Alcoholism is a disease characterised by continuous heavy drinking. Until people with alcohol use disorder admit to problems with alcohol and stop drinking, the risk of alcohol use disorder continues which affects both physical and mental health.
Alcohol starts to injure the brain once it reaches the bloodstream.
Excessive consumption can lead to Alcohol-Related Brain Damage, or ARBD, which is a type of brain disorder caused by alcohol consumption. Brain shrinkage caused by alcohol abuse is permanent, as alcohol kills brain cells and grey matter.
For more information and effects click ‘Learn More’.
Family Recovery Compass is a newsletter for friends and family members who feel trapped between supporting a loved one in addiction, and protecting their own wellbeing.
Every week, we tackle one specific situation in addiction family dynamics, and deliver practical decision-making frameworks and exact dialogue scripts – that help you respond with confidence instead of reaction.
Every month, we bring you an unfiltered recovery conversation with someone who’s either experienced addiction firsthand, or works closely with those in recovery.
No sanitised success stories – just practical insights on what actually works in recovery, that you can apply, in your life too.
Recovery capital is the internal and external resource used to begin the recovery process and maintain sobriety. This combines personal, social, and community support to provide a joined-up approach that supports the addict through recovery.
Do you or a loved one need addiction treatment for alcohol or drugs? Thousands blindly walk into addiction treatment in expensive rehab centres and find that the reality doesn’t meet expectations.
If you’re considering rehab treatment, first check our ultimate guide for complete instructions on how to find the right rehab centre for you.
Take-home Naloxone kits help families and loved ones respond quickly in an opioid overdose emergency, until emergency services arrive. Kits contain nasal or injectable forms of Naloxone.
Changes in legislation mean Naloxone kits are now more widely available from pharmacies and drug services, including Abbeycare.
For additional information, click ‘Learn More’ below.
Overcoming alcohol addiction means first ceasing alcohol intake, and taking care of physical and chemical withdrawal symptoms.
Detoxing from alcohol means undergoing withdrawal from alcohol, but with the assistance of prescribed medication and detox phase, to substitute in place of the alcohol itself.
Alcohol rehab focuses on tackling the problems underneath alcoholism, such as grief, trauma, depression, and emotional difficulties, in order to reduce continuing drinking after treatment.
Inpatient services at an alcohol rehab programme provides 24 hour access to specialist care.
Alcohol home detox provides a means of semi-supervised addiction treatment in the comfort of your home. It’s often suitable for those with inescapable practical commitments, or where a reduced budget for treatment is available.
An at-home detox is the most basic detox option available from Abbeycare, and assumes you have support available, post-detox, for the other important elements of long-term addiction recovery.
The term alcoholism refers to the consumption of alcohol to the extent that the person is unable to manage their own drinking habits or patterns, resulting in side-effects that are detrimental to the quality of life and health of the alcoholic, or those around them.
An alcoholic is someone who continues to compulsively abuse alcohol in this way, despite the negative consequences to their lives and health.
Immediately following treatment, the early stages of recovery and abstinence are most vulnerable to lapses.
At Abbeycare, a structured and peer-reviewed aftercare plan is usually prepared whilst still in treatment. This comprises social, peer, and therapeutic resources individuals draw upon, following a residential treatment programme for drug or alcohol misuse.
Clinically managed residential detoxification is:
– A structured detox that uses medication-assisted treatment and regular physical health observations
– Takes place in an inpatient rehabilitation unit or hospital
– Typically lasts from 7-10 days, but in Abbeycare, it is incorporated into a 28-day rehab programme
Family Therapy at Abbeycare Scotland or Gloucester is realistic, compassionate, and appropriate for families and loved ones of addicts.
Family therapeutic interventions in residential rehabilitation have been designed to support those living with or caring for participants entering the Abbeycare Programme.
Support for families in a group setting allows for a safe, constructive, and confidential place to listen and share common experiences.
Inpatient rehab is drug and/ or alcohol treatment in a rehab centre, where patients remain on-site for the duration of inpatient rehabilitation.
It includes detoxification from drugs, therapy (group work and 1-2-1 sessions), and aftercare planning. Inpatient rehabs typically last 28 days, but this varies on an individual basis.
Long-term treatment at Abbeycare has been developed for those suffering from alcohol or drug addiction. Completing a long-term drug and alcohol inpatient programme may be the solution to problematic substance use.
Motivational Enhancement Therapy can be used by trained addiction recovery therapists to elicit internal changes within and promote long-term recovery from substance use disorder.
All the answers to addiction can be found within with this comprehensive and successful therapy concept leads to behavioural changes, reflective listening, self-motivational statements, and a comprehensive recovery process.
Outpatient drug or alcohol rehab is daytime treatment as opposed to living in a treatment facility.
Outpatient treatment is similar to inpatient in terms of the methods used to treat substance abuse. Where they differ is in their approach to recovery.
Abbeycare’s prison to rehab is a 12-week structured rehab programme which involves direct transfer from prison. The suitability of the candidate is decided by prison staff.
Short-term residential treatment programmes are the chance to press the reset button and access a therapeutic programme designed to create recovery from the use of alcohol and drugs.
Feeling stuck in a rut. Want to stop but can’t seem to achieve sobriety?
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The 12-step programme was created by alcoholics anonymous (AA), and is specifically designed to aid addicts in achieving and maintaining abstinence.
The central ethos behind the programme is that participants must admit and surrender to a divine power to live happy lives. Ideas and experiences are shared in meetings, and help is sought in an attempt to achieve abstinence.
Abbeycare’s policy to respect your privacy and comply with any applicable law and regulation regarding any personal information we may collect about you, including across our website and other sites we own and operate.
If the client has arrived from a domestic violence shelter
Toiletries that are prohibited by rehabilitation facilities are:
Mouthwash
Perfume
Deodorant (containing alcohol)
Skincare products containing alcohol - e.g. face wipes, face wash, face and body creams
TV In Rooms
The availability of TVs in each room depends on each individual facility; smaller facilities with lower budgets may only provide a TV in the main living area.
Streaming services (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney +, etc.) are typically not provided for clients, but clients can access personal subscriptions on TVs.
Facilities typically do not provide game consoles, or encourage clients to bring own devices in, due to games distracting from therapeutic gains made in rehab.
Nurse Call System
Different nurse call systems in rehabs are:
A wired call system installed through the rehab that connects to a central system
A wireless call system that is connected through Wi-Fi to a central system
In rehabs with lower budgets, a wireless call system is typically used as it avoids the cost of wiring needed for a wired call system.
Types of call devices are:
A button to press in each room
A pull cord to pull in each room
A wearable device given to each patient
An intercom device in each room
Notifications from call devices can come from:
Pagers
Text notifications
Notifications to a central system
Cleaning
Typically, rehabs offer cleaning in bedrooms every other day, with this changing based on overall cost of rehab.
Faith-run rehabs that provide free or subsidised treatment require clients to clean bedrooms personally.
Accommodation Amenities
Laundry Facilities
Laundry facilities differ between rehabs by:
Residents having a laundry room to do laundry in personally
Laundry done by staff and delivered to rooms
Coin-operated machines used
Facilities included in price of stay
Washing powder provided or needs to be bought
Tumble dryers or airers provided
Whether clients are allowed to dry washing in own rooms - due to fire, mould or trip hazards
Smoking Areas
Due to the 2007 smoking ban, smoking inside any rehab is not permitted [2].
Smoking in rehabs differs by:
Provision of designated outdoor smoking areas vs being allowed to smoke in any outdoor spaces
Supervised and scheduled smoking breaks vs freedom to smoke whenever needed
Shared rooms are available in rehabs to lower costs and admit more patients.
Are Pets Allowed In Rehabs?
In most residential rehabs, pets are not allowed due to:
Pets causing disruptions to treatment
The risk of Lyme disease, ringworm or cat scratch disease [4]
Risk of pets biting or scratching other clients
Other clients having an allergy to pets
Circumstances and scenarios that may allow pets in rehab are:
Homeless individuals with pets
Emotional support animals
Guide dogs
Hearing dogs
Seizure alert dogs
Autism support dogs
The above scenarios are at the discretion of the individual rehab.
How Is Safety And Security Ensured In Rehabs?
Keys And Keycodes
The use of keys and keycodes differs between rehabs by:
Staff being given personal keys or keycodes and instructed not to share with others
Staff having master keys or keycodes to all client's rooms
Locks on bathroom doors - particularly in shared rooms
Floors/ rooms being closed off using keys or keycodes for safety purposes
Staff having keycodes for the perimeter of the rehab vs clients being able to go outside at any time
Keys for medication and patient information storage
Secured alarmed medication cabinets
Keys and keycodes ensure client's safety and security by:
Restricting access to medication from clients
Providing security for clients in personal bedrooms
Ensuring areas of the rehab can be blocked off in case a client is being aggressive
Safes
One Safe Per Rehab
Individual Safes
Access
Staff
Clients
Safety concerns
Minimal concerns due to staff-only access
Allowing other clients to access safe- potential for stealing
Can clients attempt to hide drugs/ alcohol in safes?
No
Yes- rehabs must check valuables on arrival
Privacy And Personal Space
Privacy and personal space differ in different rehabs by:
The amount of private time in rooms scheduled in the daily rehab programme
Locks on rooms and bathroom doors
Personal space boundaries in shared rooms (e.g designated beds and storage areas)
Choice between communal spaces for conversations and private areas to access for therapy work or self-reflection
Cameras in communal areas but not bathrooms and rooms vs cameras in rooms
In every rehab setting, clients' privacy cannot be valued over the safety of the client and other clients in the rehab facility.
Staff-To Patient Ratio
The Care Inspectorate does not specify a specific staff-to-patient ratio required in rehabs; only that staff be qualified and competent to meet patients' needs [5].
Inspectors judge how the rehab functions with its current staff-to-patient ratio and will make recommendations in the Care Inspectorate report and in consultation with clinic management.
Staff-to-patient ratios differ:
In different sessions- e.g. one member of staff is required for group therapy sessions, but several are required for swimming activities
In faith-run rehabs where the majority of staff are volunteers
In rehabs that treat dual diagnosis where different staff are required to provide co-occurring addiction and mental health treatment
Conflict De-Escalation And Crisis Management
Conflict de-escalation and crisis management differ in different rehabs:
Rehabs that deal with a population with previous physical aggression, crystal meth-induced violence or psychosis focus on de-escalating physical conflict
Conflict de-escalation that confronts and talks through the issue in a therapeutic environment in rehabs with therapy-trained staff vs separation of individuals in rehabs without therapy-trained staff
Staff being trained to identify triggers of a crisis situation and prevent where possible
Providing a plan of action to avoid future conflicts/crises vs rehabs with a zero tolerance to violence policy leading to potential discharge
Rehabs closing off rooms/ floors during a crisis to minimise violence
About the author
Harriet Garfoot
Harriet Garfoot BA, MA has an Undergraduate degree in Education Studies and English, and a Master's degree in English Literature, from Bishop Grosseteste University. Harriet writes on stress & mental health, and is a member of the Burney Society. Content reviewed by Laura Morris (Clinical Lead).
