Dr. Sudhir Dholakia

Drug abuse is characterized by the excessive use of illegal drugs, prescription drugs or even over-the-counter drugs. Drug abuse eventually leads to drug dependency whereby the drug begins to take control over you and affects your daily activities as well as your physical health.

Treatment:
Treatment of drug abuse normally involves a series of steps to be undertaken. These are:

1. Group therapy
2. Counseling
3. Drug addiction

Furthermore, treatment of drug abuse generally follows a 12-step program which continues even after the treatment as a part of the recovery process.

Detoxification:
Detoxification, or simply detox, is a procedure involving medical care while attempting to deal with withdrawal symptoms after your initial break from drug use. Since dealing with withdrawal symptoms can be quite problematic, you will certainly have to consult a doctor who will probably prescribe you certain medications.

Therapy:
There are different types of therapy needed to overcome the problem of drug abuse. These include:

1. Group therapy, where you can interact your problems with other people who are going through the same ordeal.
2. Motivational interviewing (mi), where you can resolve mixed feelings with regard to quitting and treatment.
3. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), where you can learn to take control over your actions as well as change your thought and behavior pattern in order to adjust to a drug-free life.
4. Motivational enhancement therapy (met), where motivational interviewing is used to help give you more motivation with respect to quitting drug consumption.
5. Family counseling, or even couples therapy, where you can learn how to stay drug-free as well as improve your relationship with your family members or with your partner.

Treatment programs:

Treatment programs are often similar to therapies and are classified into three types:

1. Inpatient treatment
2. Outpatient treatment
3. Residential treatment.