If you struggle with a substance abuse problem, you have probably tried to stop using on your own at least once in the past. Your inability to stay clean shouldn't be seen as failure, but as an indication that you need professional help. While many addiction rehab centers offer quality help, you'll find that it's especially helpful to seek out a treatment facility that employs an addiction specialist.
What is an Addiction Specialist?
While an addiction treatment center may employ a certified psychiatrist or medical doctor, those individuals aren't also trained in addiction treatment. Conversely, addiction counselors aren't medical doctors. An addiction specialist combines these two areas of medical treatment by training medical doctors in the practice of treating addiction. As a result, one addiction specialist can address the needs of addicts who are also suffering from medical conditions.
What Qualifies an Addiction Specialist?
After obtaining their medical degree, someone interested in becoming an addiction specialist will have to pursue training and board certification. After completing an addiction training program, they can seek certification from one of several organizations. The primary organizations that grant addiction treatment certification are the American Board of Preventative Medicine and the American Board of Addiction Medicine. They may also seek certification from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology or the American Osteopathic Association. These certifications allow a physician to treat addiction as a brain disorder, ensuring the individual has access to more treatments that may be effective in helping their recovery.
What Are the Advantages of Working With an Addiction Specialist?
Alcoholics and drug addicts also suffer from other medical conditions that either cause their substance abuse or contribute to their use. For example, alcoholism can cause depression, which can cause the individual to drink more. In other situations, someone may develop an addiction through the use of prescription pain killers. An addiction therapist can prescribe specific treatments and therapies to address these underlying conditions as the individual goes through addiction treatment. In this way, both types of conditions can be treated simultaneously.
While your recovery process will be a challenge under any circumstances, an addiction specialist can ensure you get the type of help you need to stay clean and sober. Relapse becomes less likely when you can treat the conditions or situations that contributed to your substance abuse problems. The well-rounded treatment programs that addiction specialists devise are customized to suit each individual's situation. That level of customization improves the chances for sustainable recovery.
