What Is Drug Rehab in Arizona Like?

Arizona is having a particularly hard time during the opioid crisis. As a matter of fact, more than five people die each day of an opioid overdose in Arizona from both prescription opioids and illegal opioid drugs.

People are overdosing on opioids, but they are not necessarily losing their lives. Maricopa County recorded the most non-fatal overdoses at 762. The 25-34 age group stood out amongst the rest of the population as the one that had the most non-fatal opioid overdoses at 39.9%.

If you or a loved one are searching for help with a substance use disorder, this drug rehab in Arizona guide will tell you where you can find it.

What Is Drug Addiction?

Drug addiction is a chronic, relapsing disorder. People with this disorder seek their drugs of choice compulsively and uncontrollably even though it causes negative consequences for them. It also causes changes in the brain that may last for a very long time.

You may be concerned about a loved one, but their struggle with addiction is out of their control. It is true that the first time your loved one tried their drug of choice, it was a voluntary action. Over time, however, the choice to continue to ingest the drug became compulsive. This is because substances cause changes in the brain that cause your loved one to feel a need to ingest the substance.

As time goes by, the drug has less of an effect on their body, and your loved one needs to increase their dose to feel the same effects they felt the first time that they took the drug. This is known as “tolerance.”

Does Treatment Work for Addictions?

Yes, treatment will work for your loved one, but it doesn’t “cure” people overnight. Addiction is a chronic disease, so your loved one cannot stop ingesting the drug one day and then be cured. In most cases, people need to be treated repeatedly to permanently stop their drug use.

Guide to Withdrawal

If your loved one is addicted to a substance, they will need to go through the detoxification process. A physical addiction means that your loved one needs to take the drug to keep the withdrawal symptoms at bay.

For example, if your loved one is addicted to opioids, they will experience withdrawal symptoms when they try to quit. These include the following:

• Yawning
• Sweating
• Runny nose
• Insomnia
• Increased tearing
• Muscle aches
• Anxiety
• Agitation

Some symptoms develop later, and these include the following:

• Vomiting
• Nausea
• Goosebumps
• Dilated pupils
• Diarrhea
• Abdominal cramping

After your loved one stops ingesting opioids, these withdrawal symptoms will begin in about 12 hours. They can be so unbearable that your loved one shouldn’t go through the detoxification process on their own.

How Long Does Withdrawal Last?

After the symptoms begin, they can last for a couple of days. Sometimes, they will last longer than two weeks. The worst symptoms will begin to subside in as little as two days in most cases.

The best place for the detoxification process is a drug treatment facility. Your loved one may want to stop taking their drug of choice “cold turkey,” but the withdrawal symptoms exist to force your loved one to use their substance of choice again. In a detox process at a treatment center, your loved one would receive medication and other devices that will relieve the withdrawal symptoms.

>h2>What Is the Detox Process?

The detox process is the first part of treatment at a drug treatment facility. It is only the beginning, so your loved one will not be prepared to go on with life after completing it. The withdrawal symptoms listed above may be too unbearable for your loved one to endure, so the nurses may administer medications to alleviate these symptoms.

Along with medication, clients receive counseling at this time. Research has shown that when people take part in counseling and medication-assisted treatment it can keep them off drugs. The medication does this by blocking the opioid receptors, so people who take opiates while taking this medication can’t get high from it.

Substance Use Disorder Treatment

The detox process is not a treatment for the substance use disorder. This requires a much larger commitment because if your loved one stops treatment after the detox process, they will be very likely to return to drug use again. This is known as “relapsing.”

Drug treatment facilities offer programs of varying sizes. These include 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day programs. Your loved one will be able to obtain therapy in all of these programs.

Individual Therapy

After entering a treatment program, one type of treatment that your loved one will receive is individual therapy. Because the substances and the toxins will be flushed out of the body during the detox process, your loved one and their therapist will be free to address the thoughts and emotions that led them to become addicted in the first place. Your loved one’s therapist will begin by helping them put the pieces of their life back together.

The benefit of attending ongoing therapy sessions is that your loved one will have less of a chance of relapsing. So many things in your loved one’s life can be a trigger to return to drug use, but individual therapy will help your loved one discover constructive ways to handle the disappointments and stressors that trigger substance use.

As your loved one may have to return to old locations where they find triggers for their drug use, their therapist will help them navigate through these moments as well. When they are in an old environment, they may begin to experience the thoughts and emotions from the past. The therapist will help your loved one create coping mechanisms so that they can be in a restaurant, bar, or neighborhood where they are reminded of their drug use.

Individual therapy gives your loved one the means to find new friendships. Their old friends may still be using the substance that your loved one used, so they will need to remain at a safe distance from these former friends. Their therapist will also teach them strategies for how they can manage a difficult situation.

Group Therapy

Individual therapy is beneficial to people in recovery because they can address private matters without an audience, but group therapy also offers those addicted to substances several advantages. Most drug treatment facilities offer group therapy to their clients because of the many benefits they receive from them.

For example, in a group therapy session, your loved one will have several people to support them in their treatment goals. This helps clients remain motivated to complete their programs and move toward sobriety. Group therapy also allows everyone to observe how other members of the group are confronting their challenges and how they are overcoming them. Group therapy is also the best place for your loved one to find the new friends that they need to support them and encourage them when they are having a difficult time.

Family Therapy

It’s important for the family that surrounds your loved one to be involved in their treatment. Family therapy is when the therapist addresses the client’s issues within the family, including family conflict and family communication. It also helps the family understand how they can help the addict heal.

Dual Diagnosis

Your loved one may have a substance use disorder and a mental health disorder at the same time. This is known as “comorbidity.” In the U.S., 42.1 million adults have been diagnosed with a mental illness, and 18.2% of this population were also diagnosed with substance use disorders. In contrast, 20.3 million adults have substance use disorders, and 37.9% of this population also have mental health disorders. Because of this reality, drug treatment facilities are offering treatment for dual diagnoses.

If your loved one has a mental health disorder, treatment for a substance use disorder will not be effective. They must stop ingesting substances before they can receive treatment for their disorders. Treatments for co-occurring disorders often include behavioral therapies as well as medication.

Behavior Therapies for the Treatment of Substance Use Disorder

Behavior therapies have proven themselves to be excellent for treating substance use disorder because they offer clients incentives for remaining sober, provide life skills that give them another way to deal with their difficulties other than drug use, and teach them to recognize the triggers that lead them to seek their drugs of choice.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT is an appropriate therapy for addictions to a number of substances, including marijuana, cocaine, alcohol, and methamphetamines. The theory for this strategy says that learning processes are a large part of the development of maladaptive behaviors. Therefore, clients learn how to identify what their problematic behaviors are and then correct them by applying the skills that they learn in therapy to stop their drug use. In the same way, they can address co-occurring problems.

CBT is a therapy in which your loved one will learn to recognize problems as they come up and also learn coping strategies to help them remain in control of themselves. They also use techniques with CBT. For example, one technique is for the client to examine all of the ways that drug use is positive and the ways that it is negative. They learn how to recognize their cravings early in the process so that they can avoid getting into high-risk situations.

Contingency Management Interventions and Motivational Incentives

This strategy is appropriate for marijuana, opioids, stimulants, and alcohol. Contingency management principles give clients rewards for following through with positive behaviors. Clients remain in treatment for longer periods of time, and they remain abstinent from drugs with this approach.

Motivational Enhancement Therapy

Alcohol and marijuana respond well to this therapy. It addresses the ambivalence that your loved one may have to be in therapy and refraining from drug use. The point of this therapy is for the client to make changes quickly. It is one type of individual therapy.

In the first therapy session, the therapist completes an initial assessment. Then, they meet with the client for two to four therapy sessions. The first session gives the therapist the chance to give the client feedback on the initial assessment. The discussion becomes one about your loved one’s personal experiences and encourages self-motivating statements.

The strategy uses motivational interviewing to strengthen your loved one’s motivation to change and helps them begin building a plan to make those changes happen.

12-step Facilitation Therapy

This is a strategy for treating addictions to opiates, stimulants, and alcohol. It encourages clients to become involved in a 12-step program so that they can remain sober. First, they must accept the fact that substance use disorders are chronic, long-lasting disorders and that the individual doesn’t have any power over them. They acknowledge that their lives are unmanageable as they are and that willpower is not going to help them move past it. Second, they must surrender to a higher power. They must accept the friendship of people living with a substance use disorder such as themselves, and then they must agree to adhere to the rules of the 12-step program. Third, they must be active in the meetings and the activities associated with them.

The Matrix Model

The matrix model is an approach for users of stimulants. Cocaine and methamphetamine users learn how to become and remain abstinent in this treatment. This strategy teaches clients about drug use as well as how they can abstain from their drugs of choice. A therapist leads this type of group, and clients receive guidance as well as support from their therapists. Clients are required to submit to drug testing with this strategy.

The therapist is more than just a therapist during this strategy. The therapist teaches the client, but the therapist also acts as a coach. The point is to nurture a positive relationship so that the client can feel encouraged to make positive changes.

No matter which treatment plan your loved one chooses, it’s important that they get help right away if they are struggling. With treatment, it’s possible to live a happy and fulfilling life of sobriety.