Across the United States, more than 13,500 specialized drug and alcohol treatment facilities are available to help those battling chemical addictions. With offerings ranging from behavioral therapy and group counseling to medication prescription and targeted alternative therapies, residential rehabilitation facilities can offer a secluded environment where individuals can recover from addiction under expert care.

Drug and Alcohol Addiction Treatment Guide

Types of alcohol and drug addiction treatment can vary, depending on the philosophy of the recovery center in question. In general, there are several different modalities of treatment that can be pursued, ranging from outpatient alcohol and drug education courses to inpatient residential treatment facilities. Familiarizing yourself with the types of recovery treatment available can help you discern which drug and alcohol treatment option is best-suited to your personal addiction recovery needs.

Types of Drug and Alcohol Treatment Programs

• Detoxification Centers
  At professional detoxification centers, an emphasis is placed on the process in which the body rids itself of harmful chemicals ingested during the course of addiction. Oftentimes, the physical withdrawal process presents a primary hurdle to those attempting to cease alcohol and drug use, due to symptoms that accompany sudden cessation, and drive addicted individuals back into addiction. Detoxification can involve conservatively prescribed medications to manage physical and mental withdrawal symptoms, addiction counseling and medical supervision. While detoxification can take place at many residential treatment centers, dedicated detox centers tend to only offer treatments focused on the withdrawal phase of addiction recovery.
• Outpatient Alcohol and Drug Programs
  The process of detoxification alone is not able to address the social, behavioral and psychological problems brought about by addiction. Services can include occupational counseling, family education, 12-step sessions or referrals to support groups, and drug or alcohol testing. In general, intensive addiction recovery services are not offered by outpatient treatment programs, making them most suitable for those with less severe addictions, travel or employment restraints and those with a strong social support system intact.
• Inpatient Alcohol and Drug Treatment Programs
  Residential drug addiction treatments can either be short-term or long-term, and can range from sober living facilities to 30-day inpatient addiction treatment programs with intensive recovery programs. Most residential treatment centers are based on a therapeutic community approach and provide a structured environment with a strong sense of peer support. Holistic treatment programs have become more popular in recent years, with a cross-disciplinary emphasis on nutrition, health, alternative medicine, psychological counseling, aftercare planning and life skills training to best situate patients for recovery.
• Individualized Drug or Alcohol Abuse Counseling
  For some, working with a personal therapist on an outpatient basis — often in combination with attendance at 12-step meetings — can be an effective option for recovery. However, the high price tag, lack of round-the-clock supervision and low time investment generally involved in one-on-one clinical treatment can often lead to relapse. While individualized counseling can be effective for those encountering bouts of event-induced problem drinking or drug experimentation, these services are generally not intensive enough to engender recovery for long-standing addictions.
• Halfway Houses or Sober Living Homes
  Even when inpatient rehabilitation for drug and alcohol addiction has been completed, graduates sometimes feel the need to remain in a sober environment for a longer duration in order to firmly establish their sobriety. For these cases, sober living homes (also sometimes referred to as “halfway houses”) provide peer-run or counselor-supervised structured environments where sobriety is a requirement for tenancy. Many individuals can resume working while continuing their recovery during their stay at sober living homes.