Long
Term Treatment
Long term treatment involves individuals spending a substantial amount of time
on their drug addiction treatment program. Generally, long term treatment is
conducted in residential treatment facilities. When an individual enters a long
term treatment program they know that they have truly dedicated themselves to
recovering from their drug addiction. Long-Term Residential Treatment provides
care 24 hours per day, generally in nonhospital settings. The best-known long
term treatment model is the therapeutic community (TC), but residential treatment
may also employ other models, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Long term treatment generally lasts anywhere from 3 to 12 months and is focused
on the "resocialization" of the individual. Long term treatment uses
the program's entire "community," including other residents, staff,
and the social context, as active components of treatment. Long term treatment
focuses on developing personal accountability and responsibility and socially
productive lives. Long term treatment is highly structured with activities designed
to help residents examine damaging beliefs, self-concepts, and patterns of behavior
and to adopt new, more harmonious and constructive ways to interact with others.
Through long term treatment individuals are able to live life for a substantial
amount of time off drugs, knowing what sobriety truly feels like. With shorter
treatment programs the drug addict does not get to experience a significant
amount of time off drugs. They have just enough time to withdrawal, detox and
take in a few lessons before they are back in society dealing with the same
social pressures that drove them to treatment in the first place.
