More treatment equals better outcomes

In one of those not-so-rare "we really had to research this?" moments, treatment programs around the country are claiming that the standard thirty days is not enough. From Join Together:

Lengthier treatment stays for addiction have better rates of success, research shows, and some traditional 28-day programs have extended their programs to up to 90 days, the Los Angeles Times reported Nov.10.

For example

  • A 1999 study published in Archives of General Psychiatry found that 35 percent of cocaine users who were in treatment for 90 days or less said they used drugs the following year, compared with 17 percent of those who were in treatment for 90 days or longer.
  • Similarly, a UCLA study on adolescents found that those in treatment for 90 days or more had significantly lower relapse rates than teens in 21-day programs.

"The more you have a treatment that can help you become continuously abstinent, the better you do," said Lisa Onken, chief of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) behavioral and integrative treatment branch. "You still have to figure out ways not to use," Onken added. "The longer you are able to do that, the more you are developing skills to help you stay abstinent."

Bennett Fletcher, a senior research psychologist at NIDA, said that the first month of treatment is now viewed as a preliminary step consisting of learning to cope with withdrawal symptoms while establishing a relationship with a therapist. This theory is supported by brain scans of recovering addicts which show that changes are still occurring three months or more after treatment.

People who are dependent on drugs and alcohol are typically using for years before getting treatment. That is a long time to build attitudes, behaviors, and patterns. It stands to reason that the longer a person has to be dedicated to their recovery, the better they will do.

The same lesson can be applied to children of those who are drug and alcohol dependent. The challenges, the damage done growing up in an alcoholic home can't be undone in a day or a week or probably even a year. It takes a long-term commitment to exploring both the impacts as well as ways to heal.

It is not a question of time healing the wounds, but of time + a treatment and healing approach that works + doing the work and having the dedication to keep at it.

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