Alcohol & Drug Rehabs in Birmingham

Understanding Treatment Options in Birmingham

There were over 6,100 hospital admissions due to alcohol-specific illness in 2017/18 in Birmingham, and over 500 hospital visits due to misuse of drugs.

It has been estimated that there are over 13,500 dependent drinkers in Birmingham, over 8,000 users of heroin and other opioid drugs and nearly 7,000 crack users.

These are higher than the national average.

The use of opioid drugs in the 25-34 age category did decline in 2017/18 compared to previous years, but this was the only age group that did.

From 2014-2016 there were 373 deaths attributed to alcohol and 173 deaths where substance misuse played a prominent role.

It has been revealed that the West Midlands region as a whole had over 40,000 people admitted to hospital as a result of alcohol use last year.

The Disease Model Of Addiction

Health care professionals working in the addiction field tend to believe in the disease model of addiction, which states that drug and alcohol addiction should be viewed the same way as any physical illness.

People who have developed a substance misuse disorder can be perceived by some people as being morally inferior or lacking the mental ability to give up taking substances.

The disease model proposes that addiction is an illness caused by physical and psychiatric factors that are beyond human control.

People who have become addicted cannot just choose to get better, just like someone who has become ill with a virus cannot just “pull themselves together” and shake the virus off.

Therefore, people who have developed a SUD should be treated with empathy and positive regard rather than condemned.

Dual Diagnosis In Birmingham Rehab Centres

A significant proportion of people seeking drug and alcohol rehab in Birmingham will also have another mental health condition alongside their addiction, often something like depression, anxiety or schizophrenia.

Such patients are referred to as dual diagnosis patients and, if their co-existing mental health condition is mild to moderate, then specialist rehab staff will be able to use evidence-based treatments to help with their condition.

This could either be established psychological therapies like CBT or approved medication.

Any clients with severe mental health diagnoses on top of their addiction may be referred to other specialist centres that have the resources and experience in dealing with severe mental health conditions.

The Focus On Abstinence

Rehab centres will guide their clients towards abstinence from substances.

This means they will be encouraged to work towards giving up the substance permanently as any other approach would be problematic for them.

There is a harm reduction option available as an alternative approach which involves encouraging clients to decrease their substance use.

However, this is not a suitable option for people who have experienced a more intense addiction, as their brain and internal biology have permanently changed.

It is therefore unlikely that they will be able to take substances at lower levels, as any consumption of drugs would lead to the physical processes of tolerance and withdrawal, starting the addictive cycle again.

Private Rehab VS Council-Funded Rehab Treatment

There are many benefits to going down the private financing route to cover the cost of your rehab treatment.

These include:

• Immediate access to treatment, including medical detox procedures.
• Experienced, highly skilled staff who will have your safety and well-being as their top priority.
• A highly personalised recovery plan, carefully matched to your treatment requirements.
• A prolonged aftercare service.
• A comprehensive list of treatment options, including many different psychological therapies, holistic therapies and the use of advanced medical technologies to analyse your internal physiology.
• Very high success rates.
• A chance to recover in pleasant surroundings, far away from negative influences that could trigger substance use.

The only drawback is cost, but there are different payment options and you can just opt to pay for essential treatment and leave out the luxury extras.

NHS and council-funded treatment is a little different, coming with its own distinct strengths and drawbacks.

Luckily for people who cannot afford to finance rehab treatment themselves, there is an option to apply for funding to pay for treatment.

The NHS makes funding available for everyone to apply for and uses effective, proven interventions in its treatment programmes.

Clients can receive treatment in a setting near to their homes and family.

However, there are many drawbacks to the NHS funding route, such as:

• Your treatment plan will not be personalised and will contain interventions that other people will be prescribed as well.
• There is a long admissions process and there will be delays in beginning treatment whilst people wait for their funding to be approved.
• If funding is approved it will likely only authorise outpatient treatment rather than inpatient treatment, which can reduce the chances of recovery as there is no protection from negative distractions.
• There will be a lack of consistency in your treatment progress, you may have to visit different locations to engage with treatment and there you may not always have sessions with the same practitioner.

Residential Rehab Is Not For Everyone

Residential rehab treatment is simply not for everyone.

Some people may not be suitable for beginning treatment programmes due to their circumstances, which may mean that they are not in the best physical or mental condition to meet the demands of rehab treatment.

These can include:

Severe Conditions

Clients with a dual diagnosis and who either drink severe levels of alcohol (30+ units per day) or have a severe mental health disorder such as schizophrenia or anti-social personality disorder.

Those With Violent Tendencies

Clients who psychiatric services report as displaying violent behaviour towards close relatives or strangers will likely be deemed too dangerous to be treated alongside rehab staff and other patients.

Poor Physical Health As A Result Of High Alcohol Intake

Potential clients who have drunk at high levels for years may need specialist care and attention to treat their condition.

Such individuals may not be able to engage with the demands of the psychological therapies

This may include clients who have been diagnosed with delirium tremens or suffer from alcoholic seizures or Wernicke’s encephalopathy, which has a poor prognosis and requires around the clock care. 

High-Risk Clients

Any clients who tend to regularly have suicidal thoughts would require specialist care elsewhere as they may not be in the optimum state of mind to tackle the psychological challenges of rehab

The Alternatives Of Going To Rehab

Luckily there are plenty of organisations and services out there that can provide support, resources and advice for people seeking help for their substance addiction.

Examples of such sources of help include:

Support Groups

Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are two examples of weekly support group meetings that run weekly throughout the UK.

These meetings offer a safe space for people with addiction to talk about their experiences and build connections with people who have been through similar ordeals.

Support groups will guide members through the 12-step approach to recovery once they start attending regularly and the times, days and locations of meetings can be found on their websites.

SMART Recovery

SMART Recovery is a domestic charity that aims to facilitate people’s recovery from addiction by encouraging them to follow its specifically designed programme which focuses on helping clients acquire key psychological skills.

The key skills in question are derived from the cognitive behaviourist model and enhance clients’ ability to deal with emotions and cravings more effectively so that they do not resort to consuming substances.

Their programmes are free to participate in and are taught online by their specially trained volunteers.

Al-Anon And Other Family Group Meetings

There are also support group meetings available for close family members of people who have developed an addiction to substances.

Just like AA and NA, there are regular weekly meetings throughout the UK available for family members to attend to understand the complex situation their relative is in and to build connections with people facing a similar predicament.

Outpatient Treatment Via A Local Drug & Alcohol Team In Birmingham

Birmingham is a huge city, so there will be several local drug and alcohol teams throughout the area which clients can access to receive treatment for addiction as an outpatient.

There will be NHS clinics or local council projects and local charities available to organise group and individual therapy sessions, and a range of educational sessions to help people begin or continue their rehabilitation from substance use.

These services work collaboratively and always signpost clients to the service providers that meet their individual treatment needs.

Home Detox

Clients can now engage in detox for heroin, alcohol and benzodiazepines whilst living at home, under the supervision of local substance misuse teams in Birmingham.

The Admissions Process In Birmingham

When accepted onto treatment programmes at rehab centres in Birmingham all clients will go through an admissions process to ensure that rehab centre staff are fully aware of all clients’ circumstances.

This is achieved by carrying out a comprehensive assessment which uses the 6 dimensions of the ASAM criteria to assess several areas of a client’s life.

Six Dimensions Of The ASAM Criteria

Each client will be given a risk rating for each of the 6 dimensions to help establish a treatment plan for them.

The 6 dimensions relate to:

• Their physical health
• Their mental health
• Their likelihood of relapsing
• Their current level of substance use
• Their motivation to commence treatment
• Whether there are any social, family, legal or financial issues that may get in the way

The DSM-5 Three Levels of Severity

One main priority of the staff will be to record the severity of each client’s SUD.

They will likely do this by using the 11 DSM-5 criteria for a SUD.

Each client will be categorised as having a mild (2/3 of the criteria), moderate (4/5 of the criteria) or severe (6 or more of the criteria) SUD, which will determine the content of their treatment plan.

The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDITs)

The AUDIT is a brief screening tool used by alcohol professionals to establish if a person is drinking at levels which indicate a dependency on alcohol.

Anyone who feels they drinking alcohol regularly at high levels and needs an assessment will be asked to complete responses to 10 questions.

These questions relate to their drinking habits and the consequences of those habits.

Any respondents who return a score over 8 will be advised to cut down on their drinking and be provided with information and advice on how they can achieve this.

A person who returns a score of 13 or over would be strongly advised to consult with drug rehab services for an immediate assessment of their situation.

When A Professional Intervention Is Needed

It is very difficult for some people to acknowledge that they have a problem with substance use, and someone may be in denial about the effect that this excessive consumption is having on them.

There are professional drug and alcohol intervention specialists that families can consult with if they are concerned about the physical and emotional state of a substance using relative.

An intervention is a pre-planned course of action designed to persuade a targeted person into receiving treatment.

An example of such an intervention is CRAFT, which uses the operant conditioning approach to shape the behaviour of the substance user in the family.

Other family members will be trained to respond to the substance-related behaviour of the individual in question in certain ways, which are designed to elicit a behavioural change.

For example, they may be advised to rebuke the person by refusing to spend time in their company if they take substances.

Tips For Choosing The Right Rehab In Birmingham

Several factors need to be considered when choosing a rehab.

It is preferable to opt for rehab centres with a longstanding treatment service record, as rehab centres that have been operating for 20 years can be seen as reliable.

Opting for a rehab centre with high success rates is always a good approach, and many rehab centres develop a strong reputation for their work, particularly if they specialise in treating a specific form of SUD.

Check independent reviews of treatment centres you are interested in using rather than reviews on their websites.

If possible, try and speak to people who have received treatment there.

Establish your budget as soon as possible and select a treatment centre that fits in your budget.

You can tell a lot by the way the staff at the treatment centre speak to you, so give strong consideration to the rehab centre where you felt certain chemistry with the staff that you spoke to.

Check all the staff and treatment team are suitably qualified for their roles – there are many specifically designed courses available on drug and alcohol rehab at several universities at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

What Is Detox?

Many people who come to residential rehab for treatment have been diagnosed with a severe alcohol use disorder

Because of this, they will likely experience strong and uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms when they attempt to stop drinking.

To help them lessen their physical dependence on alcohol, rehab centres perform a pharmacological procedure (detox).

This is achieved by using a drug called Librium, which as well as being able to limit the negative effects of withdrawal will minimise the likelihood that the client will suffer from any seizures.

This is always a possibility when patients are giving up alcohol after a period of sustained use.

The detox procedure will take around 7-10 days to carry out, and then clients will spend another 3-4 weeks in rehab working on the psychological reasons for their addiction.

Rehab For Cocaine In Birmingham

Most UK rehab centres are vastly experienced in treating cocaine addiction, from which there is a high recovery rate.

Cocaine is a drug that users can quickly develop a psychological dependence on due to its positive effects, which include pleasure and an energy boost.

Cocaine is a stimulant drug with no medical detox treatment available, so rehab staff will focus on helping clients deal with the uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms rather than directly avoiding them.

Treatment will focus on helping the client understand the nature of their psychological dependence through attending counselling and educational sessions.

Rehab For Heroin Rehab In Birmingham

Rehab centres in Birmingham are experts at treating heroin and opioid addiction, which are highly addictive and often result in physical and psychological dependence.

Many rehab teams utilise a two-pronged treatment approach to help clients recover.

The first element of treatment involves organising a medical detox for clients, often using a substitute drug such as methadone in incremental doses that slowly decrease over time.

This will slowly reduce the level of heroin in the body safely while simultaneously keeping withdrawal symptoms at bay.

Once the patient has been stabilised they can begin a programme of psychological interventions to help them overcome the emotional difficulties that may have led to their heroin addiction.

Rehab For Cannabis In Birmingham

People predominantly take cannabis to feel relaxed, so anyone giving up taking cannabis may initially experience anxiety, depression and insomnia.

Rehab teams will help clients withdraw from cannabis as comfortably and safely as possible and will achieve this by teaching them techniques for managing their withdrawal symptoms, as there is no cannabis medical detox.

Our therapy team will then implement individual and group therapy sessions to help clients work through any emotional difficulties they may have experienced, as the self-medication hypothesis proposes that people take psychoactive drugs to help them soothe emotional pain.

Psychological Therapies Available At Birmingham Drug And Alcohol Rehab Centres

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

The cognitive model believes that our thoughts have a profound effect on our emotional state and behaviour.

So, by changing our negative thought patterns and rigid core beliefs, CBT can provide clients with the mental skills to break free from unhelpful cognitive processes that led to and maintain a person’s addiction.

Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)

Strong negative emotions such as anger, fear and sadness are very harmful and can influence behaviour at a deep level, leading to people acting out their addictive behaviour.

Dialectical Behavioural Therapy will educate clients on how they can deal with their negative emotions more skilfully so they do not impact them so strongly and lead to addictive behaviour.

Clients will learn to come to terms with these strong emotions in the sanctuary of the therapy room.

Brief Interventions

Brief intervention counselling can range from several minutes to several sessions, each of which aim to educate the client about the consequences of their substance use and the physical and mental harm it is doing to them and will continue to do to them if they do not change their behaviour.

After the therapist has conveyed the relevant information to the client, the two of them will enter into a dialogue to explore the client’s feelings about what they have heard and the choices they now have available to them.

Motivational Interviewing (MI)

Motivational Interviewing is a technique used by rehab centre staff when some clients may be showing signs of resistance to treatment.

The therapeutic alliance between therapist and client is at the core of this approach and, by showing positive regard and respect, the therapist will help the client find and work through their psychological barriers.

Group Therapy

Engaging in group therapy will help all clients improve their social and communication skills which may have become disrupted as they battled through their drug and alcohol dependence.

Being part of the group will allow people to show empathy for others and to provide support for other people in the group as well as receive support yourself.

The group scenario provides an opportunity for all participants to be part of a small community who develop a strong bond with each other, which has been identified as a core human need.

Individual Therapy

One to one counselling or psychotherapy will help clients to explore all the relevant emotional and psychological challenges in their lives that may have led to their substance use.

There are many different forms of counselling available, and rehab centre staff will advise each client on which form of therapy is most suitable for them.

This will help them to explore the emotional impact that their life experiences have had on them, whether it is a single traumatic event or a prolonged period of distress.

Family Therapy

Research has shown that experiencing unhealthy family relationships early in life can adversely affect a person’s mental health in their journey toward adulthood, including their susceptibility to substance misuse.

Family therapy is one intervention that can contribute significantly to helping substance misusers and their family members understand the nature of their condition and repair their damaged relationships.

Family therapists will help family members identify and work through any challenging aspects of their relationships and communication patterns so that the family can begin to change any dysfunctional relational patterns.

Co-Dependency Treatment

Co-dependent people tend to have unhealthy interaction patterns with significant people in their lives, so much so that they tend to dismiss their own needs as unimportant and tend to show too much concern for the needs of others.

Therapy can help co-dependent people understand and state their own psychological needs and understand the importance of setting boundaries.

Twelve-Step Facilitation Therapy (TSF)

Most rehab centres will have amended the AA’s 12 step model into a form of therapy for clients to engage with during their stay in rehab.

The 12-step model is seen to be a template to work from to help people work through the psychological challenges necessary to achieve abstinence.

The steps are worked through in a specific order, and there will be therapists and peers on hand to help individuals tackle each step.

Holistic Therapies

Many rehab services in the Birmingham area have embraced the value of holistic therapies and offer them to privately funded clients.

Research has indicated that holistic therapies can allow clients to work through traumatic experiences, and help them deal with anger and stress.

Equine Therapy

Clients have reported that after working with a horse and equine therapist, they have improved the quality of their relationships and been able to cope with difficult emotions much better than they used to.

Art / Music Therapy

Expressive therapies enable clients to use a different part of their brain to express their emotions, something they were not able to achieve when engaging in psychotherapy or counselling sessions.

These expressive therapies tend to work well with clients struggling with an addiction as it has helped them work through any denial they had and also facilitated the development of their own spiritual beliefs.

Adventure Therapy

Taking part in practical team building activities in natural surroundings has been valuable for many clients as it increases their ability to work together with other team members, boosts their self-esteem and improves their practical skills, which can provide them with a sense of competency.

Formulating A Relapse Prevention Plan For Clients

As well as treating clients for their SUD, rehab services in Birmingham prepare all their clients with important skills to ensure that they continue to make progress when they leave the rehab centre after several weeks.

During their stay a patient will have many workshops on relapse prevention strategies, which will focus on encouraging them to identify potential high-risk circumstances they may face which may lead them to consume substances again.

For example, they may practice drug refusal skills when they are in the company of people who regularly drink alcohol and where there is a strong social influence to drink present.

By anticipating the scenario and rehearsing a planned response, clients increase their chances of remaining abstinent.

HALT

Anyone who has developed a SUD is at risk of relapsing when they experience strong negative emotions or extreme physical states.

The acronym HALT stands for Hungry, Angry, Lonely & Tired, and addiction therapists at rehab centres will educate clients on the importance of paying attention to these feelings.

Research has indicated this is when people who have been diagnosed with addiction are most vulnerable to relapsing.

Clients will work with therapists to help them understand the nature of these emotions and states and give them the tools to protect themselves from relapse.

Contacting Rehab 4 Alcoholism

Are you ready to turn over a new leaf?

Are you ready to re-join society and leave behind the stigma of alcohol addiction?

If so, call Rehab 4 Alcoholism today on 0800 111 4108.

Whatever your addiction may be, we are here to help.