Alcohol Rehabilitation

Alcoholics Anonymous is one of many drug addiction recovery groups. It is a 12-step program in which men and women share their experiences and offer each other support. With this support, people work through their addictions. Anyone with an alcohol problem is welcome to join the group. There is no entrance fee, and the groups are not associated with any institutions, organizations, or denominations.

Patients who need additional help with their alcohol problems can be treated in detoxification programs, on an in or outpatient basis. Inpatients reside at the program’s facility and are treated and monitored 24 hours a day by medical professionals. Outpatient programs are best for people who work, have social support systems and are able to abstain from using for up to 72 hours. Outpatient programs work by allowing the patient to reside at home and attend program meetings several times a week.

There are free-standing residential addiction treatment centers which specialize in treating alcoholism and dual addictions. Patients usually live in the treatment facility under the supervision of a team of addiction professionals.

A hospital-based rehabilitation unit is another option. The treatment center is located within a hospital and is the best option for patients who, in addition to their addiction, have psychiatric problems. The patient stays at the hospital under the supervision of addiction professionals.

New policies in several states make it mandatory for offenders to undergo an assessment interview with a counselor before it is decided what steps must be completed in order to reinstate a license. The assessment interview is meant to determine the kind of relationship an offender has with alcohol.

Based on the interview, a counselor has the right to order the offender to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. An offender can be ordered to attend as few as three or four meetings, or, in more serious cases, 90 meetings in 90 days. It is also possible that an offender be required to attend a 28-day residential treatment program or detoxification program or undergo other medical treatment.