The Various Approaches To Addiction Treatment

Posted by: KHTS Articles in News Articles December 10, 2020 - 11:20 am 0 234 Views

Introduction

There are many different dimensions and factors that can affect an addiction. The causes range from psychological to biological to social to spiritual, and can even traverse categories. All in all, addiction is an incredibly complex area to understand, what more treat! Thankfully, over the years the developments in medical and social science research have given us a much better understanding of how addiction forms. Accurately diagnosing and identifying the causes for one’s addiction is crucial to developing an effective treatment program for an individual. In this article, we will cover the main approaches to addiction treatment — natural, biological, psychological, and social.

Natural Addiction Recovery: No Treatment

A natural addiction recovery is an approach that suggests an individual can recover from an addiction by his or herself without treatment or support groups. This approach says that people will recognize the toll addiction has on them, by seeing how the costs outweigh the benefits and take steps to correct this. A successful natural recovery process is rare and an individual must possess a great degree of self-control and awareness to achieve this. Studies of successful natural recoveries reveal a certain pattern in their recovery processes and crucial elements that need to be present for a natural recovery.

1. Humility

Humility is the foundation of addiction recovery. It requires a great deal of humility to admit and accept that you have a problem. For some people, this might mean they go and seek professional help. But for others, they might have a great deal of drive and to heal themselves. Whichever path they take, they all start from a place of humility and honesty. To recover, you must be humble enough to realize there is something wrong and you need to correct it. Big egos or pride will do no favors in approaching addiction treatment.

2. Motivation

An individual must be motivated to change. People who recovered naturally saw that changing would bring benefits that are much greater than the costs incurred by their addiction. This realization was enough to spark a change in them. These people were able to identify and evaluate the costs and benefits of their addiction and make a valued judgment. This is not easy for many people and is where treatment is usually needed. But some people with a high level of self-awareness and critical thinking can indeed succeed.

3. Sustained effort

Sustained effort is absolutely necessary for natural recovery. Relapses and triggers can be highly tempting during the initial withdrawal stage. You may not succeed from the first try, but people who naturally recovered were able to push past the discomfort and persevere in making a sustained change.

4. A restoration of meaning and purpose in their lives

During the course of recovery, you will likely undergo periods of existential crises and contemplation as you realize how much of your life has been taken up by your addiction. It will be very helpful to restore some sense of meaning and purpose in your life to fill the void left by the addiction. Recognizing the joys in your life will be very beneficial for this step. Some people devote themselves to a cause or take meaningful steps to improve their family life.

Biological Recovery Approach

A biological recovery approach will involve correcting the addiction through biological means. This usually also requires the individual’s addiction to be biological-based for the treatment to work. It is the most congruent with a traditional medical approach to curing diseases by following this logic: something has been broken by a cause and we can repair the broken thing to its original state. In a biological model of addiction, the brain is damaged, hence causing addiction. This might be a result of the brain chemistry wiring an addictive substance to be seen as rewarding. Medicine will hence be used to correct the faulty chemical makeup. The goal of medicine is to repair the damage done to the brain from overstimulation by addictive substances and help the brain move towards healthy, normal functioning. The drugs or substances will be less compelling for the brain. The following are the ways in which the medication rewires the brain chemistry against addiction and examples of such medication:

Make the drug less rewarding by inducing a person to be sick through substance use (this is the case of Antabuse)
Block the drug’s pleasant effect so the addicted individual will no longer feel the pleasure of it (eg. naltrexone)
Act as a substitute for the original substance but with lower levels of pleasure (eg. methadone)
Restore the normal, healthy neurophysiological functions. The addictive substance will no longer be a self-medication form.
Prevent the cravings that can cause a relapse in substance activity

Psychological Recovery Approach

A psychological approach to recovery seeks to make a person more motivated to change their behavior. A psychological approach will involve restructuring the way an individual makes meaning in their individual world and the world around them. One of the ways addiction is considered is through the Stages of Change model. Change is not a sudden event, instead, it is a process that gradually unfolds. As the change unfolds, a person’s motivation also changes. The Stages of Change seeks to describe the different stages which a person will undergo during a process of change.

1. Pre-contemplation stage

At this stage, the addicted individual might be aware of the toll their addiction has on them. However, they still see the benefits of the addictive substance as higher than the costs. The key traits of someone in this stage are a lack of interest or a plan to change.

2. Contemplation stage

In the contemplation stage, people are aware that their addictive behavior is a problem. However, they might not be sure if it is worth it to change their behavior. Key traits of this stage are an individual being open to the possibility of change and wanting to change but not having the confidence or level of commitment to do so.

3. Preparation stage

People at this stage have accepted it is up to them to change their behavior. They make active evaluations of what methods would be the most effective to change their behavior. Key traits of this stage are the development of a plan to make a change, committing to change, and having the intention to change more frequently. These people are anticipating the change will bring benefits.

4. Action stage

People will make self-directed efforts at changing their behavior. At the same time, they are gaining new skills and perspectives. They are conscientiously choosing new behaviors over the addictive ones and overcoming addictive tendencies. There is momentum being built up here. They have also probably enrolled in some type of rehabilitation to avoid substance abuse.

5. Maintenance stage

The maintenance stage involves having the ability to sustain their new behavior without too much effort or pushback. It involves having developed new behavioral patterns and a sense of self-control. Individuals are aware of potential high-risk situations and focus on preventing relapse.

6. Termination stage

The final stage of change is when people have adopted a new image of themselves that is coherent with their goal behavior. They will not succumb to temptation at this point anymore. A relapse would be unfathomable.

Conclusion

There are many ways of thinking about addiction and approaches to treating it. These are the most common approaches that are used today. The most important thing is to correctly identify the causes of addiction so the right approach can be used.