Family members often wonder how to deal with a case of drug dependence in a close relative. Dr. Zafra, a specialist in psychiatry and addictions, offers the answers.
HOW SHOULD A FAMILY MEMBER ACT WHEN FACED WITH A CASE OF DRUG DEPENDENCE?
To know and understand what an addiction consists of and how to act in the face of it, it is essential to include the family in the patient’s recovery process, attending sessions with other families in a similar situation and including them in the psychotherapy sessions, together with the patient with the addiction problem.
The objective is that family members can understand what is happening, purify the toxic emotions generated by the relationship with the addicted person and teach how to provide effective emotional support and give the necessary support to achieve the best prognosis and the lowest possible risk of relapse in the consumption of substances or alcoholism.
The therapy establishes guidelines to be followed. It is recommended to avoid codependency and controlling behaviors, so that it is understood that it is the person with addiction who has to assume the responsibility of putting the maximum will and commitment to recover from this disease.
WHAT IS THE FIRST STEP TO FOLLOW?
The first step, on the part of the person with addiction problems, is to recognize the existence of the problem, to let him/her be helped to overcome this disease and not to be afraid to ask for help.
Motivation plays an important role in establishing the first changes, when the patient is more receptive to receiving information and proposing solutions. Motivation is a dynamic emotional state that is a fundamental part of the therapeutic approach. Professionals must be trained in this type of therapy.
The objective of this type of approach is to keep the patient on the side of the balance that makes him/her decide to remain abstinent, as opposed to maintaining a consumption behavior on the part of the professionals. This type of motivational approach is the one that shows the highest rate of sustained abstinence and psychologically positions the patient to do the things they want to do, how they want to do them and when they want to do them.
WHAT DOES THE ADDICTION PATIENT’S RECOVERY TREATMENT CONSIST OF?
It is a dynamic process that has been classically defined in four phases, with no definite time period, as it depends on the patient’s personal characteristics and environmental conditions.
The first phase is detoxification in which the patient is medically freed from alcohol or the problem drug and the body and brain begin to function without drugs.
The second phase of the process is detoxification where the person identifies the toxic habits and altered attitudes, and actively works to change them with the aim of improving the quality of life that favors their integration into the family, work and social environment.
From the moment of rehabilitation is the third phase of recovery and consists of recovering the skills lost or not developed by the patient due to consumption, carrying out activities aimed at controlling impulses, improving social skills or reducing anxiety.
The fourth phase is reintegration, which involves the preparation and return of the patient to his or her family and social environment with a normalized development of his or her life and a medical and therapeutic follow-up over a longer period of time, until the objective is fully achieved.
HOW LONG DOES REHABILITATION THERAPY LAST?
The first phase is the detoxification phase. Generally, it has a time range between 10 and 25 days, which depends on the severity of the alcoholism or the intensity of the drug use disorder, the presence of dual pathology and the personal, medical, family and social consequences that have occurred during the active addiction. In the remaining phases, time is not a limiting factor and should be accommodated to the particular needs of each person and his or her environment.
Generally speaking, it is accepted that the first time step is in the first 4-6 months, since this is when there may be a false perception of cure and the patient’s guard is lowered, when this step is overcome, the next time milestone of abstinence is 12 months. When the patient is able to take 2 years away from the addiction is when the risk of relapse is really minimized, although it never becomes zero.
WHAT RECOMMENDATIONS SHOULD THE PATIENT FOLLOW ONCE TREATMENT IS COMPLETED?
It is recommended to initiate follow-up sessions through outpatient sessions, either individual or group, according to which the patient and his family members continue with a medical and psychological follow-up to see how the patient is getting back to his life and if the established objectives are being met. This involves consolidating improvement, strengthening new habits and approaching adversities together, anticipating in a real and effective way the eventualities that may arise.