Detox is just the first part of addiction treatment. Detox on its own is usually insufficient for a successful recovery. Individuals seeking addiction treatment need to treat the psychological part of their addiction. They can accomplish this with counselling, support groups, or an inpatient rehab program. Alcohol or drug addiction results in people’s bodies become used to having these substances in their system. When these substances are gradually reduced and removed during detox, the brain will have to adjust to the sudden drop in these chemicals. This typically causes people to experience a set of unpleasant symptoms known as ‘withdrawal symptoms.

The detox process aims to minimise the negative impact of withdrawal symptoms and make the experience as safe and as comfortable as possible. The most effective form of detox is one that is medically assisted and supported by specialists. This usually happens within a specialist detox centre or facility, under the care of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals. Attempting to detox on your own is rarely successful and people will likely experience unnecessary withdrawal symptoms and become de-motivated by many failed attempts.

Detox is the process by which all traces of alcohol and drugs are removed from the body, ensuring that a person is physically stable and ready to start therapy to overcome their addiction. It is not always a part of addiction treatment but is often expected when entering rehab. Detox is based on the principle that someone who is physically unwell will struggle to tackle any underlying mental health problems. Therefore, the purpose of detox is to tackle the physical side of addiction as a first step, so that patients are prepared to address the psychological features of their addiction, as part of an intensive addiction rehab programme.

Detox can occur in a separate facility before transitioning into an addiction treatment program, or the substance abuse centre may offer both detox and addiction treatment services. It all depends on the individual program. Regardless of the type of treatment program offered, drug counselling is a major component. Drug counselling makes up the bulk of time most individuals will spend in a rehab centre. There are many specific varieties of counselling but the primary types include individual, group, experiential, and family therapy.