Alcohol Recovery Facts

Recovery from alcohol addiction is a long-term process that cannot be completed in isolation. While recovery programs vary according to program guidelines and treatment options, one caveat remains the same: alcohol addiction is an illness that requires medical attention and the support of loved ones. The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention provides online and community resources for family, friends and co-workers dealing with alcohol and drug addiction.

Alcohol Recovery Centers

• Alcohol recovery centers are staffed by accredited professionals and subject to rigorous state standards. Operated as public and private institutions, alcohol recovery centers are run by physicians and counselors who specialize in drug and alcohol treatment. Some alcohol recovery programs are available through hospitals, while others operate as stand-alone clinics and private institutions. Program types and recovery services vary by institution; however, the support and participation of family, friends and community remains a critical facet of the overall recovery process.

Dependence and Recovery

• Alcoholism is the result of a physiologically based dependence that is triggered by changes in the brain. Behavioral therapy, such as counseling, cognitive therapy or psychotherapy, and/or medication, is used to treat the psychological, physical and emotional consequences of continued and escalated alcohol use. The addict begins a long-term treatment program that addresses the intervention, recovery and abstinence process. Because addiction is a chronic medical illness, much like type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension, according to Connecticut Clearinghouse, it must be treated like an acute, long-term, chronic, relapsing illness.

Recovery

• Family, friends and community play a significant role in alcohol recovery. Not only do they provide an addict with the personal motivation to change his behavior, but they also provide a source of consequences if an effort is not made to follow program guidelines. (These consequences could be as varied as restricted visitation with children, threat of a divorce or threat of losing your friends.) Many publicly sponsored recovery programs follow the 12-step form and are used to supplement inpatient or outpatient addiction treatment programs. Both public and private recovery programs espouse the advantages of combining the recovery process with the addict's family life, work life and religious life.

Successful Prevention and Treatment

• By entering a drug and alcohol recovery center, an addict has a greater chance of recovery than he would if he did not enter a treatment program, or made an attempt to abstain from alcohol use without any professional guidance. In fact, according to Alcohol-Recovery-Info, "Research demonstrates strong evidence that successful prevention and treatment and successful alcohol addiction recovery results in significant reductions in strokes, unwanted pregnancy, HIV, child abuse, cancer, traffic fatalities, heart disease and crime."

Warning

• According to the Connecticut Clearinghouse, alcohol recovery programs must provide culturally and socially responsible and relevant treatment programs that factor in such considerations as age, race, culture, language, sexual orientation, gender, pregnancy status, parental responsibilities, housing and employment, physical disability, the existence of co-occurring mental illness and any past history of physical or sexual abuse. Failure to do so could isolate at-risk and hard to reach populations.