What is drug treatment like?

You may have realised that you’re not in full control of your drug use and that it’s causing problems. These problems might involve money, strained friendships, broken relationships, your job, or getting arrested.

If you’re developing a problem with prescribed or over-the-counter medicines, you may find you’ve been hiding the amount you’re taking or lying about your symptoms.

There are two main ways you can find treatment:

Through your GP

Your GP refers you to a treatment service.

Self-referral

Details of treatment services are available online, from your local NHS services and in the phone book. FRANK also has a directory of treatment services.

You can also call the FRANK helpline and talk confidentially to one of our advisors.

Before treatment can start, you’ll need to discuss your drug use with a doctor, other health professionals or a trained substance misuse worker.

They will let you know what treatment options are available for your drug use and any other health problems you may have. Your personal care plan will then be developed with you.

This care plan normally details your immediate and longer-term treatment goals and is intended to be updated throughout your time in treatment as your needs and circumstances change.

Your treatment journey should be tailored to your circumstances and needs, but most treatment involves some form of talking therapy.

Prescribed medication is also needed for certain drug problems. See Step 5 for more information on different types of treatment.

Recovery from a drug problem often involves a long-term lifestyle change. A number of social factors can help you not to use drugs (called abstinence) and can help you achieve an improved quality of life.

These include:

• having stable accommodation
• developing a new network of non-drug using friends
• re-engaging in education or work
• getting support from others who have had similar problems

Mutual aid groups, like Narcotics Anonymous or Cocaine Anonymous, can play an important role in this for many people, as can new forms of peer support, like SMART Recovery groups

Talking therapy

As you’d imagine, this involves talking about your drug problems. It can also involve exploring the reasons for your drug use and what you can do to resist taking drugs, as well we what you can do to achieve other positive goals.

For many problem drugs, talking therapy provided alongside a care plan and other support work is the mainstay of treatment. For example, for cocaine dependence, a talking therapy alongside other support that addresses wider problems is what is most effective.

Depending on the circumstances, as well as being offered a form of individual therapy, you might be offered group therapy or a period of therapeutic work with your partner or with your family.

Substitute prescribing

Substitute prescribing refers to prescribing a safer alternative to the problem or drug, e.g. a methadone mixture instead of street heroin. Using a prescribed substitute is usually only available for problems with opiates (like heroin), and as just one of the stages of treatment.

Prescribed methadone is probably the best known alternative to street heroin but buprenorphine is another substitute opiate that’s used. The initial aim of these substitutes is to replace the very dangerous street drug with a much safer prescribed opiate, but the longer-term goals are much wider.

They include first stabilising you on a dose of medication that avoids you experiencing withdrawals, and helps you to stop using your problem drug, and then using the initial period of stability to help you take the next steps to full recovery.

There is very good evidence to support the use of opiate substitution treatment as one part of a path to recovery. The aim is usually then for the dosage of the substitute drug to be decreased, alongside talking treatments and other support for recovery - when agreed as part of the overall care plan. Substitution treatment is also used in some carefully selected individuals with problems with tranquillisers (like diazepam or Valium).

Intensive rehabilitation

This is when you attend a special centre where you receive your treatment daily in a structured and more intensive way. This may be provided on a day-patient basis in your local area but this is also available, when it is considered appropriate for your needs, as residential rehabilitation.

This involves living away from your usual circumstances and influences, usually to focus on achieving and sustaining long-term abstinence and recovery goals.

For more information on drug treatment, use our treatment services directory to find details of local drug treatment and counselling services.

For more information on drug treatment, use our treatment services directory to find details of local drug treatment and counselling services.