Treatment

The two main approaches to dealing with substance abuse and addiction are: 1. Harm Minimisation (which attempts to develop a healthier relationship to the substance without completely removing it form the individuals life). Many people have tried their own form of harm minimisation before they seek help. 2. Abstinence (for those individuals who have tried harm minimization and are unable to sustain a healthy amount of use).

In order to contain the purely addictive component of the use, behavioural strategies need to first be implemented. This involves accessing appropriate levels of support, cleaning up the environment in which the person exists to reduce the amount of triggers they are exposed to, and restructuring the individual’s lifestyle to support a healthier way of living.

Once this is achieved, the treatment then attempts to uncover some of the influences that may have pushed the individual towards their addiction in the first place. Is there an underlying condition such as anxiety or depression? Are there traumas of the past to attend to? How does the individual deal with their emotional world? Are current or past relationships a contributing factor?