State Initiatives For Treating The Problem Of Substance Abuse In Delaware
Like in other states, the state of Delaware also lays great emphasis on the close association between mental health and substance abuse. The problem of substance abuse in Delaware is often spoken of in the same breath as mental illnesses. The state health website of the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DSAMH) elucidates this point.
According to the theories placed on this website, substance abuse is a mental problem. People who are abusing a substance are not of a healthy mental constitution. When the person consumes the addictive chemical for the first time, a signal is sent to the brain and the nervous system that the effects produced of this substance are good.
The effects are recorded and then the nervous system begins clamoring for more of this substance. This is where the addiction begins to set in. It can be seen that it is the central nervous system of the person that is causing the person to have more and more of the substance and hence it is this system that is responsible for sustaining the addiction.
In the light of all this, DSAMH concludes that it is necessary to look upon substance abuse as a mental problem. Without that approach, it will be difficult to treat the addiction.
This is justifiable from a practical point of view also. People who are into substance abuse will not be able to condition their minds in order to stay away from the substance of addiction. Hence, in that way, they are mental patients. Also, their weak setup of mind will make it difficult for them to steel their resolve to stay away from the substance of addiction.
All these things point to only one fact: substance abuse is a mental illness. That is the reason, the methods used to treat substance abuse in Delaware, especially if it is in conjunction with a mental illness, are quite different. In normal cases, substance abuse treatment is meted by making the patient undergo a detoxification program. However, a simple detoxification program will not suffice someone who is a mental patient.
This is because the patient will not be able to condition his or her mind into thinking that the addiction is bad and that they have to stay away from it. With the lack of this kind of mental focus, it becomes very difficult to create the determination in the patient to go through the detoxification. Also, their weak state of mind will compound the effects of the detoxification because they will feel a stronger withdrawal process than most people.
The DSAMH runs several programs for the treatment of substance abuse in Delaware. These programs can be classified into three main groups as follows:-
Community Mental Health Programs
The main intention of the community mental health programs run by the state of Delaware are to provide the right kind of treatment for patients who are suffering from mental illnesses and also to provide them with counseling and support to make them better contributors to society.
There is a high focus on making these people live independently and at the same time become a part of the society that they live in. Also, these programs are designed to provide emergency services to any patient that might need it.
Psychiatric Center
This is a complete psychiatric counseling unit, mainly designed for patients who are suffering from mental afflictions. This is where patients of mental health problems are counseled. Patients who have taken up substance abuse are also counseled through the psychiatric center, usually after they have been put through a detoxification program to remove the presence of the toxic materials within their bodies.
Substance Abuse Treatment
The DSAMH devotes a lot of its time and effort in trying to overcome the substance abuse problem. Efforts are initiated at the individual level where the patient is provided with preventive counseling. This is also extended to the families of the patient. However, if the person has already taken up a chemical dependency, then this department will look after the proper eradication of the dependency from their constitution.
Special programs are formulated for people who have the coexisting problems of mental health and substance abuse. In that case, the patients will be made to go through the detoxification program first and then led to the psychiatric counseling where thy can learn of methods to stay away from the substance of addiction.
For patients who have been convicted of some or the other crime under the influence of an addictive substance, the Treatment Access Centre has been set up in the state which runs a more severe form of the addiction treatment program.
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