How Effective Is Drug Addiction Treatment?

One of the objectives of drug addiction treatment is to assist the patient in stopping the use of the drugs. In addition, its aim is to restore individuals to being constructive in the various areas such as in the society, their occupation and even their family. Research that has been conducted on addicts who have sought treatment over long periods of time has found that a large number of people who got and actually remained in treatment, stopped using the drugs, their psychological, and social and employment functions improved.

Using methadone to treat addicts has proved its effectiveness by decreasing criminal behaviors and drug use and increasing their attendance in behavioral therapy. Nevertheless, treatment given to the individual and the results usually rely on the degree and the character of the patient’s situation, how the addict and the person giving him or her treatment relate and the suitability of the treatment and application of the services directed to the problems.

Addiction can be controlled just like any other chronic diseases since treatment helps addicts to contravene the strong disturbing effects it gives on someone’s body and behavior and to get their life back in order again. Relapsing is common and it’s likely to happen to anyone who is under treatment. When that occurs, most patients feel like they have failed and that treatment is not working for them.

In contrast, for treatment to be successful it does require monitoring, assessment and adjustment whenever possible, as done when someone is suffering from chronic diseases. An instance is when a patient is being treated actively for hypertension and there is a significant decline in the symptoms, the results are said to be a success, even if the symptoms may come back after treatment has been paused or stopped. If the effectiveness of the treatment is called into question, just look at the countless numbers who have succeeded with it.

^{Reference: http://drugabuse.gov/podat/faqs.html#faq3}