Addiction treatment is not uniform across different http://www.AddictiontoRehabilitation.com”>drug rehabs, yet the basic foundation of all drug rehabs is virtually the same. Addiction treatment has become a big industry and more http://www.AddictiontoRehabilitation.com/links/primary-addiction-treatment.html”>addiction treatment facilities are surfacing every day across the United States. One thing all dug rehabs have in common is that their primary purpose is to help alcoholics and addicts recover from their addiction. The manner in which each treatment facility accomplishes this task varies from one treatment facility to the next.
The basic elements of addiction treatment, whether the drug rehab is a primary inpatient addiction treatment facility or a residential addiction treatment facility, are the same. Almost all addiction treatment facilities rely on the 12-Step philosophy to treat their patients. While there have been many philosophies and therapies developed since the creation of the 12-Step philosophy (DBT, CBT, Motivational Interviewing, etc.) to treat drug addiction and alcoholism, no one to date has been able to develop a treatment method more successful in helping an addict or alcoholic recover from their addiction.
What has transpired over the years is that the more sophisticated and progressive addiction treatment centers have incorporated Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), and the more popular and recent Motivational Enhancement Therapy, into their program matrix. Many http://www.AddictiontoRehabilitation.com/links/dualdiagnosis.html”>dual diagnosis addiction treatment facilities rely heavily on these therapeutic philosophies to help treat co-occurring mood and personality disorders. But, the most successful addiction treatment facilities in the nation will continue to focus on the 12-Step Philosophy as their core curriculum when it comes to treating drug addiction and alcoholism.
The primary difference between the 12-Step philosophy and other psychologies is its focus on a higher power and the inability of the individual to control his or her addiction on their own. Other therapies attempt to help a person control their behavior, whereas the 12-Step philosophy emphasizes the lack of control the individual has in controlling their drinking and drug use and helps them rely on a “power greater than themselves” to help them overcome their malady. So, the primary difference between 12-Step philosophy and other psychologies is its spiritual dimension. Psychology is PSYCHOLOGY, because it has purposely discarded the spiritual element of human behavior and thought. In fact the development of psychology began as a purposeful exclusion of spirituality and religion. Since then, many therapists and psychologists have utilized spiritual elements in their practice and both psychology and spirituality have melded quite nicely over the years, but the 12-Step philosophy, developed by a bankrupt stockbroker and proctologist, remains the best and most effective combination of spirituality and psychology ever developed to treat addiction and alcoholism.
By Brendan Bickley, Doctoral Candidate