If you are looking into alcohol treatment options, there are a number of possible forms of help.
Visit your GP
The first form of help is in the form of medication and will require a visit to your GP. You could be prescribed a medication that is designed to reduce craving – something like Acamprosate / Campral. This is meant to stabilise the brain’s signals when someone stops drinking alcohol – so they do not have the usual urge to drink.
For some people, though, this may not be sufficient and they may need to have something which actually makes them afraid to drink. Antabuse may help here as it makes the body acutely sensitive to alcohol. If someone takes this medication and then drinks alcohol, they can be violently ill in terms of vomiting, raised temperature, sweats and shakes. Other types of medication often prescribed to people with alcohol issues are benzodiazepines – such as Librium (Chlordiazepoxide), Oxazepam or Diazepam. These are often used in prescribed detoxes as they reduce withdrawal symptoms such as sweats and shakes.
Counselling & Talking Therapies
These medicines may help someone to stop drinking but they do not remove the reasons why these people were drinking in the first place and so they are therefore not likely to provide a long term solution. Counselling and talking therapy is likely to help here. Some people may have a person centred counsellor whom they see once a week. Others may attend a support group to discuss their issues. It is important to address the root causes of someone’s alcohol addiction otherwise long term recovery is unlikely.
The 12 Step Fellowship
Another very effective solution for people seeking alcohol treatment, is attending 12 Step Fellowship Groups as run by Alcoholics Anonymous. You may feel that there is a stigma in attending such groups but this is more likely to be in your mind. If you went along to your local group you are likely to be amazed at how well attended it is – and the types of people who attend from all walks of life. Many wealthy and successful people attend AA including professional people, stars of the stage and screen and from the music business. Similarly many ‘normal’ people attend too. At some meetings there may be a fairly low attendance of a dozen people or so. At others there may be 70+ people.
Rehab Clinics
Of course, one of the best known forms of alcohol treatment is provided by rehab clinics. They can combine all of the above. Usually including; medication to assist a detox, talking therapy in the form of one to one’s, group counselling, an introduction to AA, the 12 Step Treatment Programme, workshops and assignments to support ongoing recovery. Many alcohol treatment centres will also offer psychiatric support and aftercare after treatment has been completed. Depending on individual need, the treatment programme can be efficiently and effectively conducted in as little as 28 days.
Treatment Can Be Life Changing & Life Saving
Unfortunately, most rehab treatment has to be privately funded and is not cheap. You can expect to pay several thousand pounds for a full programme. However it can be both life changing as well as life saving.
If you want to find out more, please call The Haynes Clinic on 01462 851414. A Free Assessment is available if required.
