There are thousands of addiction treatment centers across the country. Each one has its own unique way of approaching addiction. It is important that as you are looking at centers you take into consideration some of the best practices that have evolved over the decades of addiction treatment.

There are several elements that comprise addiction treatment. The first is detox. Before an addict (alcoholic or drug abuser) can be treated for addiction, the patient must go through alcohol detox or drug detox. Why? While the body is in the grips of addiction, rational thought and behavior are not possible. Alcohol and drugs distort a person’s brain function, bodily function, emotional function, and intellectual function. In a phrase, addiction impacts the brain, the body, and the mind.

A medically based detox, which is considered a best practice, can ease the difficult, uncomfortable, physical and psychological experience of detox. Not only will it ease the discomfort of alcohol or drug detox, it can ensure that the process is safe as it can be dangerous to simply quit alcohol or drugs cold turkey.

It is important to understand a treatment center’s approach to detox and to their philosophy of utilization of medicines during this period. Best practices demonstrate that prescribing drugs to help a patient move through detox is fine, though there is debate about keeping a person on a drug after the detox process has been completed. A quality drug rehab program will not just substitute one addiction for another. Medication will be used to ease the detox process and the patient will be weaned off all medication, except those for mental health disorders.

Following detox, a formal addiction treatment program is needed to address the underlying reasons for the development of the addiction. This process includes addiction education, group therapy, individual therapy, individualized treatment programs, regular evaluations, multidisciplinary teams, life skills training, nutrition and exercise education, relapse prevention, individualized aftercare plans, and dual diagnosis treatment when needed.

Providing all of these elements requires trained medical and therapeutic staff. Check to see whether the treatment center you are considering has addiction certified physicians or Master’s level therapists, psychiatric nurses and clinicians. Despite the growing number of people who suffer from a mental health disorder and substance abuse, many treatment programs cannot handle the needs of the dually diagnosed. Best practices are based upon decades of research. Today’s researchers understand far more about addiction and brain function than thirty years ago.

It is beneficial to anyone seeking treatment to ask questions related to the elements of treatment programs. Breaking through addictive behavior and thinking takes skill and education. If given the proper tools based upon best practices, addiction treatment works.

This article was contributed by Lakeview Health Systems, a nationally recognized treatment center located in Jacksonville, Florida.

Alcoholism takes many forms. One of the primary signals that one is an alcoholic is frequent “binge” drinking. The National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol has adopted the definition of binge drinking to be: a pattern of drinking alcohol that brings blood alcohol concentration up to 0.08 gram percent or above. This typically equates to consuming 5 or more drinks (for the average male) or 4 or more drinks (for the average female) within a 2 hour time span.

Of course not everyone who binge drinks is an alcoholic, but as the frequency of binge drinking increases, the likelihood of slipping into alcoholism also rises.

Though treating someone who is on the road to alcoholism with a hard-stop treatment center is certainly an option, there is a growing recognition of chemicals and supplements that incorporate those chemicals which can help reduce ones appetite for alcohol and thus lower the desire to binge.

Daidzin is one such chemical compound. It is considered an isoflavone and is found in both the Japanese plant Kudzu as well as in soybean leaves. The compound has antidipsotropic effects which means that it suppresses ethanol intake (the desire to drink alcohol). It has been used as a traditional Chinese herbal remedy for treating alcoholism.

Daidzin comes in a number of forms, including as an herbal extract of the Kudzu plant and more recently in a product known as Sobrexa.

In a study conducted by the Harvard Medical School, in which they gave a group of college students either a diadzin extract or a placebo and monitored their drinking over a two week period, they found that those taking the extract consumed significantly less alcohol even though they were exposed to the same opportunities. Dr. Scott Lukas stated, “The results were dramatic. Those who took the herbal extract drank significantly less than those on the placebo. They drank an average of one or two beers while the placebo group drank three or four.”

Though the diadzin extract, and its associated forms, is not a complete cure to help stop drinking alcohol all together, it appears that it does significantly reduce one’s desire to over-drink. If reducing the desire to binge drink can help one take control over their alcohol consumption, then looking into a diadzin treatment regiment may certainly be worthwhile.

The above article was contributed by The Last Call Program. The Last Call Program provides an at home alcohol treatment regimen that incorporates herbal supplements (including Sobrexa) as well as exercise programs and counseling. The Last Call Program was developed by Dr. Frank Gibson who ran the largest integrative clinic of its kind in the country.

Alcohol Treatment Solutions Available to Alcoholics Determined to Stay Sober

Like many other addictions – prescription drugs, overeating, shopping, hoarding, or gambling – you don’t realize you’re an alcoholic until you’ve already established the behavior in your daily life. The problem then is, once you’ve made drinking a habitual activity, how do you stop doing it?

Alcohol treatment solutions are available, and for many alcoholics, inpatient (also called primary) treatment at an alcohol treatment center may be the best option given their physical and mental addiction to drinking. The number of years an alcoholic has been addicted and dependent to alcohol will definitely play a role in the amount of time it takes to become free of the addictive properties of alcohol.

After primary treatment, many recovering alcoholics will attend support group meetings or individual or group counseling to help deal with the problems that used to be solved through drinking. Through sharing difficulties, life experiences, and weak emotional moments that would’ve caused an addict to drink heavily, recovering alcoholics find success in living a sober life through utilizing a variety of alcohol treatment solutions.

Through Seeking Help, Alcoholics Can Live a Healthy, Sober Life

Alcohol treatment solutions vary in how they help addicts detox and learn how to live a sober and healthy life. As such, it is important to research alcohol treatment solutions available to you in your area so that you or your loved ones can find the correct treatment options on an individualized basis.

Information on alcohol treatment solutions and treatment centers in your area is available at www.soberrecovery.com, which has for nearly a decade helped addicts and their families and loved ones deal, cope, forgive, and learn to live healthy, sober lives.