Drug Rehabilitation Treatment

Don’t addicts/alcoholics have to want to be treated?

The short answer is no they can still be helped by treatment even
if they don’t initially want treatment.

I facilitate a spirituality group discussion each week which tries
to help break the cycle of addiction.

The reasons for clients being in that session range from
court-ordered addiction treatment to self-initiated participation in
the treatment program. Therefore, each week there are varying levels
of buy-in when it comes to treatment.

Regardless of the person’s individual attitudes the
treatment can still help them even if they don’t really want to be
treated.

When there is pressure to receive treatment, addicts/alcoholics
can successfully receive help.

Addiction recovery is a process.

Addiction recovery is a process to break the cycle. Certainly it
helps when an addict knows he/she had a problem and wants the
treatment, and many of the people I have encountered are in that
category. But it’s interesting to see how many are not. In our
discussions, we offer a 1 to 5 scale of each person’s buy-in. That
is, are they fighting the treatment, or are they surrendering to the
treatment process.

– 1. The first point on the scale, is someone who is “total
rebellion.” They are there because somebody said they had to be
there.

– 2. The second position on the scale is “somewhat
compliant,” meaning they will offer a degree of cooperation,
but they are not thrilled with it.

– 3. The middle mark is “compliant,” and that simply
means they will cooperate.

– 4. The fourth point on the scale is “moving closer,”
which means that the person is not only cooperating, but they are
starting to internalize the program and they want more.

– 5. The final stage is “total surrender” and at that
point the person is not only wanting the treatment, but claiming
everything for themselves. This is total buy-in. They not only
comprehend what the program is offering, but they are apprehending
every morsel.

No matter where somebody is on that scale, treatment can be
effective. They can learn to break their addiction cycle. Slowly over
time they move from 1 – Total Rebellion to 5 – Total Surrender.
The question is how bad does their life have to become before they
learn how to break their cycle of addiction?

Motivational Interviewing

Another treatment option for addiction recovery uses a technique
called Motivational Interviewing(MI). MI focuses on supporting addict
where ever they’re at and ENCOURAGING them to change, on their terms,
not based on anyone else. Through research they have established the
Stages of Change that most of us go through as we try to change a
destructive pattern in our life:

Stage 1: Precontemplative

We drink or use, we like it and we
have no interest in changing. Something may be telling us we should
change but we are still unwilling to consider changing. We can stay
in this phase for years or fall back to it if we relapse.

Stage 2: Contemplative

We’re considering change and deciding
the pros and cons of changing. We’ll usually start to discuss
changing, and if encouraged, may begin to move to the next step.

Stage 3: Planning

We’ve decided we want to change and
begin to plan what the change will look like and what steps we need
to take to make the change happen. This can take a few months because
it involves turning our life, as we know it, upside down. We need to
begin a new life, which doesn’t include or focus on using.

Stage 4: Action

We begin to implement our plan from
the previous stage. We stop using and change where we go, what we do,
and who we spend time with, to avoid relapse. We often are attending
meetings and actively working through the 12 steps. This stage of
action can last up to a year.

Stage 5: Maintenance/Relapse

This is where the rubber meets the
road. We’ve been clean for a year or so, but we still want to use and
need to continue to focus on not using. Some of us will become a
sponsor at the 12 step meetings and help others get to where we’re at
now. While others may relapse and have to start back at the
beginning. The phase lasts for many years.

Understanding what motivates us to
change and how we change can help us to make the right choices. It
also allows us to be supportive as we and our loved ones change.