Alcoholism is a deadly disease that affects 12 to 14 million Americans, negatively impacting lives, careers, health and relationships. Recovering from alcoholism is a lifelong process requiring discipline, will and commitment. Luckily, there are alcohol rehabilitation centers that can help give alcoholics the tools they need to begin this process.

Alcoholism is characterized by an inability to control the amount of alcohol you consume, and that consumption interfering with one’s health, personal relationships, and job and life responsibilities.

Alcohol rehabilitation centers treat alcoholism by a variety of ways, including: residential treatment, out-patient treatment, support groups and halfway houses. The number of people in alcohol rehabilitation centers has actually seen a recent spike, as the current economic recession has driven more people to substance abuse, and as inevitably some of these people have realized they have a serious problem they need to overcome.

In residential treatment, the alcoholic is confined to the rehabilitation center, usually for about a month and is physically unable to get access to alcohol. During this “drying out” phase, the alcoholic is given access to support groups and other forms of therapy in the hope that the alcoholic will try to get a handle on his or her problem in a carefully structured environment where the temptation to drink is non-existent. Hopefully, during this time in the alcohol rehabilitation center, the alcoholic can be taught to make better decisions regarding the use of alcohol, i.e. staying away from it altogether.

In some forms of treatment, the residential client is eventually moved to a halfway house, where he or she is allowed a greater deal of freedom, but is still monitored to some degree to ensure that he or she is not relapsing.

Many alcoholism treatment problems use a diseased person model of treatment, which basically requires patients to admit they have a problem with alcohol which they cannot control alone, renounce their former lifestyle and seek out a supportive group of like individuals who can help them remain sober. While this method of treatment has been subject to controversy, studies have found that it is one of the most effective forms of treatment.

A client-centered treatment is a more self-directed form of therapy for alcoholism. In this form of treatment, therapists try to get their clients to talk about their experiences and feelings. The therapists then try to point out emotionally significant statements their clients have made. The object is to allow the patients to examine their thoughts and arrive at their own conclusions concerning future action, the theory being that positive behavior that comes from within is easier to maintain that behavior suggested by others.

In some cases, the costs of attending an alcohol rehabilitation center can be covered by insurance or federal aid programs. To find a reputable alcohol rehabilitation center in your area, visit http://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/.

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