Alcoholism is a disease of denial. Treatment is sometimes delayed for years as the alcohol abuser refuses to accept the reality of their affliction. Often, the alcohol-dependent person must suffer great losses and reach their life's lowest point before they admit they need help. Once a person admits they have a problem and becomes willing to seek help, numerous programs with a variety of therapeutic methods exist to come to their aid.
Detoxification Programs
An individual who has developed a physical dependence on alcohol will experience severe withdrawal symptoms, such as shaking and hallucinations, upon cessation of alcohol use. Hospitals and inpatient treatment centers can aid patients in coping with the physical side effects of alcohol withdrawal by providing sedatives that reduce the severity of these symptoms.
Inpatient Treatment
Detoxification is only the initial step on the long journey of recovery from alcoholism. Those who've become addicted to alcohol must develop self-awareness regarding the reasons they drank, and coping skills to ensure they will not return to their former, self-destructive patterns. Sometimes the best way to achieve this is through an inpatient stay in a hospital or addictions treatment facility.
The Mayo Clinic describes inpatient treatment programs that include multiple types of therapy in both group and individual settings. Inpatient treatment centers offer an extended period of intensive therapy. Psychologists and counselors work with the patient to determine which types of cognitive therapies would most appropriately fit their specific mental and psychological needs. Patients spend their waking hours learning about recovery from alcoholism and their nights sleeping in a protected environment where they have no access to alcohol. Learning about alcoholism and recovery in an inpatient environment introduces the patient to the tools that will help him cope with the challenges of the outside world.
Outpatient Therapies
An addictions counselor can help individuals with alcoholism develop and adhere to a treatment program in an outpatient setting. The counselor and client work together to make realistic treatment goals and modify alcoholic behavior while the client remains free to sleep at home and continue their employment without interruption. The counselor can also refer clients to other available resources, such as support groups, and provide educational materials that offer deeper insight into alcoholism and recovery.
Couples and families impacted by alcoholism can also seek counseling, which can benefit both to the alcohol-dependent person and those whose lives have been affected by their disease. Family counseling may play a crucial part in repairing the harmful effects of alcoholism in the home environment.
Therapeutic Communities
Individuals with alcoholism often need assistance to relearn the normal social practices that they've discarded in the havoc of their disease. Therapeutic communities, or TCs, offer a supportive residential environment for easing back into society, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
TCs are drug-free facilities shared by people in recovery from alcohol and drug dependence. They differ from inpatient programs in that the residents can hold jobs and leave the facility to engage with the outside world. These communities are supervised by addiction professionals. By interacting with the group and easing their transition back to a stable and sane lifestyle, residents relearn the social and behavioral skills that can help them cope with life without drugs or alcohol.
Support Groups
Twelve-step groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous, or AA, have provided alcohol abusers with a safe and supportive environment for recovery since the 1930s. In AA, alcohol dependent people find peers who have experienced the same suffering and losses and discovered hope and relief through fellowship with recovering alcoholics. AA meetings can take the form of discussion groups or feature a speaker who shares their story of recovery. AA members pair up with a mentor figure called a sponsor who has years of sobriety and experience to share. Membership in AA is free, and meetings are held in nearly every city and town in the United States.
