Medical Help to Beat an Addiction

There are many agencies that can help overcome an addiction some of these people will be medically trained in some way, others not. Those that have received some description of medical training include General Practitioners, Psychiatrists, Psychologogists, Mental Health Nurses and often many of the therapists have undergone some degree of medical training.

General Practitioners

GP’s are often the first group of people contacted when an addict is looking for help with their addiction. They can provide referrals to other agencies such as counseling, rehabilitation centres, hypnotherapists and psychotherapists, they can also prescribe medications to help with withdrawal symptoms and those that are used as replacement therapies.GP’s can offer support, advice, provide information and keep track of general health, making decisions and referring when necessary.

The main role of the GP in addiction is to treat the detox period and symptoms of withdrawal and help with rehabilitation by providing the necessary referrals when needed.

Mental Health Nurses

Along with working in mental health hospitals, these nurses often form part of the community drug team and can help offer support and advice in the community and for the friends, families and carers of the addicts.Many of these nurses specialise in certain areas such as teenage drug addiction and can offer expertise and a wealth of knowledge in their field.

They can help liaise between the person and the doctors, explain terms, administer medications and other clinical duties, plan treatment schedules and assess their effectiveness.

These nurses also help with planning the management of everyday activities with particular attention to maintenance of personal hygiene needs.

Mental health nurses are almost always trained in counseling, some even continuing their training to become psychotherapists.

Mental health nurses often act as a counselor and will work with either groups or on a one-to-one basis. They may use a variety of techniques to address issues and will allow the person to express themselves in which ever way they feel comfortable with.

Psychotherapists

Psychotherapists are highly trained individuals, often from a medical or nursing background who work with either the individual or with a group and address the emotional and behavioral issues surrounding the person’s problem. They will use proven techniques to discover the root of the problem and using specially designed therapies, reeducate the person and introduce new ways of coping with these problems.

Most of the therapy is performed using verbalization, though some employ art and drama when they feel it is necessary.They normally use listening, thought provocation and communication techniques to bring about changes in behaviour that allow for the individual to cope better with life’s everyday challenges without the use of the drug or substance to help them.As with all methods of counseling and medical intervention, psychotherapists are forced to abide by rules of confidentiality.Getting medical help is essential in beating addiction as most recovering will admit that they relied on these people for the initial stages of their addiction recovery. Those who choose not to receive any medical help find the process of beating an addiction a great struggle.