA —

This is alcoholism in a nut-shell. Before seeking alcohol addiction help, the alcoholic is obsessed with the drink in one form or another. Whether it be being obsessed with figuring out the right formula so that they could maybe drink normally, or being obsessed with other people’s drinking habits, it becomes their life’s work anyway. They see other people drinking without consequence, but when we try it, it never works out. How could that be? Some might ask themselves: why isn’t it possible for us? Others might feel like we are plagued or that it isn’t fair — that other’s can drink normally, but we can’t. And we continue trying to experiment or figure it out for years. Every time we go out, drink, and end up in the same place we wonder: how this could have happened again? We are full of regret, usually leading us to swear often of booze, one more time. Like it says: this continues until we experience an entire psychic change. But what do alcoholics know about a psychic change? And more importantly, how does one have this psychic change? There are answers and there are people who understand and can help. When you reach out to one of the California rehab centers about a long term rehab or a 30 day rehab programs, you make the start to a meaningful and fulfilling life by stepping off the hamster-wheel and making a fresh start.

Alcohol Drug Rehab Before a Holiday?

With St Patrick’s Day right around the corner getting sober might seem like a lost cause. There are so many times when someone thinks about getting sober yet that thought is followed by a million reasons why the timing just isn’t right….thoughts such as “I’ll get sober  tomorrow,”  “I’m just so stressed out right now maybe when things calm down a bit,”  “I’m dealing with x y and z I just can’t deal with all of that and get sober,” or what seems to be the most common justification of all  “(insert holiday here) is coming up and its unrealistic to think that I can stay sober through it and I want to have fun so I’ll get sober after (insert holiday here)…”

Regardless of the date or the circumstances anyone can attain sobriety at anytime. Here are a few suggestions and places available to you …

1. Check out rehabs that take insurance

2. Check out some local drug rehab blogs .they are here to provide information on rehab programs in California.

3. For alcohol addiction help you can check out California rehab centers or perhaps a 12 step centered recovery house

There is all sorts of information available via internet. Getting sober isn’t easy but well worth it. If you decide to get help you don’t need to go through anything alone ever again. It doesn’t matter if it’s just another day or your favorite holiday today can be the first day of the rest of your sober life…may it be full of joy and peace!

 

The Benefits of Relaxation During Alcohol and Drug Detox

Unsurprisingly there are a lot of benefits from relaxation during alcohol and drug detox.  “The adrenal hormones, glucocorticoids, which increase the sensitivity of mesencephalic dopaminergic neurones to drugs, seem to be one of the biological substrates of the effects of stress on the propensity to develop drug intake (Piazza and Moal, 1998)”. “The cyclical nature of chronic drug use, involving periods of drug abstinence and subsequent relapse, highlights the presence of this disease throughout the lifetime of an individual” (Hyman , Malenka -2001).

In terms of economic and health care costs, drug abuse is among the top three health problems.  “The stress response is mediated by a highly complex, integrated network that involves the central nervous system, the adrenal system, the immune system, and the cardiovascular system. Stress activates adaptive responses. It releases the neurotransmitter norephinephrine, which is involved with memory. This may be why people remember stressful events more clearly than they do non-stressful situations. Stress also increases the production of a hormone in the body known as corticotropin releasing factor (CRF). CRF is found throughout the brain and initiates our biological response to stressors. During all negative experiences, certain regions of the brain show increased levels of CRF. Interestingly, almost all drugs of abuse have also been found to increase a CRF level, which suggests a neurobiological connection between stress and drug abuse” (Hanson-2009).

All this jargon means that when you are stressed out your mind craves something to help relax you. For some people this can take the form of getting more sleep or finding time to exercise, and sometimes this thing can take the form of drugs and alcohol. So finding a residential treatment center in California that chooses relaxation as one of the key components of rehabilitation is essential. Through this period, one can learn how to incorporate time for the self in their future sober living.

 

When Legal Problems Lead to Long Term Drug Rehabilitation

According to some estimates, as many as 60% of people in long term drug rehabilitation programs have legal problems as a result of their addictions to drugs or alcohol. Many of those in recovery have entered under a court-ordered mandate to complete a rehab program, while others enter as a proactive measure – to clean up their lives and potentially reduce charges or jail sentences.

The good news is that many addicts do succeed in a court-ordered or influenced addiction program.  Studies have shown time and time again, that treatment does not need to be voluntary to be effective. All addicts have the potential to relapse, and total, long lasting sobriety takes a lifetime commitment.

Proponents of court-ordered rehab believe that in spite of relapse percentages, these rehab stays can be effective. Relapse can occur even when clients enter voluntarily, and  abstinence rates are  relatively high among those that successfully complete all court ordered affordable rehab stays. Even if just a small percentage of addicts are given the necessary tools to recover from their addictions, the ultimate cost to the tax payer drops considerably –  estimates are that one tax dollar spent towards drug treatment yields a seven dollar tax savings to society at large.

For many struggling with the pain of dependence, admittance to a court ordered rehab program is eventually seen to be a great stoke of luck. Not only does mandated treatment allow the addict to sidestep incarceration, it also grants them access to comprehensive drug dependency treatment.

Statistics show that the motivation for entry into a program has little effect on the likelihood of  successful recovery, the odds that an addiction can be beaten once and for all through court-ordered drug rehab is fairly high. Full participation in court mandated long term aftercare also increases the odds of success and long term sobriety.

Drug court mandated drug rehab treatment is no guarantee of a future of sobriety, and some degree of relapse is to be expected. Addicts assigned to court ordered drug rehab and court funded drug and alcohol addiction treatment do have the opportunity to better their lives as well as avoid jail. Court ordered drug rehab operates as a needed lifeline to many struggling with addiction, and although most addicts don’t see it as a blessing when arrested, they are often ultimately grateful for  lifesaving treatment.

Court ordered or entry to drug rehab as a way to avoid jail time may not work in every case, but when it does, both the addict and society as a whole benefit. If addiction has caused legal problems for you or someone important to you, contact us today to learn more about drug rehab in California.

Successful Long Term Drug Rehabilitation – Finding the Right Fit

Long term drug rehabilitation is not simple. Aside from treating the intense and often uncontrollable cravings which have led the addict to devastating personal consequences, the effects of prolonged drug exposure on brain functioning affect multiple circuits in the physical body – including those involved in motivation, learning and memory. These complicated issues make treatment a complicated matter as well.

Because of this, an effective addiction program can often incorporate many components, to each target a particular aspect of the illness and its consequences. Addiction treatment must first and foremost, help the individual stop using  – but it should also give him or her the tools to maintain a drug-free lifestyle, and function again in work, home and in society at large.

Research has proven that treatment can help patients addicted to drugs stop using, help them to avoid relapse, and regain control over their lives.

Those seeking drug and drug rehab help should consider the following:

–Remaining in treatment for an adequate period of time is critical.

–Counseling can help treat underlying issues which contributed to the abuse

–No treatment program is “one size fits all.”  Each person’s treatment plan must be continually reassessed and fine-tuned as treatment progresses.

–Treatment does not need to be voluntary to be effective.

Counseling and therapy are both important elements of a process that often begins with drug addiction detox, followed by treatment and finally, relapse prevention. A balanced spectrum of care should include a customized treatment program which addresses all aspects of the addict’s life, and should include medical and mental health services. Each of these components, in it’s own way, is crucial to a person’s success in creating and maintaining a drug–free lifestyle.

Addiction is a very complex disease that affects brain function and behavior, but it is treatable. No single treatment will suit every person but tailored, personalized treatment is readily available in our quality program.