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Your health care provider can help you figure out if one of these medicines is right for you. They are not addictive, so you don’t have to worry about trading one addiction for another. This is just like taking medicines to manage a chronic disease such as asthma or diabetes. They may go to a residential treatment center for rehabilitation (rehab). It usually includes several different kinds of behavioral therapies.
Risk factors
Answer 3 out of 4 questions correctly on the post-test to earn 0.75 credits. Find out the answers to these questions and more with Psychology Today. Whatever your goals, it’s the struggle to get there that’s most rewarding. It’s almost as if life itself is inviting us to embrace difficulty—not as punishment but as a design feature. The well-known phenomenon of denial, which is a common part of the illness, often turns the illness into a chronic one. Unfortunately, the longer the illness persists, the harder it is to treat.
Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) Treatment
Millions of adults in the United States have alcohol use disorder (AUD), and approximately 1 in 10 children live in a home with a parent who has AUD. We on the provider side need to take every opportunity to advocate for increased use of safe, effective SUD/AUD medications. Keep in mind that the 40 percent mentioned in the survey represents the number of facilities that offered the medications. According to a 2021 NIH report, less than 2 percent of the 14 million people living with AUD take an FDA-approved medication for it. Alcohol use disorder can include periods of being drunk (alcohol intoxication) and symptoms of withdrawal. Call your doctor whenever you or someone you love has an alcohol-related problem.
Primary care and mental health providers can provide effective AUD treatment by combining new medications with brief counseling visits. When seeking professional help, it is important that you feel respected and understood and that you trust the person, group, or organization to help you. However, remember that relationships with health care providers can take time to develop. Below is a list of some of the providers who are typically involved in alcohol treatment and the type of care they may offer. As with treatment for other mental health conditions, such as depression, if a patient does not respond well to one medication, it is often helpful to try another. This thinking is more common among primary care providers, many of whom have had little training in behavioral health or addiction treatment.
Diagnosing alcohol use disorder
Realizing you may have an issue is the first step toward getting better, so don’t hesitate to talk to a healthcare provider. They’ll recommend treatments and resources to help you recover from alcohol use disorder. Just as some people with diabetes or asthma may have flare-ups of their disease, a return to drinking can be seen as a temporary setback to full recovery and not as a failure. Seeking professional help can prevent a return to drinking—behavioral therapies can help people develop skills to avoid and overcome triggers, such as stress, that might lead to drinking. Most people benefit from regular checkups with a treatment provider. Medications can also deter drinking during times when individuals may be at greater risk for a return to drinking (e.g., divorce, death of a family member).
Treating alcohol use disorder
You may be able to better compare your options by assessing whether and how the program or provider measures success. Currently, there are three medications approved for AUD in the United States, and they are an effective and important aid in the treatment of people with this condition. Brief Interventions are short, one-on-one or small-group counseling sessions that are time limited. The counselor provides information about the individual’s drinking pattern and potential risks. After the individual receives personalized feedback, the counselor will help set goals. Motivational enhancement is conducted over a short period of time to build and strengthen motivation to change drinking behavior.
- They may recommend detoxification, medication, relapse prevention training, or a combination of these approaches.
- The NIAAA has a very helpful set of resources for the general public and for clinicians.
- It is important to gauge whether the facility provides all the currently available, evidence-based methods or relies on one approach.
- Here’s some information to help you get ready for your appointment, and what to expect from your health care provider or mental health provider.
- Understanding the available treatment options—from behavioral therapies and medications to mutual-support groups—is the first step.
Other mental health disorders can increase the risk of drinking. Depression and anxiety frequently occur along with an alcohol use disorder. It is very important to get treatment for such disorders if they are contributing to the problem. Almost always, people feel nervous or defensive about their drinking, which is one reason this very common problem so often goes undetected or unaddressed. Therefore, primary care physicians often make a point of use time during a visit to provide education about drinking and its dangers.
Learn More
People who are getting treatment for AUD may also find it helpful to go to a support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). If you have an AUD and a mental illness, it is important to get treatment for both. Alcohol dependence is often accompanied by certain mood or mental health conditions, like depression or anxiety. Along with your treatment for AUD, you may need to seek medical care for other complications you experience. AUD is characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational, or health consequences. Health care providers diagnose AUD when a person has two or more of the symptoms listed below.
- The good news is that addiction stigma is decreasing, and medication acceptance is increasing among providers, thanks to ongoing addiction training and education efforts.
- The road to AUD recovery can be a long process that requires various treatments or therapies.
- Evidence-based AUD treatment is available, change is possible, and most people who have AUD recover or markedly improve.
- Primary care professionals can offer medications for AUD along with brief counseling.
Evidence-based AUD treatment is available, change is possible, and most people who have AUD recover or markedly improve. Treatment for alcohol use disorder can vary, Alcohol disorder treatment depending on your needs. Treatment may involve a brief intervention, individual or group counseling, an outpatient program, or a residential inpatient stay.
How do I take care of myself?
Your health care provider can help you evaluate the pros and cons of each treatment setting. When asked how alcohol problems are treated, people commonly think of 12-step programs or 28-day inpatient treatment centers but may have difficulty naming other options. In fact, there are many treatment options available thanks to significant advances in medical and behavioral research over the past decades. Your health care provider or counselor can suggest a support group. 2,23 Detox alone does not constitute treatment for AUD, however. Continued care in residential or outpatient settings or both is often needed to sustain abstinence and promote long-term recovery.
Remember, alcoholism is not a sign of weakness or poor character. The sooner treatment begins, the easier alcoholism is to treat. During an office visit, a health care professional will likely focus on the following. As much shame as symptoms may trigger, drinking problems are an understandable human predicament. The best strategy is to be frank in response to a doctor’s questions.
The important thing is to remain engaged in whatever method you choose. Certain medications have been shown to effectively help people stop or reduce their drinking and avoid a return to drinking. Couples and family counseling incorporates spouses and other family members in the treatment process and can play an important role in repairing and improving family relationships.