Alcohol addiction treatment Pennsylvania

What Alcohol Addiction Treatment Involves

Alcohol addiction treatment combines counseling and medication in order to help you achieve sobriety, avoid relapse, and live a healthy, productive life. The exact nature of the treatment will depend on your individual situation. To determine what alcohol addiction treatment should involve for you, you'll first have to be evaluated by an addiction professional who can then develop a tailored plan.

Here are some of the most common forms of treatment for alcohol use disorder:

• Behavioral therapy: This includes counseling and psychotherapy and is often used along with other forms of treatment.
• Levels of care: Alcohol addiction treatment is available at different levels of care to address each person's unique needs.
• Support groups: Support groups like AA can help you stay on track after completing a formal alcohol addiction treatment program. They provide peer support as well as guidance and accountability.

Behavioral Treatments for Alcohol Use Disorder

Counseling for alcohol use disorder teaches skills and changes attitudes that help people avoid situations where they might be tempted to drink. Counseling can also change the way a person thinks about drinking.

Some counseling is based on group meetings. Members of these meetings talk about what led them to drink too much and what life was like when they were drunk, and then talk about ways to stop or limit their drinking.

The goal of individual counseling for alcohol use disorder is to help you reduce or stop your drinking. Some types of counseling include

• cognitive-behavioral therapy
• motivational enhancement therapy
• marital and family counseling
• brief interventions
• contingency management approaches
• 12-step facilitation therapy

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most common forms of behavioral treatment for alcohol use disorder. It focuses on changing how you think about drinking and helping you cope with things that cause you to drink.

CBT usually includes several individual sessions over a period of weeks or months. A therapist can help you to:

• identify specific situations where you are more likely to drink
• think about what triggers your desire to drink
• learn skills for resisting those cravings
• set realistic goals for reducing your drinking

During motivational enhancement therapy sessions, you meet with a counselor who works with you to identify your reasons for wanting to change and set goals. The goal is to motivate you to change your alcohol use behaviors on your own. This type of counseling can be done in one-on-one sessions or in small groups.

Behavioral treatments can be effective for many people with alcohol use disorders. In the short term, these treatments help you recognize what causes your alcohol use, as well as how to avoid those situations in the future. They also give you tools so that you can cope with cravings and other challenges. Over time, these skills can become a part of your daily life.

Medications Approved for Alcohol Use Disorder

Three medications are approved in the United States for use in treating alcohol use disorder (AUD):

• Disulfiram (Antabuse), which causes unpleasant effects when taken with alcohol
• Naltrexone (Revia and Vivitrol), an opioid antagonist that reduces cravings for alcohol by blocking opioid receptors in the brain, helping to diminish cravings and desires to drink alcohol. Naltrexone is available in pill form as Revia and in a monthly injectable form as Vivitrol.
• Acamprosate (Campral) blocks some of the negative effects of alcohol withdrawal

These medicines can help you cut back on drinking or quit drinking altogether, but they are not a cure. They won't make you feel better if you drink too much, get drunk, or have a hangover. The medicines can cause side effects in some people.

Disulfiram is a pill that inhibits an enzyme in your liver. The buildup of acetaldehyde (the chemical directly after alcohol) causes nausea and flushing (redness of the face). The side effects are unpleasant and may make you feel as though it is difficult to continue drinking.

Naltrexone is a pill that works on brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. It reduces your craving for alcohol by blocking the effect of endorphins, which are naturally produced in the brain and can increase feelings of pleasure with alcohol.

Acamprosate (Campral) is a medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat alcohol use disorder in adults. Acamprosate works on multiple brain systems to reduce cravings for alcohol, especially just after you have stopped drinking. It may also help lessen some of the physical symptoms that can occur when you stop drinking such as headaches, anxiety, insomnia, or irritability.

Levels of Care for Alcohol Treatment

In Pennsylvania, Level 1 outpatient provides less than nine hours of regularly scheduled sessions per week. Services may include counseling or medication management, or both.

Individuals who do not need medically-supervised withdrawal may be appropriate for this level.

Level 2.1 Intensive Outpatient

At the Pennsylvania Level 2.1 intensive outpatient level of care, individuals receive nine to nineteen hours per week of structured programming. This may include counseling and medication management, as well as education about addiction treatment and recovery skills.

Individuals who need more structure than offered by a traditional office-based outpatient program are candidates for this level.

Level 2.5 Partial Hospitalization

At the Pennsylvania Level 2.5 partial hospitalization level of care, individuals receive twenty or more hours per week.

Outpatient treatment lets people remain at home, while still receiving structured care from a healthcare provider. This might be an ideal solution when there are few symptoms and the person has strong motivation to recover.

The most common levels include:

• Outpatient treatment
• Intensive outpatient (IOP)
• Partial hospitalization program (PHP)
• Residential treatment center
• Inpatient hospital-based care

Each level has advantages and disadvantages. It's not always easy to figure out which type of alcohol addiction treatment is right for someone.

Mutual-Support Groups

Mutual-support groups add peer support alongside professional advice and care. They can be a useful complement to other forms of help for AUDs. These groups are usually free to attend.

Examples include:

• Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). AA is the best-known mutual-support group, and it's one of the oldest.
• Smart Recovery. SMART stands for Self-Management And Recovery Training. SMART focuses more on education and skills training than AA does. They do not have any religious ties.
• Moderation Management (MM). MM's main goal is to teach people how they can learn to drink in moderation. If you can't do that, then the group teaches members how to stop drinking entirely.
• Women for Sobriety (WFS). WFS offers a special program designed just for women with AUD. The group focuses on building self-esteem and finding meaning in your life.

Mutual-support groups have some similarities to support groups that deal with other health conditions, such as cancer or diabetes. However, mutual-support groups are more than just education and encouragement.

The best way to understand the differences between mutual-support groups is to try them out. It might take a few tries to find one that works for you.

Many people find that mutual-support groups complement the treatment they receive from professionals.

Treating Alcohol Use Disorder With Mental Health Conditions

Alcohol use disorder often co-occurs with depression and anxiety disorders. When alcohol abuse or dependence occurs with major depression, the symptoms of both conditions tend to worsen over time.

When someone suffers from both AUD and depression, they may find that their drinking helps mask feelings of sadness and hopelessness. Alcohol use can become a way for them to escape their feelings. However, as they drink more and more alcohol, they experience worsening depressive symptoms. Eventually, this cycle of using alcohol to cope with negative emotions leads to an addiction.

People who suffer from AUD and anxiety disorders may also find themselves drinking to cope with their symptoms. Alcohol is often used to calm nerves or reduce tension before stressful events such as public speaking or job interviews. However, like depression, excessive alcohol consumption can actually worsen the severity of anxiety symptoms over time.

For these reasons, it is important for anyone seeking treatment for AUD to also receive appropriate care for their co-occurring mental health disorder(s).

Choosing Quality Alcohol Treatment

When choosing alcohol treatment, look for programs that offer:

• A variety of approaches and therapies
• Individualized plans that assess your needs and preferences
• Access to medication
• Mental health services as needed
• Relapse prevention planning
• Support groups

You may want to ask questions about the staff, including how long they have been providing treatment, their training and qualifications, what type of experience they have working with people with substance use problems, and whether there are any professional certifications or licenses. It is a good sign if an organization has a multidisciplinary approach involving multiple professionals, such as therapists, physicians, psychiatrists, nurses, counselors, and addiction specialists.

Questions to ask an alcohol treatment program include:

• Does this facility offer a customized treatment plan for me?
• How does the program work?
• What are my options for payment?
• Can I get financial help or other assistance?
• How do I know what type of program is best for me?
• Are staff members certified, licensed, and/or experienced in addiction treatment?
• Is there support after treatment ends?

Paying for Alcohol Treatment in Pennsylvania

Your county Single County Authority can help with your payment issues if you are unable to afford alcohol addiction treatment. You may be able to receive help from a Medicaid program or other state and local services if you qualify. If you have private insurance, check with your insurer to see what is covered.

If you need help paying for substance abuse treatment in Pennsylvania, there are several options available to you. The first step is to determine if you qualify for Medicaid or Medical Assistance. If so, you may be able to receive coverage for your treatment through that program.

You can apply for Pennsylvania's Medical Assistance program (also known as Medicaid) through COMPASS. Once you're enrolled in the program, you can get a wide range of mental health and addiction treatment services covered by the program.

Plans sold on the exchange must cover mental health and substance use disorder benefits equally to medical benefits and are required to meet parity laws.

While there are a variety of ways to pay for alcohol addiction treatment in Pennsylvania, Medicaid is an important option. Through this program, low-income Pennsylvanians can receive coverage for substance use disorder services and other health care needs.

Relapse and Long-Term Recovery From Alcohol

A return to drinking after treatment is common for many, but it does not signal a loss of all sobriety gains. People who return to drinking can take an inventory of what might have caused them to slip up, then discuss this with their treatment provider or counselor. This person will help the recovering alcoholic develop strategies to prevent and cope with these triggers in the future.

Relapse prevention therapy focuses on identifying and preventing those situations where one is at the greatest risk for returning to drinking. It is often done through regular meetings with a therapist who can give specific guidance, but also involves working with a counselor to address and plan for relapses and other potential problems.

Alcohol use disorders are chronic conditions that must be managed throughout life. Relapses occur at any stage of recovery. Many people with alcohol use disorders have more than one episode of relapse before they achieve long-term abstinence.

Relapse is usually a result of an event, not a lack of willpower. Events that can trigger drinking include emotional, social, physical, and family problems. The following are some examples of events associated with relapses:

• Family stress caused by marital or relationship difficulties, arguments over money, having a child who has begun using alcohol or other drugs, or being confronted about your own use
• Stress at work, including an impending layoff or promotion
• Social pressure to drink on a job site or from family and friends
• Physical problems like a hangover, illness, insomnia, pain, depression, or anxiety
• A celebration such as a birthday or graduation

Relapse prevention strategies include:

• Recognizing early warning signs of relapse
• Avoiding high-risk situations, people, and places where drinking occurs
• Changing the urge to drink by engaging in another activity
• Talking about feelings with another person such as your counselor, sponsor, or support group leader
• Avoiding being isolated from others
• Learning how to refuse alcohol when offered (saying no)

Alcohol addiction treatment by Pennsylvania city

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