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Alcohol treatment programs

An alcohol treatment program usually refers to a period of rehabilitation (or rehab) for people suffering the effects of alcohol misuse. In the UK, alcohol rehab programs usually refer to psychological treatment which teaches the patient new methods of interacting with others without the use of alcohol. These rehab programs may either be residential, part residential or rely on a series of meetings or counselling sessions.

There are various types of alcohol treatment program - twelve step alcohol treatment programs, therapeutic community alcohol treatments, religious based alcohol treatment programs, and medical model alcohol treatments. The commonest form of alcohol treatment program in the UK is the twelve step program.

Alcohol treatment programs come in various forms which are usually broken down into biological alcohol treatment, psychological alcohol treatment and social alcohol treatment. A comprehensive treatment program will include elements from all the forms of alcohol treatment.

All alcohol treatment programs tend to share a number of key features. Residents in the residential centres must be drug and alcohol free (apart from tobacco); alcohol treatments provide a structured program of psychological, educational and social therapy, which aims at preparing the alcohol misuser to manage better an alcohol free life back in society; alcohol treatment program lengths vary between 1 and 9 months. Many alcohol treatment programs will include alcohol detoxification in-house when this is necessary, in advance of commencement of the alcohol treatment program.

Duration of alcohol treatment programs

Also in the NTORS study it was found that compared to early leavers from rehab treatment programs, those retained at least 28 days in short rehab programs, and 90 days in longer rehab programs were four times less likely to relapse than others. The issue of retention in alcohol rehab treatment is central to effectiveness, and can be seen as a function of how the alcohol treatment service relates to its clients, rather than the reverse. Alcohol rehab treatment programs which actively engage with clients, provide supportive environments and well structured programs, which are clear about their policies and their therapies, and which tailor their activities (or at least allow residents to do so) to individual needs produce better outcomes.

Residential alcohol treatment programs versus community (home) treatment programs

As for in-patient detoxification, residential alcohol treatment programs appear to present a higher probability of successful outcome than does community based alcohol treatment. A 1996 follow-up study, conducted as part of the National Treatment Outcome Research Study (NTORS) indicated the following (Gossop M et al, 1999): When compared to the community services in the NTORS project, residential treatment programs achieved comparable outcomes, but were treating clients with more severe patterns of addiction, thus indicating greater effectiveness of residential as compared to community treatment.

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