The 4 phases of alcoholism treatment

These are the stages that characterize the treatment offered to people addicted to alcohol.

Alcoholism is one of the most common addictive disorders, and is currently a real public health problem in most countries, resulting in the death of more than 3 million people each year worldwide.

As in any disorder based on addictive behavior, alcoholism has a destructive effect on the person who suffers from it and also on his or her closest social, work and family environment. In addition, this disease causes significant physical and emotional health problems that lead the person to a vicious circle of consumption and discomfort.

The health professionals that specialize in addictive disorders with drugs offer a global and integral treatment for cases of alcoholism that is based on 4 well differentiated phaseswhich are essential for the final success of the process.

What are the stages of alcohol addiction treatment?

Here we will explain in a summarized way the characteristics and functions of the 4 phases of the treatment of the addiction to the alcohol.

Detoxification

The first phase in the treatment of alcoholism is detoxification, which is carried out by a team of health professionals usually headed by a specialized psychiatrist, who often collaborates with a psychologist or an expert addiction therapist.

The detoxification phase consists of an assessment of the patient's condition, the establishment of a diagnosis and the implementation of a treatment. focused on supporting the person while his or her body eliminates the drugand adapted to the needs and situation of the person with alcohol addiction disorder.

During the detoxification phase, an exhaustive analysis of the patient's lifestyle is carried out, and an intervention plan divided into several therapeutic sessions is proposed in order to know in depth the seriousness of the case and to apply strategies adapted to the person and his/her needs. These sessions can be individual with the person or group sessions with other addicts or with the patient's family members.

2. Detox

If in the detoxification phase the focus was on the biomedical aspects of the disorder, in the detoxification phase the behavioral component gains prominence.

The aim of the withdrawal phase is for the person to eliminate the habit of alcohol consumption from his or her life, to voluntarily accept the new alcohol-free situation both physically and psychologically, and to learn to live without depending on the drug.

In this various psychological techniques and therapies are put into practice, as well as a pharmacological intervention (if necessary). (if necessary), with the aim of involving the person to achieve well-being and quality of life prior to their addiction, without resorting to alcohol.

This phase is also directed by a health professional and involves working on elements such as acceptance of the problem, motivation or willpower, social skills, and training in positive thinking and resolution modalities aimed at overcoming the disorder through the search for new incentives and motivating activities associated with a healthy lifestyle.

Dishabituation usually lasts a little more than a year and ends when the person is satisfied with his or her abstinence situation.If this is not achieved, compulsory abstinence is imposed for as long as necessary.

3. Rehabilitation

In the rehabilitation phase there is a reduction of the person's anxiety, as well as of his impulse to drink, and an improvement in their social skills and interpersonal relationships is observed..

The objective of this phase is that the person incorporates healthy social behavior patterns away from alcohol consumption, as well as a radical change in the way of relating and managing friendships and the social environment that favored the maintenance of the addiction.

In addition to that, in phase 3 also **learning new skills useful for the person's life **and putting into practice all those activities that he/she could not do or stopped doing because of his/her addiction.

4. Reinsertion

The last phase is that of reintegration; this is one of the most important of the whole process, since it is the one that provides the keys to avoid relapses in alcohol consumption.. It is based on providing support in difficult day-to-day situations, reinforcing the presence of the techniques learned in the previous phases through reminders, motivational sessions and resolution of doubts, and early detection of thoughts and feelings that may precede a relapse.

This phase is also supervised by the various mental health professionals who have participated jointly throughout the process and in this phase some of the most necessary elements are worked on again in order to maintain total reintegration into the person's life.

The most important areas that are worked on in this last phase are the person's self-knowledge and the strengthening of concepts related to the risks of relapse and which are the healthy behaviors that should continue to be carried out on a daily basis.