Abstinence is a centuries-old method for treating substance abuse that requires the addict to completely give up all drugs (and alcohol). Abstinence-based treatment (or ABT) uses counseling and behavioral therapy to support addicts in making positive changes in their lives.
Full Answer
What is abstinence-based addiction treatment?
Abstinence-based programs thus focus on the construct of ‘addiction’, in the same way that the old-style physician focuses on ‘heart disease’ or on a ‘bone fracture’ and not on the whole person.
Is abstinence really necessary for recovery from alcohol addiction?
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was the first program focused specifically on treating addiction, and complete abstinence from alcohol was the cornerstone of the approach. Therefore, abstinence has a long history of being an entrenched concept required for recovery.
How does abstinence counseling work?
Much of abstinence treatment is targeted at breaking through denial, and the recommended counseling style is to confront the addict with his depraved behavior. A typical technique invites family members into a session to tell the addict how he has hurt them.
Is abstinence-based approach to addiction unworkable?
With the growing recognition of behavioral addictions, abstinence-based approaches are increasingly seen as unworkable. For example, everyone needs to eat, so abstinence from food is not possible—although some who are particularly attached to abstinence-based approaches hold that certain foods should be completely avoided.
Why is abstinence important for recovery?
Abstinence, on the other hand, allows the brain to reset itself, which gives individuals a fair chance at making a full recovery. Abstinence benefits the addiction recovery process because avoiding drugs and alcohol: Removes all forms of temptation.
Is abstinence the only solution for addiction?
Conclusions: Available evidence does not support abstinence as the only approach in the treatment of alcohol use disorder. Controlled drinking, particularly if supported by specific psychotherapy, appears to be a viable option where an abstinence-oriented approach is not applicable.
What does abstinence mean in addiction?
When it comes to addiction treatment, abstinence is defined as the complete cessation of substance abuse. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) says abstinence is the safest approach in treating substance use disorders. It remains the most common form of addiction treatment in the US.
Which treatment is most effective in treating addiction?
According to American Addiction Centers, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a valuable treatment tool because it can be used for many different types of addiction including, but not limited to, food addiction, alcohol addiction, and prescription drug addiction.
What are the advantages of abstinence?
What Are the Benefits of Abstinence?prevent pregnancy.prevent STDs.wait until they're ready for a sexual relationship.wait to find the "right" partner.have fun with romantic partners without sexual involvement.focus on school, career, or extracurricular activities.More items...•
Is sobriety the same as abstinence?
Abstinence can be defined simply as physical free from mind-altering substances. Abstinence doesn't address behaviors, emotions, mental health, etc. It just means that the person is free of drugs/alcohol. Sobriety includes abstinence, but also encompasses much more than just stopping drinking or abusing drugs.
How does abstinence work?
Abstinence prevents pregnancy by keeping semen away from the vagina, so the sperm cells in semen can't get to an egg and cause pregnancy. If you're abstinent 100% of the time, pregnancy can't happen.
What are two types of treatment available for someone who is addicted to drugs?
There are many options that have been successful in treating drug addiction, including:behavioral counseling.medication.medical devices and applications used to treat withdrawal symptoms or deliver skills training.evaluation and treatment for co-occurring mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.More items...•
What is the first step in treating a drug abuse problem?
Detoxification is normally the first step in treatment. This involves clearing a substance from the body and limiting withdrawal reactions. In 80 percent of cases, a treatment clinic will use medications to reduce withdrawal symptoms, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
What is a treatment plan for substance abuse?
A substance abuse treatment plan is an individualized, written document that details a client's goals and objectives, the steps need to achieve those, and a timeline for treatment. These plans are mutually agreed upon with the client and the clinician.
What is complete abstinence based recovery?
The premise of complete abstinence-based recovery is to do so without any access to drugs, alcohol, and other medications that assist with the effects of drug withdrawal. In other words, it’s defined as ”complete cessation from substance abuse of any kind”. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), ...
Why is abstinence important?
Abstinence also ensures that those in recovery do not develop another addiction to another substance. Essentially swapping out one addiction for another. Without access to any type of substance that can cause relapse, a person has a 100 percent fair and equal chance at making a full recovery.
How should alcoholism be treated?
Alcoholism and other addictions must be treated in an environment centered on dignity and respect. In addition to this, most court systems across America rule in favor of abstinence-based treatment for addicts who find themselves in trouble with the law. Most drug courts aim to divert those with addiction from incarceration.
Is abstinence based treatment safe?
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), abstinence-based treatment is the safest approach to treating drug addiction. It’s still the most commonly used form of addiction treatment across the U.S. today.
Is it hard to recover from drug addiction?
Recovering from drug addiction is hard work — not just in an emotional and mental way, but physically, too. Nowadays, the approach of abstinence-based recovery may seem a little harsh. But it has proven success rates for hundreds and thousands of people looking to get their lives back on track.
Was alcoholism a disease in the 1940s?
From here, alcoholism became widely accepted as a disease. Treatment for alcoholism in the 1940s was pretty dire. You were either jailed or committed to a mental institution and considered mentally ill. But the idea of abstinence treatment gained traction, thanks to AA.
Can you attend a drug treatment facility?
However, they must meet certain requirements and agree to regular drug testing. Most courts will not permit those under supervision to attend a medication-assisted drug treatment facility. They try to emphasize the use of abstinence-based recovery in order to achieve sobriety.
What is the abstinence approach?
The abstinence approach is also rooted in the view of some physicians and neuroscientists, who reduce addiction mainly to the effects of drugs on the brain. For these scientists, the addict’s problem is that her brain has altered genetically, structurally, and chemically to the drug.
What did Tiebout say about the relationship between addicts and drugs?
In less Freudian terms, what Tiebout (1944) was commenting on was that the most important relationship in the addict’s life is with the drug, and the addict goes to any length to protect this relationship. Lying and manipulation are common tactics.
What is the Minnesota model of addiction?
As in AA, the Minnesota Model sees addiction as a disease , and many observers have linked it with Disease Model of addiction. But many others have equated it with the moral narrative. Originally, the moral perspective preached abstinence as the solution. No professional treatment was needed, since redemption for inveterate inebriates demanded that they either get on their knees and pray, or simply ‘just say no’. In principle at least, prohibition legislation in 1920 (1918 in Canada) obviated the need for any sort of formal help.
Why do counselors take it upon themselves to control the client?
Because addicts have pathological personality traits, counselors take it upon themselves to control the client. This idea is, in large part, borrowed from AA, which states that the AA group will care for the alcoholic until the alcoholic learns to care for himself.
When was prohibition repealed?
In principle at least, prohibition legislation in 1920 (1918 in Canada) obviated the need for any sort of formal help. After prohibition was repealed in 1933 and addiction science was reborn, treatment again became a reasonable alternative for the alcoholic.
Is abstinence ethical?
Abstinence has many questionable ethical practices. Many programs follow a ‘three-strikes-and-you’re-out’ policy; thus, clients are often discharged for not making their beds, showing up to group more than 30 seconds late, eating supper with the same client twice in a row (known as pairing), not doing their daily chore, and any number of infractions in the rulebook.
Is methadone maintenance acceptable?
Similarly, many abstinence programs refuse methadone clients, even though the American Society of Addiction Medicine (2001) has declared that Methadone Maintenance is an acceptable form of treatment for opiate addiction.
What is the abstinence treatment?
Abstinence is a centuries-old method for treating substance abuse that requires the addict to completely give up all drugs (and alcohol). Abstinence-based treatment (or ABT) uses counseling and behavioral therapy to support addicts in making positive changes in their lives.
What is the role of abstinence in addiction?
Abstinence is a centuries-old method for treating substance abuse that requires the addict to completely give up all drugs (and alcohol).
What is the purpose of Alcoholics Anonymous?
In fact, Alcoholics Anonymous was the first group to promote addiction as a disease rather than a choice , a position now supported by medical research. ABT has long had both critics and supporters. Many who have stayed sober through ABT say that total abstinence is essential to recovery.
Why is ABT so inexpensive?
Supporters also point out that ABT is relatively inexpensive because it does not require a large medical staff. However, critics of ABT argue that addiction is not a “one size fits all” problem and that many people are not comfortable with the focus on spirituality.
What is the success rate of ABT?
Success rates for ABT range anywhere from 5% to 70%, depending on the source of the data. In recent years, researchers have begun comparing ABT with medication-assisted treatment (MAT), which combines psychosocial therapy with medication to curb cravings and withdrawal.
How does abstinence help with addiction?
Abstinence benefits the addiction recovery process because avoiding drugs and alcohol: Removes all forms of temptation. Using a little bit of drugs here and there and consuming moderate amounts of alcohol keeps the door of substance use open.
Why is abstinence the best approach to recovery?
Recovering from addiction requires a series of lifestyle changes that help individuals regain control of their lives. One of the biggest changes is a commitment to abstain or avoid drugs and alcohol entirely. Abstinence doesn’t address the behaviors, emotions, ...
What is the moderation approach to addiction?
The moderation approach to addiction recovery believes that people can recover from addiction by slowly reducing the amount of alcohol or drugs they consume. Also known as the “harm reduction” approach, this method was created as an alternative to abstinence-only programs, which were criticized for being unrealistic.
How does moderation help with addiction?
The moderation approach can trick individuals into thinking they have control over how much and often they consume addictive substances. Sadly, this can prevent them from seeking treatment.
What is the practice of restraining yourself from indulging in something?
Abstinence is the practice of restraining yourself from indulging in something. In terms of addiction, abstinence means avoiding or not engaging in addictive substances and behaviors. In short, abstinence is exhibiting self-control and restraint when it comes to drugs and alcohol. Even though abstinence isn’t easy, ...
What is the Minnesota model of abstinence?
Today, most addiction recovery centers use the Minnesota Model of abstinence-based treatment. Created in the 1950s, this abstinence approach relies on 10 foundational beliefs. Even though the model was initially created for alcoholism, the approach is now used for all types of addiction.
What is long term sobriety?
Long-term sobriety is one of the best ways an individual can prove a substance no longer controls them. To be sober isn’t just about not being drunk.
What is the abstinence only recovery model?
Historically, addiction treatment has centered upon an abstinence-based model, one which asserts that abstinence is essential in order to recover from addiction. One of the most popular forms of “abstinence only” recovery treatment is Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), a step-based, peer recovery program that has more than 2 million members worldwide in ...
Why is the AA program not resonated?
For some people, the AA program has not resonated, mainly due to its spiritual component. After all, not all people are comfortable with the idea of praying or focusing on spirituality. Others have found its framework too rigid, especially where the complete abstinence requirement is concerned.
What is harm reduction?
Harm reduction is a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use and addiction. It incorporates a spectrum of strategies – from safer use, to managed use to abstinence – to meet drug users “where they’re at,” addressing conditions of use along with the use itself.
What is the push to keep addicts addicted to drugs?
The push is now to keep addicts addicted to pharmaceuticals instead of truly helping them get clean and rebuilding happy lives. The impetus is economic. There are many different approaches to the treatment of alcohol and drug addiction, and studies show that a multi-modality approach is the best.
How does opiate replacement therapy save lives?
Opiate replacement therapy saves countless lives. A rabid adherence to the dogma of purity and abstinence has led to thousands of needless deaths by overdose. These tend to occur during the inevitable relapse after a period of abstinence wherein the opiate addict's tolerance has been significantly reduced.
What is Betty Ford's treatment?
Betty Ford and Hazelden have long been beacons of hope in the addiction treatment community, two well-known and respected centers that used 12-step treatment and abstinence based recovery to help thousands of people recover from addiction for decades. The Betty Ford Center and the Hazelden Foundation announced in 2013 that they were pursuing ...
What is the harm reduction model of Betty Ford?
Instead of an abstinence model, Betty Ford and Hazelden are embracing what is known as a harm-reduction form of treatment using pharmaceutical interventions. These medical based treatments use pharmaceuticals like methadone or Suboxone, and other drugs, to limit the “harm” or negative consequences of substance abuse, ...
What is the mental health parity and addiction equity act?
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act ensures that insurance will pay for a 30-day inpatient program for those who require it. Originally, practitioners within the field of drug and alcohol rehabilitation had hope that access to treatment facilities would increase because of the law.
Is Betty Ford a minimizing or eliminating addict?
However, to those of us who owe our lives to abstinence-based addiction recovery, the news was shocking. Hazelden and now Betty Ford, may be minimizing or eliminating their emphasis on abstinence-based addiction recovery.
Is addiction treatment changing?
Addiction treatment is changing, and must; it’s just not changing fast enough. The misuse of heroin and prescription painkillers (collectively classified as opioids) has been labeled an epidemic by the Centers for Disease Control, and people are dying in record numbers from overdose.
Executive Director’s Column
- Think of any Hollywood movie you’ve seen about addiction treatment: 28 Days with Sandra Bullock, Clean & Sober with Michael Keaton, When a Man Loves a Woman with Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia. The alcohol or drug addict shuffles off to treatment where he or she attends group therapy, deals with emotional issues, and participates in AA meetings. The characters struggle …
Influences on The Abstinence Approach
- Many professionals accept that abstinence is the only viable approach, and they reject any program that does not demand abstinence. This is such an obvious truth for these disciples that further thought is pointless. But if we take time to make their implicit assumptions explicit, we can discern three forces that drive their thinking: the traditional Minnesota Model, moral conviction, …
Neurobiological Reductionist View
- The abstinence approach is also rooted in the view of some physicians and neuroscientists, who reduce addiction mainly to the effects of drugs on the brain. For these scientists, the addict’s problem is that her brain has altered genetically, structurally, and chemically to the drug. The addict’s brain thus requires time to rebalance itself. True t...
Treatment Outcomes
- Outcome measures define success by total abstinence. Gorski and Marlatt (1996) suggested that as many as one-third of treatment facilities had abstinence rates of up to 65 percent over a year, but most studies pin the success rates somewhere around 25 percent or less for up to one year (Miller & Hoffmann, 1995). After one year, the success rates drop significantly. The Rand Corpor…
Abstinence and Political Policy
- Abstinence reflects the American policy of seeing addiction not only as a health issue but also a moral failing. Addiction as a lack of morality is extraordinarily powerful in the United States and impressively popular in Canada. Moral stances have, for example, secured government control over drugs by attempting to legislate them out of existence. Most of us are familiar with federal …
Ethical Concerns with Abstinence
- Abstinence has many questionable ethical practices. Many programs follow a ‘three-strikes-and-you’re-out’ policy; thus, clients are often discharged for not making their beds, showing up to group more than 30 seconds late, eating supper with the same client twice in a row (known as pairing), not doing their daily chore, and any number of infractions in the rulebook. Counselors w…
Clinical Concerns with Abstinence
- Despite their popularity, abstinence programs have come increasingly under pressure from research. Scholarly studies based on motivation theory, pharmacotherapy, and cognitive-behavioral therapy have shown that abstinence is not the sole route to recovery from addiction. Although the abstinence approach has argued that drug use is the defining feature between rec…
Works Cited
- American Society of Addiction Medicine. (2001). Public policy of ASAM. Retreived March 28, 2003, from http://www.asam.org/ppol. DiClemente, C., Bellino, L.E., & Neavins, T. (1999). Motivation for change and alcoholism treatment. Alcohol Research and Health 23(2), 86-92. Forcehimes, A.A. (2004). De profundis: Spiritual transformations in Alcoholics Anonymous.Jour…