Holistic Treatment of Drug and Alcohol Addiction

In recent years there has been a lot of discussion as well as more alcohol and chemical dependency treatment centers embracing the concept of Holistic Treatment. What is the basic treatment concept of a Holistic Treatment program? On first blush Holistic Treatment to some might sound like a far out super spiritual concept of alcohol and chemical dependency treatment. Nothing could be further from the truth. The basic concept of a Holistic Treatment Program is to treat Body, Mind and Spirit. The disease of addiction has a multi faceted affect on the individual. It negatively affects body, mind and spirit. Therefore, to treat the entire disease of addiction all three components of the disease must be addressed appropriately.

When evaluating treatment outcomes as accurately as we can, it is obvious that the treatment failure rate is much too high and definitely unacceptable. The basic core of many alcohol and chemical dependency treatment programs is Twelve Step. Everyone who is either operating an addiction treatment program or has been positively impacted by Twelve Step knows and understands the value of Twelve Step. But, the key question to be asked is should we be satisfied with positive treatment outcomes as low as 5-15% 90 days after clients are discharged from treatment? I for one, feel that these type of clinical treatment outcomes are just not acceptable. This prompts me to ask the obvious question, what can we do to better improve our success rates in treating alcohol and chemically dependent clients?

One solution to address the low success rates of treatment is to research alternative or agentive treatments. When I researched alternative treatment options I embraced the concept of a well planned and implemented Holistic Treatment design. In my opinion the program design incorporates the key elements of Twelve Step as well as blending the key elements of a Holistic Treatment design. There are numerous legitimate elements of Holistic Treatment such as acupuncture, physical fitness protocols, massage therapy just to mention a few. These elements are well accepted as proven elements that can add to the potential for success.

The disease of addiction is insidious, manipulating and a challenge to treat. Therefore the treatment of this disease must be creative and utilize all the tools available to achieve success in treating alcohol and chemical dependency. If you where a client afflicted with an addiction what type of treatment program would you embrace?