Alcoholism Addiction Treatment – What Really Works?

Any kind of addiction is and has always been difficult to treat. This is true also for alcohol addiction. Alcoholism is today, the most common form of addiction one of the most common forms of addiction. According to recent statistics, more than 18 million Americans are addicted to alcohol, but sadly, only a small percentage of them accept this fact and seek alcoholism addiction treatment. Successful alcohol treatment requires the analysis of different aspects of the addiction and treating each aspect on the basis of its merit.

There are various kinds of treatment available for alcoholism addiction. Some of these like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) have been practiced for years while others are comparatively new and developing. According to a study conducted by NIAA, self help programs like AA, psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy are the most effective ones, either alone or in combination, in reducing the use of alcohol.

In the AA alcohol treatment program, participants engage in a series of mental, written and verbal activities that lead to recovery and abstinence. The basis behind AA is to provide a new social network to the alcoholic from his usual group of drinking buddies and a fellowship that inspires motivation and lends support to push them towards reaching and maintaining abstinence. It also provides certain constructive steps to the alcoholic to help his turn his mind away from alcohol when under stress.

Several other alcoholism treatments have shown promising results and are currently being actively developed. These include Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET); couples therapy; Brief Intervention Therapy; dual-addiction treatment; and pharmacotherapy.

While all of the above methods do help, alcoholism addiction treatment can only be successful when a number of factors are investigated and brought under control. The first and perhaps the most important step is to get the alcoholic to admit he/she has a problem with alcohol. Unless and until this is recognized, the desire to recover from the addiction will never really take root.

Another important factor for alcoholism addiction treatment to be successful is the full and undivided attention and willpower of the patient. There are multiple factors at play with alcoholism but willpower and support from those around the patient including family and friends have a great impact on the overall results of the chosen alcoholism addiction treatment.

Using proven methods of evaluating medical therapies, research has revealed many effective treatments that help people stop drinking and maintain abstinence. But the first step must always come from the patient.

By : Ian Koch