Heroin Addiction Treatment

Heroin Addiction Programme

Suffering from heroin addiction can negatively affect every aspect of your life and that of your family. Taking the first step toward recovery requires a comprehensive approach which treats both the physical dependence and psychological reasons for addiction. With 25+ years of experience in treating addiction, science-based programmes with options for all cases, and a team of addiction experts, Providence Projects can help you take that first step toward recovery.

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How Do You Get Addicted to Heroin?

Heroin works on your brain’s reward system; the anticipation of an upcoming dose and the consumption of heroin release an immense amount of brain chemicals, like dopamine, serotonin and endorphins, which make you feel content, peaceful, and blissful.

The intense effect can quickly make your body physically dependent and create irresistible cravings. If you started as a one-time experiment or needed something to numb the pain, symptoms of addiction can set in after a few doses.

Is There Help for Heroin Addicts on the NHS?

Yes, through the NHS, you can contact your GP or the local drug treatment service for help with drug use. However such services are run on an outpatient basis, which may not be suitable for those with a severe dependence on heroin.

While periodic supervision by a drug worker in your home may help milder cases, private residential treatment may be the preferable alternative if you need a safe and comfortable environment with round-the-clock support. Residential treatment provides many benefits including a medically-assisted detox programme, structured therapeutic activities, higher levels of care, and a safe place away from any temptations to use.

What Are The Dangers?

Heroin is a highly addictive substance, and tolerance is developed quickly, which increases the need for a higher dose just so you can get the same “high” as before. As a result, a fatal overdose is possible if people lose track of how much they’ve previously taken due to the irresistible need to take more. The intense cravings and pain from any attempt at heroin withdrawal can make you disregard your well-being and those you care about, which makes trying to stop very challenging on your own.

Some of the common withdrawal symptoms include:

• Muscle spasms and cramps
• Nausea
• Flu-like symptoms
• Constipation
• Headaches
• Irritability
• Anxiety
• Mood Swings
• Symptoms of depression
• Insomnia
• Intense and uncontrollable cravings

How Does Rehab For Heroin Addiction Work?

The treatment process for heroin addiction begins with an assessment of your condition. We examine the severity of the addiction and how it affects your life, unique circumstances, mental health issues, and other relevant factors in crafting a personalised action plan.

For example, you could suffer both from heroin use and attention deficit disorder, which would be a dual diagnosis that must be treated with a customised action plan. Assessment and admission into the Providence Project can be immediately made so that you can start your recovery journey immediately.

The first and most crucial step in your fight with heroin addiction involves a detox programme where you will be in a safe and controlled environment under daily supervision and monitoring. At the same time, your body removes the substance and other toxins from itself.

The “cold turkey” approach, where you suddenly stop a substance, can be tricky and may shock your body, causing other severe withdrawal symptoms. For that reason, our heroin detox programmes often involve medication to ease your withdrawal and ensure you sleep well and can function normally during that phase.

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Therapies Used to Treat Heroin Addiction

Your fight addiction isn’t just about ridding yourself of physical dependence. Our programmes involve numerous therapy options that can address the various mental health issues and psychological shortcomings which may fuel your addiction.

As part of your heroin rehab in the Providence Project, you will get one-on-one counselling with an addiction expert who uses evidence-based methods like CBT and DBT to address irrational thoughts and the underlying psychological reasons for addiction.

We seek to provide a holistic and comprehensive approach to therapy, giving patients options because each case is unique. Aside from individual counselling, we also offer the following options:

• Group therapy and support groups
• Self-esteem and confidence work
• Relapse presentation and cravings management
• Relationship and family therapy
• Motivation therapy
• Music therapy
• Stress and anxiety management
• Anger management
• Recovery skills classes
• Exercise classes
• Healthy habit forming
• Alternative therapy approaches

All of those approaches seek to address underlying reasons that fuel addiction, such as low self-worth, loneliness, high stress levels, lack of motivation and purpose and more. They also seek to build healthier alternatives and improve your well-being. For example, physical exercise can improve hormonal balance and release dopamine, serotonin and endorphins that make you feel content and improve your motivation.

Is Group Better Than Individual Counselling?

Both therapy approaches are important because they help you fight different aspects of addiction. Individual counselling will help you learn more about the reasons behind your addiction, what triggers your cravings, and how to develop effective coping mechanisms.

On the other hand, group therapy will give you an inclusive environment where you feel understood and have your experiences validated. You learn from the struggles of others and get inspired and motivated by the success stories of other people who also suffer from substance abuse.

Residential Addiction Treatment - The Benefits

Residential heroin addiction treatment has multiple unique benefits compared to community-based and outpatient programmes.

• The opportunity to be in a safe and controlled environment without access to drugs.
• Supervision by medical experts with extensive experience during your medication-assisted treatment and quick intervention to avoid serious health risks.
• The chance to fully devote yourself to the detox process and recovery without outside distractions.
• A holistic therapy approach where you can explore the underlying reasons for heroin abuse and learn coping mechanisms to avoid relapse and develop better contingency management in case you feel intense cravings.
• A welcoming and comfortable living space where you are surrounded by love, support, and empathy from people who know what you are going through.

Heroin Addiction: Relapse Prevention

During your heroin rehab, you are in a controlled environment where you can’t relapse. However, once you step back into the real world, you are exposed to the same temptations and factors that led you to addiction in the first place. We offer relapse management classes during your heroin rehab to help you understand the social, emotional, and mental reasons which can trigger cravings and how to manage them.

Once your heroin addiction rehab is over, we offer a comprehensive aftercare treatment plan personalised to your schedule, current needs and the type of approaches you respond best. The aftercare programme can include one-on-one meetings with your addiction counsellor to keep you accountable, track your progress, and help with enrollment into 12 steps support groups or other group and community-based therapy approaches to keep in touch with like-minded people who know what you are going through.

Everybody who visits the Providence Project becomes part of our family, and we’d never leave you alone, which is why you and your family can always call us for help, even after your heroin rehab in our treatment centre.

Continued Withdrawal Symptoms

Drug abuse, especially for highly addictive substances like heroin, leaves some psychological and emotional symptoms post-detox. In many cases, the allure of taking heroin comes down to how it mentally and emotionally affects you. For some, it helps them relax when stressed, numbs the physical or psychological pain they are going through, makes them joyful or euphoric when suffering from depression, or acts as a way to escape their loneliness and other issues.

Those temptations won’t end once you step out of rehab, so sticking with an effective aftercare programme and employing various therapy and group tools to stay accountable and keep in touch with others is crucial to avoid relapse.

How to Choose an Addiction Treatment Service in the UK

When choosing the right treatment service in the UK for your heroin abuse or other alcohol or drug abuse-related issues, you need to consider the type of programme you prefer.

When picking a programme, you can choose between outpatient or inpatient treatment. Outpatient means you stay in your home, go to a treatment centre only for a few hours during detox, and get periodic supervision. Inpatient provides accommodation, and 24/7 supervision in a controlled environment, which may be preferable for more severe cases of substance abuse. You must also consider the amount of money you can spend on private rehab. How much you pay will depend on the length of your stay, the number of features and programmes you’ve paid for, and the complexity of your case.

The Providence Project’s Track Record of Success

With 25 years in the industry, The Providence Project has a stellar and overwhelmingly positive record of success stories from all walks of life. With each patient, we create a personalised plan for action and give them all the assistance needed while ensuring they never feel alone in their journey. From severe cases like Zak, who had tried ecstasy and crack and then moved to heroin, to celebrities like Matt Willis, who grappled with alcohol and drug addiction, our holistic and inclusive approach has a proven track record of effectively helping people overcome addiction.