Options for Meth Addiction Treatment
Methamphetamine addiction is a serious condition that requires serious treatment. Trying to detox from it on your own is dangerous, and sobriety becomes all the less likely without professional assistance. Instead, recovery involves taking a series of steps so that you can learn how to maintain sobriety after completing your treatment.
You do get some choices when it comes to treatment for meth addiction. Outpatient therapy and partial hospitalization are helpful forms of therapy for some meth users out there. For most, however, inpatient therapy offers a more deeply intensive and regimented way of addressing addiction itself, what causes it, and how to work through it with a built-in support system of well-trained and compassionate staff as well as other clients seeking therapy. If you or a loved one struggles with meth addiction, the time to reach out and ask for help is now.
Intervention for Meth Addiction
Would it surprise you to learn that about half a million Americans use meth each week? The stats on meth use are indeed staggering. Meth use is now a major national health crisis. Studies show that neurocognitive impairments develop in long-term users and affect their abstinence following treatment.
So, what is to be done to help those who are addicted to methamphetamine? A good rule of thumb for intervention is this: the earlier, the better. The sooner you intervene with loved ones who are using meth, the better their chances for achieving and maintaining their sobriety.
Intervention requires involving a professional interventionist. Users might not be ready to admit that they have a problem using meth or that they need help getting their life back on track. An interventionist can best explain meth dependence, how it affects everyone around the person with the meth use disorder, and how treatment tends to work. It also gives you a chance to air your grievances and concerns in a safe space. The goal is ultimately to get your loved one to willingly agree to treatment and actually go.
Inpatient vs. Outpatient Therapy Programs
There are different types of treatment programs out there for those facing various types of addiction. Inpatient and outpatient are the two most commonly used forms, and each one has its benefits for certain people. Those whose addictions are relatively mild might benefit more from outpatient therapy. However, meth is a highly addictive drug that often requires inpatient hospitalization.
Those who use meth tend to do so long-term. The longer they use, the stronger and more dangerous the addiction becomes. Severe withdrawal symptoms can quickly take hold once a person decides to stop using meth. Meth has a complex chemical makeup that can lead to intense physical and emotional withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms can land a person in the emergency room, or worse. Inpatient rehab offers a safe and structured setting in which a meth user can detox.
Safely Detoxing From Meth
Detoxification, or “detox” for short, is the next big step in the recovery process. Once you’re in a treatment facility like ours at Defining Wellness Centers in Mississippi, highly trained staff will monitor your symptoms as you expel the chemicals from your body. If you have a medical emergency, you have immediate 24/7 access to care.
Medication-assisted treatment is often a part of detoxing for those with meth addiction. Benzodiazepines are commonly prescribed and have shown to be effective at reducing the severity of withdrawal symptoms. Trying to detox on your own at home means you have no access to medications that might help make the process a lot less painful.
Once detoxing is complete, counseling and other forms of therapy can begin.
Forms of Counseling and Therapy
There are quite a few different forms of therapy and counseling for meth addiction, and they tend to have a broad application to all forms of substance use disorders and other mental health conditions. Here are some of the most common types used in addiction treatment or dual diagnosis treatment.
1. Cognitive Behavior Therapy
Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is a popularly used, widely recognized form of treatment that can help people with a variety of mental health conditions and substance use disorders. Its objectives involve learning how to recognize faulty and harmful thought patterns and to reevaluate them through a realistic lens. In CBT, you also cultivate self-efficacy, self-esteem, problem-solving skills, and a better understanding of other people. Rather than focusing on the past, CBT emphasizes being present in the current moment.
CBT can be done in group therapy, family therapy, or individual therapy. It keeps you and those going through the rehab process with you focused on the here-and-now rather than on the past and how you used to think and behave. You can develop strategies for dealing with the cravings, triggers, and anxiety-inducing situations you might encounter after leaving rehab. Your negative thinking patterns can be transformed into healthier and more realistic ones.
2. Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is another popularly used treatment program for people with meth addiction and other substance use disorders. First developed by Dr. Marsha M. Linehan to treat suicidal ideation, DBT has expanded to treat those with self-destructive behaviors, helping them live in the moment through coaching mindfulness techniques.
DBT has been shown to be effective at reducing the self-destructive behaviors that characterize meth addiction. It can also teach you how to regulate your emotions, become motivated to maintain your sobriety, exhibit more functional behaviors, and address the harmful behaviors that have posed obstacles in your road to recovery.
3. Group Therapy
Other people with addiction issues can provide you with insight into your behavior. They can also prove to form excellent support systems as they work through their addictions along with you. That’s why group therapy is so commonly used in meth addiction treatment. Groups provide built-in support and give you a sounding board for your thoughts and feelings.
Group therapy can also teach you important social skills. It eases up any sense of isolation you experience in rehab, plus it lets you practice how to engage with other people. You might also end up pushing yourself harder to succeed as you watch other people move forward in their treatment.
4. Family Therapy
Addiction affects you and everyone around you. That’s why many treatment facilities offer opportunities to participate in family therapy. Your immediate and extended family might be invited to attend.
In this setting, you and your family can address the stress addiction has placed on the family unit. It promotes more effective communication among family members, provides ample opportunity to discuss mental health issues within the family, and gives everyone a safe place to express their concerns and emotions. Your loved ones can learn how to encourage and support you as you move through your treatment program.
5. The Matrix Model
The Matrix Model is an intensive form of therapy used to treat addiction. It specifically targets stimulant use disorder. This makes it ideal for treating meth addiction. It combines CBT and family therapy and uses drug testing to promote honest hard work in pursuing and maintaining sobriety.
Efforts are rewarded through positive reinforcement, and you can learn ways to deal with setbacks you might face after leaving your rehab treatment facility. Your family is encouraged to attend, and your therapist can show them ways to offer positive support for you while being able to discuss how they feel about your addiction.
6. Person-Centered Therapy
Person-centered therapy (PCT) is used to help people gain more confidence. It takes the focus off of the substance and places it on you, the individual. At its core is the concept that rejection and shame hold us back from healing ourselves and that we can make positive changes once we begin to practice self-acceptance.
In this treatment model, you regularly meet with your counselor to establish a safe and tranquil space in which you can separate yourself from the stress and chaos of your life. You can explore your thoughts, feelings, experiences, and habits to gain a better comprehension of your addiction. You also have a counselor there to listen without judgment.
What After-Care and Support Groups Can Do
Addiction treatment does not end after your 30, 60, or 90 days of inpatient treatment are up or your partial-hospitalization or outpatient program ends. How you live your life afterward can be impacted by the after-care you receive. After-care services are ideal, if not essential, for those individuals who have made it through detox, inpatient care, and a sober living facility but need continued support in order to maintain their sobriety. These programs help you keep holding yourself accountable through support services and attending weekly meetings.
12-Step Programs
Twelve-step programs provide people with structured approaches to life after addiction treatment in a facility. Their main focus is on acceptance, surrender, maintained sobriety, and participation within the community.
Similarly to Alcoholics Anonymous, Crystal Meth Anonymous (CMA) is a fellowship of people who share their experiences, hopes, and strength with one another at meetings where everyone can choose to remain anonymous. You do not have to pay any dues or fees; you just need to show up and be motivated to maintain your sobriety.
The 12-step programs give you an opportunity to forge a positive, sober, and healthy relationship with a sponsor who has been in your position before. Participating in a 12-step program can give you a structured setting in which you can more deeply explore the psychological resistance to sobriety you have experienced throughout your addiction. Engagement within a sober community can help you sort through a lot of issues.
How To Get Help
If you’re struggling with meth addiction or have a loved one who is, help is available. Entering into a rehab facility might be your best bet at achieving and maintaining sobriety, but the recovery journey is a lifelong one. It involves a lot of commitment. Finding the best treatment option will depend on your situation, unique needs, and how intensely you are experiencing your addiction.
While there is still a stigma surrounding addiction, in rehab, you can find strength and security among compassionate care providers and others striving to overcome their addictions. Meth addiction treatment takes on many forms, but the end goal is the same: sustained and successful sobriety.
We believe that everyone is entitled to recovery — and can recover with help from our caring professionals. Need help for a meth addiction? Contact us at Defining Wellness Centers immediately.
