Substance Problems is it a Disease?
Substance Problems is it a Disease?
This question, as divisive as it is, need to be inspected and settled, understanding the problem allows for better treatments.
To understand the problem we first have to define what is known about substance problems and the concepts that surround “recovery.”
In order, the concepts are:
An allergy concept a doctors opinion formulated for Alcoholics Anonymous
A medical disease concept formulated by Dr Jellinek and approved by the American Medical Association (AMA) in 1966
A mental disorder concept defined by the American Psychiatric Association (APA)
“The” brain disease (neurotransmitter dysregulation) Positron Emission Tomography PET/ Magnetic Resonance Imaging MRI scans evidence based neuroscience.
So recovery, the industry, has four concepts, models currently taught in the treatment of substance problems.
Before starting we also need to understand “treatment” the term has many meanings, treatment to a MD doctor would mean a prescription, or medical treatment, like a breathing treatment for an asthmatic perhaps. Treatment to a PH.D or psychotherapist, dealing in substance problems, would include a ‘plan’ and depending on the doctor’s or therapist’s training or area of expertise, would vary in methods or school of thought.
Then there is thing called treatment, where people envision a place, an inpatient treatment facility, or outpatient facility. And to clarify Medical Detoxification or Detox is not treatment in the general use of the word. Detox is a period to evaluate the health, physical and mental of a person that has a toxin or multiple toxins, in their body and it’s detoxified from the body. “Getting the toxins out” creates a potential need for “recovery,” life after detox, which is the evaluation time. Typically this is what most considers “recovery” the time after detox.
The use of the word makes sense, if you have been abusing a substance, misusing a substance or become substance dependent, then a period of time is “recovery time” a time period to readjust to life absent of substance or substances.
Before we can discuss treatments, we need to understand the problem. And we need to point out “aftercare” is different than mutual self help groups. Aftercare is part of a medical treatment plan sponsored by treatment facilities and attended by licensed therapists, with attendees being former clients of an inpatient or outpatient treatment plan. Mutual self help groups are not treatment; it is as it states, mutual self help, without the aid of a professional present, typically called “going to meetings” associated and created by the self help group beliefs or practices. Both are addressing the life after detox.
Most all agree, there is “no” one treatment that works, for all people. This is possibly the only point of agreement in the treatment industry, and that is subjective, since most treatment offered in the United States, uses one model of treatment, making for a biased start while most will agree the “one” treatment is not working for all people, most all people are offered only one treatment. And the word integrated treatment, now more than ever will be needed. Integrated treatment is a combination of treatment therapies, shown to or taught, based on an individual’s needs. An integrated treatment makes proper diagnosis the key to unlocking recovery and offering successful plans, the goal is to improve upon the overall mental health of the individual.
One example is properly diagnosing, mental disorders with substance problems, as separate issues that may share clusters of similar symptoms, but making sure each is treated, this rarely happens. There are reasons this does not happen. However, common sense tells us if a person has multiple problems, they need multiple solutions. Integrated Treatment is the hope and future of substance recovery, if we are to make it better. This is the hope of most involved in research in the treatment industry. For the industry to improve, instead of blaming the clients as not ready or not willing, the “recovery industry” must adjust to the needs of the client, not the client adjusting to the methods.
To understand the reasons it doesn’t happen, you have to understand what does happen.
The four models medical and one nonmedical medical model need to be inspected and described so that people seeking help understand the differences, is it current or not? Most have never been given a choice, since so few choices are available. Due to the absence of integrated treatment, one can only produce a, “take what you get” as the only choice, which is minus any choice. We start in the negative or wrong side of helping someone, if they are forced to accept the unacceptable