Drug treatment approaches and effectiveness

Drug Treatment:

According to the current trends in world markets, there is a stable overall level of drug abuse and use of illicit drugs. In addition to accounting for huge amounts of money annually, drug abuse contributes to drug addiction. As a result, treatment of drug addiction is regarded as one of the major ways to lessen costs associated with drug abuse. This has led to the development of several forms of treatment programs that are not only geared towards lessening drug use but also lessening the risk of infection with hepatitis and HIV (Gyarmathy & Latkin, 2008, p.1866). There are both formal and non-formal drug treatment programs that promote abstinence and help to deal with addiction.

The significance of drug treatment programs in dealing with illicit drug use is evident in the fact that the programs are used by drug treatment counselors. In most cases, drug treatment counselors recommend a treatment program for an addicted individual through consideration of several important factors. One of the major factors considered by drug treatment counselors when providing the recommendation is biological factors. As evident in literature review, there is a common notion that some individuals are born with an inherent pre-disposition for becoming addicted through exposure to psychoactive drugs. In order to determine biological contributions to addictive behaviors, drug treatment counselors examine drug hunger, withdrawal, and intoxication since these are evidences of drug-induced biologic homeostasis disparities (Hoffman et. al., n.d.).

Secondly, drug treatment counselors consider the intensity of drug use or substance abuse when suggesting a treatment program. This is a crucial factor in drug treatment because the more and longer concentration of drug use; the longer and more concentrated drug treatment that is required by the addicted individual (Smith & Segal, 2013). Actually, long-term treatment and follow-up is usually required to help in recovery from the drug addiction. As a result, a quality drug treatment program not only deals with the substance abuse but also deals with emotional pain and additional life problems associated with the addiction. In this case, the drug treatment counselors also consider the type of aftercare services provided by the program in order to prevent relapse.

Thirdly, drug treatment counselors consider the effectiveness of the program's treatment methods when recommending these programs to addicts. This is determined through evaluating the program's success rates, especially from an objective external agency. This process may also require consideration of the program's accreditation and licensing to determine whether its workers are properly trained mental health professionals and specialists. The success rate of a drug treatment program is crucial in determining its effectiveness in helping the addicted individual to recover.

The fourth factor considered by these professionals when recommending a treatment program is social factors since several environmental factors enhance the probability of exposure to particular drugs. In some cases, some drugs are more often used within some cultures while other drugs are easily found is some geographic areas. Social factors are also considered because drug use takes place in the context of social network for many people (Hoffman et. al., n.d.).

In addition to these factors, drug treatment counselors should consider the family of the addicted person. The need for consideration of the family is because it plays a crucial role in the treatment of any health issue such as substance abuse ("Chapter 1 Substance Abuse Treatment," n.d.). While family work is a strong and ongoing theme of several treatment approaches, family therapy is not fully used to its greatest potential in drug abuse treatment. Therefore, there is need to expand drug abuse treatment to not only focus on the individual but also the family.