Does Drug Rehab Really Work?

Never before has there been so much exposure of drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Actors such as Stephen Baldwin, Brigitte Nielsen and Jeff Conaway appear on Dr. Drew Pinsky’s VH1 show, “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.” Interventions are the subject for A&E hour-long show. The Discovery Health channel aired a series called “28 Days in Rehab.” And paparazzi snapped shots of celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Britney Spears in all their distress.

It would be easy to get the impression that drug rehab doesn’t work, as some celebrities or sports figures enter rehab again and again, only to lose the sobriety battle when they leave.

If that’s not confusing enough, different groups promote widely varying philosophies of treatment. Advocates for Twelve Step programs urge one to turn one’s life over to a higher power while others promote medication-assisted treatment of addiction. This latter treatment uses medication such as methadone or buprenorphine, themselves addictive opioids, to forestall withdrawal symptoms. Eventually, these medications must be withdrawn from, although some practitioners may keep addicts medicated for years.

Rehab can appear to be a confusing maze of options and a bewildering contradiction of effectiveness.

“Contrary to the confusion one might pick up from the media, addiction treatment can be effective and the methods used can be straightforward,” commented Derry Hallmark, Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor and Director of Admissions of Narconon Arrowhead. Narconon Arrowhead is one of the country’s leading drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, located in Canadian, Oklahoma. “At Narconon Arrowhead, we help people withdraw from drugs using only nutritional support and gentle exercises to help people relax and get oriented to their surroundings. These holistic measures are highly effective.”

One person completing the Narconon Withdrawal phase said, “I was very skeptical when I came here, but I now feel better than I have in 20 years.  I am very excited and eager to start the program because I know I will feel even better later.  The staff in the Withdrawal Unit helped me so much; there are no words to express how I feel.  I now know that my life will be so much better clean and sober.” C.B. Another person completing this phase wrote, “This is the first time I have ever been able to make it to the other ‘side.’ I’ve been on the high ‘side’ of life since I was 11 years old.  Since then, I’ve never gone more than one or two days without using. This program has changed my life in less than a week. You could say I’m looking at life through a new pair of eyes.” C.N.

“These statements show that lasting sobriety starts best with a drug-free treatment program that first helps a person withdraw from drugs tolerably without drug substitutes, and goes on to show a person how to develop the life skills to stay drug-free for the rest of their life,” added Mr. Hallmark. “This is how we achieve a 70 percent success rate among our graduates.”

To find immediate help for someone who is having a problem with drugs or alcohol, contact Narconon’s free addiction consultation and referral helpline at 1-800-468-6933 or visit their website at http://www.stopaddiction.com/. The Narconon program was founded in 1966 by William Benitez in Arizona State prison, and is based on the humanitarian works of L. Ron Hubbard. In more than 120 centers around the world, Narconon programs restore drug and alcohol abusers and addicts to a clean and sober lifestyle.