The goal of treatment is to provide users with a place where they can learn how to effectively live life without using drugs or alcohol. Unfortunately, many addicts enter into opiate rehab without realizing that the keys to success lie upon more than just the treatment staff and their credentials—users must be committed to their sobriety and must work to recover, otherwise the opiate rehab process may all be endured in vein.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Treatment enables people to counteract addiction’s powerful disruptive effects on the brain and behavior and to regain control of their lives.” However, this is only true if the user successfully completes a treatment program that arms him or her with the tools to say “no” to drugs and to live a sober life. As such, there are some steps that can be taken to ensure a successful opiate rehabilitation process:

Withdrawal Treatment

Being truly present in rehab and participating in the programming will help you overcome addiction.

The first key to successfully overcoming opiate addiction is to get proper treatment for withdrawal before attempting any other means of counseling or therapy. When withdrawal symptoms are the primary focus, it’s difficult to focus on anything else—the user must receive treatment for their pain and discomfort and fully detox before effective treatment can take place.

Holistic Treatment

According to recent studies, people who are successful in opiate rehab, or any other means of drug treatment for that matter, generally receive treatment for more than just their addiction. Holistic treatment focuses on treating the whole person including any underlying conditions, health problems, relationship problems, mental illness or other conditions that could trigger their drug use. Without treating the individual as a whole, lingering problems are likely to lead the individual back down a path of opiate abuse following rehab and could potentially derail recovery.

Commitment

Being successful in opiate rehab takes being committed to your sobriety and to your recovery. Those who are committed to the process and who actively take part in recovery and the learning that takes place in opiate rehab are generally more successful and gain more from treatment than those who are apprehensive and don’t want to make a commitment to getting sober once and for all.

Treatment Lengths

The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that treatment for opiate addiction should be no less than 90 days and generally takes longer for most people. As a rule of thumb, treatment should include at least enough time to fully detox as well as enough time to receive counseling and therapy for at least 90 days. Most people find that successful opiate rehabilitation takes closer to six months or more to fully complete.