Drug addiction is a chronic disorder. A short, one-time treatment is not effective because those addicted to drugs will always have at least one relapse. Effective treatment is a long-term process. There is regular monitoring and multiple interventions that could span years.
Drug treatment plans include individual behavioral therapy counseling. Sometimes group counseling is offered. Sometimes medication is used in conjunction with the therapy. The severity of the addiction and the previous treatment efforts to stop using drugs influence how treatment is approached and which type is used.
Those addicted to drugs have other problems – getting along with family members, health problems, mental problems, and legal problems. A drug treatment plan should address these issues, too.
A good treatment plan will provide behavioral therapy. This therapy provides the person with skills and motivation for coping with drug craving. It teaches ways to avoid drugs and people who are likely to influence them to continue their drug use. Treatment also helps individuals deal with relapses — because it will happen. Communication skills, parenting skills, and relationship skills are also taught.
Group therapy provides a social reinforcement for eliminating the behavior that leads to taking drugs and reinforcement for developing positive ways to avoid drug use. Because group members have ‘been there, done that’ they know exactly how it feels and what the person is going through. They know the pain, the anguish, and the hardship that drug addiction causes. They offer support and encouragement because they know that little by little, they can get over their addiction.
There can be some adverse impacts of group therapy if the individual is a teenager. There could be influences and effects on the teen that were not planned on. Well-trained group therapy counselors are aware of the indicators and problems and know how to make sure these unwanted influences don’t happen.