In recent years, the drug and alcohol addiction treatment community has collectively come to realize prior traditional addiction treatment methods weren’t working. The realization likely came from the reality that relapse rates had been hovering around the 70% mark for decades. That kind of number is unacceptable, something that surely played a role in prompting addiction therapists to find better methods for treating addiction sufferers.
That’s not to say that traditional treatment methods have been abandoned altogether. They are still being practiced by leading therapists all over the US. What’s different in the addiction treatment community is the use of other treatment methods as either alternative to traditional methods or to enhance the effectiveness of traditional treatment methods.
The two most prominent additions to the list of viable treatment methodologies for drug and alcohol addiction sufferers has been evidence-based therapies and the use of holistic programs.
Evidence-based therapies include options like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. Using these options, therapists will attempt to connect clients to the client’s thoughts or feelings that might be driving the client’s need to self-medicate away their trouble. By making clients aware of their negative thoughts or feelings, it gives clients the opportunity to make a conscious effort to turn the negatives into positives, which would hopefully put an end to the client’s addictive behaviors.
As a more interesting addition to the list of newer treatment options, holistic treatment options are rising in popularity and effectiveness. That includes the use of holistic methods for drug and alcohol detox programs. Given the importance of what is taking place, it seems like a good idea to discuss the differences between holistic detox programs and traditional detox programs.
How Are Holistic Alcohol Detox Programs Different from Traditional Ones?
The goal of any good detox program is to help clients go through withdrawal from drugs or alcohol as safely and pain-free as possible. This is a really important part of addiction treatment because there’s little chance a client will be able to get through therapy if they face complications from withdrawal.
The best way to point out the differences between holistic detox programs and traditional detox programs is to simply describe what takes place under each option. That permits you, the reader, to see for yourself exactly how these options differ.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of holistic is: “relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts. // holistic medicine attempts to treat both the mind and the body.”
At this point, the stage has been set to compare these two detox program options.
Holistic Detox Program
In a holistic treatment environment of any kind, the facilitators will attempt to offer the treatment without medicinal intervention. That’s certainly true in an addiction treatment setting. In a holistic detox program, the hope is the client with being able to detox without having to take relief medications. What the client will experience is a focus on their physical, mental and spiritual health.
The holistic detox process uses exercise and nutrition as ways to start repairing the client’s body from the harm it has undergone due to drugs or alcohol. Medication is avoided unless absolutely necessary. While the body is mending, the client is taught how to use holistic options like meditation and yoga relaxation exercises to start mending their spirituality. In the meanwhile, counseling is provided to start healing mental and emotional issues.
The entire process is like tuning a piano. Methods are used to treat the parts so they can come together to be a better whole.
Traditional Detox Programs
Traditional detox programs are primarily concerned with the client’s physical health. In a medically monitored detox program, the client’s detox process will be monitored by medical staffers. There’s still hope the client will through withdrawal without needing medication. However, the medical staff will be standing by to offer medication should the client start to show signs of suffering. There will likely be attempts to teach clients about the importance of exercise and nutrition, but not much effort is made to address a client’s spirituality or mental state.
If you are a longtime drug user and addiction sufferer, you’ll likely need to start treatment with an assignment to a detox program. We can offer you one of the two options described above. Call us now at 844-903-2111. After we receive your call, we will start working with you to make sure you understand everything you need to know about our facility and treatment options.
