The Three Phases of Alcohol Addiction Treatment
Treatment for alcoholism is usually administered by a team of skilled and qualified medical professionals. Physicians play an important role in the success of an alcoholic’s treatment; however, other specialists are also vital in establishing the initial treatment. In particular, counselors, therapists, psychologists, and pastoral counselors need to collaborate with the medical doctors in order to address every facet of alcohol interventions.
Generally, alcohol addiction treatment can be divided into three phases – the stabilization, detoxification and long-term rehabilitation.
In the stabilization phase, the doctors need to address the medical conditions and complications that are directly related to alcoholism. In fact, there are a wide variety of conditions and adverse effects that resulted from the alcohol addiction itself. Two of the most common are the alcohol withdrawal syndrome and the alcohol ketoacidosis.
- Withdrawal symptoms usually appear right after the addict stop drinking alcohol. The sudden cessation of alcohol triggers certain symptoms to manifest which often include tremors, nausea, irritability, increased alcohol urge, and in severe cases, seizures. Benzodiazpeines is the medicine of choice used to tame the adverse effects of withdrawal symptoms.
- Alcohol ketoacidosis, on the other hand, is a type of acute metabolic acidosis evidenced by increased serum ketone levels. It is commonly treated with the use of IV fluids and carbohydrates.
Once the patient’s condition has been stabilized, the detoxification process may now commence. This is technically a procedure that eliminates the accumulated toxins in the patient’s body. The procedure requires strict medical attention and is commonly done in an in-patient setting. Most of the time, physicians administer medications to reduce the withdrawal symptoms.
After completing the alcohol detoxification procedure, the patient will be advised to enroll in a short- or long-term rehabilitation program depending on the severity of his/her addiction problems. Treatment for alcoholism needs to efficiently combine medical intervention with behavioral therapies and spiritual counseling in order to prevent relapses.
