Medical Health Encyclopedia

Some -- but not all -- studies have reported better success rates with inpatient treatment of patients with alcoholism. In the positive reports, patients who were hospitalized for treatment had fewer complications and re-hospitalizations and longer abstinence rates than patients treated as outpatients. Other studies, however, have shown no difference in results between inpatient and outpatient programs. Given the ambiguity in results and high expense of inpatient treatment, most care providers do not choose inpatient treatment for alcoholics who are not a threat to others or to themselves.

Inpatient Treatment Options. A typical inpatient regimen may include the following stages:

• A physical and psychiatric work-up for any physical or mental disorders
• Detoxification --this phase involves initiating abstinence, managing withdrawal symptoms and complications, and ensuring that the patient remains in treatment
• On going treatment with medications in some cases
• Psychotherapy, usually cognitive-behavioral therapy
• An introduction to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)

Outpatient Treatment Options. People with mild to moderate withdrawal symptoms are usually treated as outpatients. Treatments are similar to those in inpatient situations and include the following:

• Psychotherapy or counseling
• Medications that target brain chemicals involved in addiction
• Social support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous
• Cognitive therapies
• Quitting smoking

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After-Care and Work Therapy. After-care employs services that help alcoholics maintain sobriety. For example, in some cities, sober-living houses provide residences for people who are trying to stay sober. They do not offer formal treatment services, but the people living there offer each other support and maintain an abstinent environment. A 2002 study reported that work therapy improved the outcome for homeless veterans who were being treated for substance abuse.

Factors That Predict Success or Failure After Treatment