Core Treatment

This is the heart of our program at Windward Way Recovery and truly where the miracle of transformation begins to happen for our clients. In most cases, the clinical recommendation is 90 days¹Length of stay recommendations are based on medical necessity..

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  Length of stay recommendations are based on medical necessity.

Each individual’s experience with addiction is bound to be a unique experience. Given the variety of different factors that weigh into one’s struggles with drug abuse, it makes sense that therapeutic programs are likewise diverse. The first step that many former users take is a medically-cleared detox (regardless of which therapy program they enlist in, for the most part).

Quitting the drug is only a part of the goal of treatment programs—the goal is to make abstinence possible on a long-term basis. Along with detoxing, patients usually have quite a few options for what type of therapy best suits their needs. These programs also vary in rigor and scope depending on how long and concentrated patients’ previous afflictions with drugs were.

Residential rehabilitation, otherwise known as “inpatient” rehab, has patients staying at non-hospital settings for anywhere from six to 12 months—chiefly because these facilities are devoted to more serious addictions. Patients are removed from their day-to-day lives in exchange for a monitored existence in a facility that is solely devoted to their recovery.

Most are modeled to act like a community, offering medical personnel, therapeutic activities, and interactions with other patients as a part of the experience. Long-term facilities are generally rigid in daily structure in order to focus on the rehabilitative process of their patients and prepare them to return to their previous lives. Long term treatment includes:

• Highest success rates of all programs
• No distractions or external stimuli of daily life
• Constant medical support
• Communal setting that supports recovery

Another type of residential rehab lies in short-term therapy programs. These stays are more likely in the three to six weeks range and often in hospitals. Treatment focuses on detoxing in a similarly community-oriented setting, but differs in that it encourages residents to seek further treatment after their tenure. Participants join self-help groups (such as Alcoholics Anonymous) upon completion so as to continue their recovery and road to abstinence.

Outpatient therapy avoids the disruptive lifestyle changes that inpatient options require, making them a more suitable alternative for those with more moderate addiction issues. These options generally use group and individual therapy, but are much less rigorous at only 10-12 hours per week of treatment.

Some offer programs to help patients cope with addiction, while others focus primarily on drug education. Some of the hallmarks of outpatient treatment are:

• Less expensive option
• Patients can still live at home, have a job
• Flexible to patients’ schedules
• Best suited for patients with strong social support

Results indicate that inpatient programs may have more successful results than outpatient treatment, but the latter can be just as fitting depending on the patient’s circumstances. These programs can also be performed in settings more deliberately adjusted to the patient’s living circumstances. Some outpatient therapy programs work through women’s homes or with patients with special needs.

Finally, a number of alternative and accompanying methods are available for many seeking recovery. These methods are not necessarily meant to usurp traditional therapy, but some can in more mild cases of addiction.

As an alternative to therapy, complementary recovery can be a valuable means to help individuals establish their own well-being while simultaneously focusing on a drug-free lifestyle. These methods include:

• Meditation
• Yoga
• Music Therapy

All facilities—whether patients live on-site or at home—have some similar techniques in how the material is presented. Therapeutic growth generally comes from group and individual sessions, but what do the sessions cover?

• 12-Step Facilitation are the outpatient facilities like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. The 12 steps are designed to slowly but firmly establish abstinence in the individual’s lifestyle.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps people with coping practices and teaches them to steer away from their behavior around stimuli. Because of its approach of helping people identify previous risks, many methods use CBT as a building block towards future programs.
• Contingency Management (CM) encourages abstinence by providing material prizes to participants. Notably, CM records the highest number of returning participants and few relapsing individuals.
• Motivational Interviewing encourages patients to lean into their productive results from therapy. A therapist tracks the progress of individuals, gradually putting the onus of improvement in the hands of the individual.
• The Matrix Model seeks to instill trust and belief within oneself through therapy and reward through good behavior. It amalgamates a number of different therapeutic methods.
• Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) has patients talk through their issues with substance abuse. In this process, patients are expected to discover the internal reasoning as to where their problems initially originated.

Many addiction therapy programs also include medicinal support. Depending on the formerly abused drug, centers can offer medications to combat the symptoms of withdrawal as well as to combat a desire to re-indulge. Some, like naltrexone (used for alcohol and opioid addiction), reduce the individual’s mental inclination to continue to drink, while others, like disulfiram, cause a physical disinclination for drinking.

At Windward Way Recovery, our residential inpatient addiction treatment center is unlike any other. It is here where our patients are given the tools to truly transform their lives. Call us today to speak with an addiction specialist.