Rehab

Drug addiction treatment seeks to help addicted individuals stop compulsive drug seeking and use. Treatment can occur in a variety of settings, in many different forms and for different lengths of time. Because drug addiction is typically a chronic disorder characterized by occasional relapses, a short term treatment one time is usually not sufficient. For many, treatment is a long term process that involves multiple interventions and regular monitoring. Clinical research suggests that there are many approaches to treating addiction. Drug treatment can include behavioral therapy, like individual or group counseling, cognitive therapy or contingency management, medications or a combination thereof. The specific type of treatment or combination of treatments will vary depending on the individual needs of the patient and, often, on the types of drugs a patient uses. The severity of addiction and previous efforts to stop using drugs can also influence the approach to treatment. Finally, people who are addicted to drugs often suffer from other health, occupational, legal, familial and social problems that doctors should address concurrently. The best programs provide a combination of therapies and other services to meet the needs of the individual patient. Specific needs may relate to age, race, culture, sexual orientation, gender, pregnancy, other drug use, other existing morbid conditions, parenting, housing and employment, as well as any history of physical or sexual abuse.

Chemical Dependency Counseling And Relapse Prevention

Counselors want to help each patient understand the physical and mental consequences of substance abuse and teach patients ways to restore physical health while learning to recognize and stop behaviors and symptoms that can lead to relapse. Doctors motivate patients to accept and enjoy long term recovery through supportive individual and group education. Psychologists offer education about alcoholism and addiction. During treatment, patients learn various methods of healing and find what technique works for rehabilitation including: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing and general education around staying sober. Occasional meetings with alumni afford the patients the opportunity to hear success stories and learn about the experience of sobriety. Before leaving treatment, doctors give patients an individual relapse prevention plan, including helpful techniques and a comprehensive list of appropriate support systems to help maintain sobriety.

Mental Health Professional

A mental health professional is a health care practitioner who offers services for improving an individual's mental health or to treat mental illness. This broad category includes psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, psychiatric nurses, mental health counselors as well as many other professionals. These professionals often deal with the same illnesses, disorders, conditions, and issues; however, their scope of practice differs. The most significant difference between mental health professionals are the laws regarding required education and training across the various professions.

Mental health professionals exist to improve the mental health of individuals, couples, and families. Because mental health covers a wide range of elements, the scope of practice greatly varies between professionals. Some professionals may enhance relationships while others treat specific mental disorders and illness. Often, as with the case of psychiatrists and psychologists, the scope of practice may overlap.

Most qualified mental health professionals will refer a patient or client to another professional if the specific type of treatment needed is outside of their scope of practice. Additionally, many mental health professionals may sometimes work together using a variety of treatment options such as concurrent psychiatric medication and psychotherapy. Additionally, specific mental health professionals may be utilized based upon their cultural and religious background or experience.

Psychiatrists are physicians and one of the few professionals in the mental health industry who specialize and are certified in treating mental illness using the biomedical approach to mental disorders including the use of medications.

Psychiatrists may also go through significant training to conduct psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy; however, psychologists and clinical psychologists specialize in the research and clinical application of these techniques. The amount of training a psychiatrist holds in providing these types of therapies varies from program to program and differs greatly based upon region.

A clinical psychologist studies and applies psychology for understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development. In many countries, a regulated profession addresses moderate to more severe or chronic psychological problems, including diagnosable mental disorders. Clinical psychology includes a wide range of practices, such as research, psychological assessment, teaching, consultation, forensic testimony, and program development and administration. Central to clinical psychology is the practice of psychotherapy, which uses a wide range of techniques to change thoughts, feelings, or behaviors in service to enhancing subjective well-being, mental health, and life functioning. Unlike other mental health professionals, psychologists are trained to conduct psychological assessment. Clinical psychologists can work with individuals, couples, children, older adults, families, small groups, and communities. Counseling generally involves helping people with what might be considered "normal" or "moderate" psychological problems, such as the feelings of anxiety or sadness resulting from major life changes or events.

As such, counseling psychologists often help people adjust to or cope with their environment or major events, although many also work with more serious problems as well. One may practice as a counseling psychologist with a PhD or EdD, and as a counseling psychotherapist with a Masters degree. Compared with clinical psychology, there are fewer counseling psychology graduate programs (which are commonly housed in departments of education), counselors tend to conduct more vocational assessment and less projective or objective assessment, and they are more likely to work in public service or university clinics (rather than hospitals or private practice). Despite these differences, there is considerable overlap between the two fields and distinctions between them continue to fade.