People spend more time researching when shopping for a new car than when deciding on the best addiction treatment option, according to a recent article in The New York Times. There is an estimated 23.5 million Americans addicted to drugs and alcohol. Of this number about 1 out of every 10 seek treatment. And for that small percentage who get into treatment, the relapse rate is very high. So when it comes to addiction treatment, what should people be looking for?
One of the biggest problems with addiction treatment options today is that many providers still use the outdated model that one size fits all. Another problem according to a study done last year by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, is that many providers are not medical professionals and they don’t offer “evidence-based care” or “treatment consistent with scientific knowledge about what works.” This means that thousands of treatment programs around the country still offer the same type of care that someone fifty years ago would have received. Hasn’t our understanding of the brain changed since then?
