17 Sep What Happens at an Addiction Treatment Center After Detox
Addiction Notice: If you or someone you know needs help with substance use, contact SAMHSA at 1-800-662-4357 (free, confidential, 24/7) or visit findtreatment.gov. Do not stop using alcohol or other substances abruptly without medical supervision, as withdrawal can be life-threatening.
Detox gets most of the attention. It is the part families picture when they imagine treatment beginning, and it is the part that sounds like the hard thing to get through. The stretch that follows usually gets far less planning. NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) states the point without hedging: detoxification is not the same as treatment and is not sufficient on its own, and stopping there leaves the underlying substance use disorder untreated, increasing the risk of returning to substance use. So the sharper question to put to an addiction treatment center is not how well it handles withdrawal. It is what the program has arranged for the morning after withdrawal ends.
[caption id="attachment_76069" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Photo by Gustavo Fring[/caption]