Drug and Alcohol Detox - Drug Treatment Centers
When drug and alcohol abuse behavior has escalated to the point where professional intervention is required, the issue of "detoxification" becomes central. It should be the first step in the treatment experience especially when the pattern of abuse is unclear and complicated. In those instances where there has been prolonged use of any single substance or "poly substance abuse", a comprehensive medical examination is mandatory, and should be accompanied by the use of validated and reliable interview protocols involving the teen as well as the parents.
Thus the drug and alcohol detoxification process varies in complexity and comprehensiveness depending upon the substances involved the length and degree of the abuser's experience, and the availability of treatment resources in the community.
For those with relatively simple substance abuse involvement, a physical examination and basic urine and serological studies are usually performed in order to achieve a "medically clear status". This is deemed necessary so as to not inadvertently overlook masked medical conditions that might prove injurious or even fatal to the patient.Once the "medically" clear" status is achieved, teens with minimally complicated abuse histories may be followed on an outpatient basis and continuously monitored for relapse. Relapse potential is assessed from the teen's previous psychosocial and substance abuse history and the usual measure taken to determine compliance with treatment is the random urine analysis.
In those cases where drug and/or alcohol involvement has been heavy, involved several s ubstances and prolonged, a period of medically supervised withdrawal may be necessary .Because the effects of many of the abusable substances on the body and brain are so extensive it is frequently necessary to obtain the best possible markers of toxicity and to initiate medical treatments aimed at some of the more dangerous withdrawal effects. The necessity for medical monitoring and supervision will often require that the detoxification process take place in a hospital setting. In these settings there is the availability of appropriate medical specialty consultations in such areas as psychiatry, ngbrology and internal medicine. Also available are diagnostic services such as brain scans, electroencephalograms, electrocardiograms, x-rays, blood and other serological studies and ngbropsychological evaluations.
Determining the extent of any damages done to the teen's physical well being is the purpose of traditional medical detoxification. Once this assessment has been made and appropriate medical measures taken to treat existing conditions, a period of intensive "emotional" detoxification is undertaken. The core of this work is based upon achieving a state of complete abstinence from the offending substances. This is sought through intensive participation in counseling and substance abuse education meetings, group therapy and perhaps initiation into such recovery programs as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.
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