Drug Rehabs in Tennessee

In 2019, there were 16,670 non-fatal drug overdoses and 2,089 fatal overdoses in Tennessee. Those figures included all drugs. Many overdoses were tied to opioids, with a total of 5,029,476 opioid painkiller prescriptions written in 2019 in the state. Methamphetamine abuse is also a common problem. The state estimates that there are at least 800 active meth labs in Tennessee at all times.

The state reported a total of 223 fatal crashes involving alcohol impairment in 2018, which was an increase from 177 in 2017. Underage alcohol abuse is also a growing problem. In 2018, 33% of people between the ages of 18 and 20 said that they drank within the last 30 days. There were 109 underage deaths from alcohol use, and 15 were from fatal crashes.

An official from MPHD said that fentanyl was tied to between 70% and 80% of overdose deaths in 2020, and there was a growing trend of mixing it with stimulants. As 2021 started, problems were still growing. In Knox County alone, there were six overdose deaths reported in just one week in May.

Tennessee officials are working hard to address these problems, and drug rehabs in Tennessee are also helping by providing vital addiction treatment services. The state’s Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services division has a website dedicated to its many prevention initiatives and the other steps it takes to reduce these problems.

Those steps include awareness and prevention coalitions for young people, naloxone distribution training and strategies to increase other protective factors. The state also participates in prescription takeback programs. This is an important step since more than 70% of people who take prescription drugs for non-medical reasons obtain them from friends or family.

Table of Contents

What Is an Intervention?

Intervention is a process that people who know someone with an addiction use when the effects spiral out of control. For example, when a person’s addiction leads to job loss, financial problems or legal problems, people who care may decide to intervene. Since it is important to approach the process correctly to increase its effectiveness, it helps to hire a professional interventionist. The interventionist understands addiction and knows how to help caring people support their loved ones. These are the steps the interventionist helps with:

Gathering a team of people who are important to the person with the addiction.
Helping participants identify how the addiction impacts them individually.
Assisting participants in writing statements to communicate the addiction’s effects on them and developing healthy boundaries to prevent enabling.
Working with participants to develop a list of consequences if the person rejects the intervention.
Collecting a list of Tennessee addiction treatment centers.

In some cases, people are more likely to go to a Tennessee rehab facility if it prevents daily life from becoming more difficult for them. This is why it is critical to have effective consequences and clear boundaries.

Is Addiction a Brain Disease?

drug rehab centers in tn Since scientists and medical professionals understand more about addiction now, they know it is a brain disease. When someone uses a substance, it alters the neurotransmission activities in the brain and amplifies them. The reward centers in the brain cause cravings for more. Since people also develop a tolerance as they use more, they need higher doses. After a while, the neurotransmission abnormalities become long-lasting or permanent.

To make life even harder, the effects on the prefrontal cortex of the brain result in impaired judgment. Combine that with stronger cravings, and the result often involves people doing things they would never normally do to feed the addiction. When an addicted brain is stressed and deprived of a substance, the person may be in despair or express severe negative emotions.

It is important to understand how addiction works to know why it changes behavior. These behaviors often offend and frustrate family members and friends. By viewing the effects as symptoms of a disease, which they are, it is easier to avoid being offended and maintain compassion. However, family members and friends must still keep clear boundaries to avoid enabling. Drug and alcohol rehabs in Tennessee help by providing family therapy and more.

Types of Addiction Treatment in Tennessee

When people go to drug rehab in Tennessee, they find that there are several treatment program structures. The differences mostly relate to how many weeks or months the program lasts, how much time the person spends in the facility and the structure of the therapy approach.

Detox

The first step at all rehabs in Tennessee is detox. People often start other therapies during detox, which may or may not include medication replacement. If the person tapers off from the substance or stops it completely, the side effects are unpleasant. Medical staff provides supportive care and medications to ease side effects. Some side effects, such as seizures, can be dangerous. This is why medical supervision in a Tennessee drug rehab center is important and safer.

Residential Treatment

In this type of program, people stay in drug rehabilitation centers in Tennessee at all times. Short-term programs last about a month or a few months. There are also long-term programs, which last several more months or up to a year. This structure is especially helpful for people who lack a support structure at home. Also, anyone who has a high relapse risk can benefit from an inpatient treatment structure.

Outpatient Treatment

When people do not need as many treatment sessions or have a low risk of relapse, outpatient treatment may be better. It is a minimum of three hours per week at a Tennessee drug rehab facility. This structure is not suitable for people who live with others who have substance abuse problems. It is better for someone in a supportive home who has multiple responsibilities to maintain.

Intensive Outpatient Treatment

Similar to outpatient treatment, this variation includes more sessions in TN rehab centers that are longer. Most sessions are about three hours, and the therapist determines how many times they occur each week. They may be daily at first. It is usually suitable for someone who needs to juggle work, family life, or other obligations and has a supportive home. However, people in unsupportive homes or those with a high risk of relapse may not benefit from this structure immediately after rehab.

Partial Hospitalization Treatment

A partial hospitalization program is like an intensive outpatient program, but the sessions are longer. At drug rehab centers in TN, they are usually five hours in length for five days per week. People with a higher risk of relapse can benefit from this structure. Since the sessions are so long, this is a better option for someone who can take half days or some time off from work. Although it is better to have a supportive home environment, this program is still better than minimal therapy for someone in a riskier environment.

Online Treatment

tennessee rehab centers Online treatment is a telehealth service. Therapists provide the same types of therapy and may use short or long treatment sessions. Most factors depend on a person’s budget, relapse risk and other needs. Online treatment is better for people with mobility issues or those who live in rural areas and have limited access to transportation.

Individual Therapy

Individual therapy focuses on the effects the addiction has on the person. Therapists in Tennessee rehab facilities use it in any treatment structure. They may use multiple types of approaches to help the person identify behaviors or triggers that fuel addictive tendencies. Also, they help people find ways to overcome these behaviors or deal with triggers that they cannot avoid.

Family Therapy

In family therapy, people who are close to the person with the addiction learn how to provide support, draw clear boundaries and understand addiction. Therapists at drug rehabs in TN help them work past important issues. Like individual therapy, there may be some individual sessions with family members. However, they also meet to discuss the effects the addiction has on the whole family.

Group Therapy

Like family therapy, group therapy involves others. However, it is also like individual therapy since it gives people a chance to discuss their own struggles or needs. They work together as a group to show support for each other and offer suggestions to problems. Therapists in Tennessee drug rehabs supervise and participate in group therapy as well.

Therapy Approaches for Addiction Treatment

Alcohol and drug treatment centers in Tennessee use several behavioral therapy approaches and alternative approaches to provide comprehensive, effective treatment. These are the most common treatment approaches that alcohol and drug rehabs in TN use:

With cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), therapists help people discover triggers or behavior causes.
In dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), which is a form of CBT, therapists help people find ways to change behaviors or manage triggers.
With eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), therapists help people face past trauma and learn how to cope.
In holistic therapies, such as meditation, yoga, and others, therapists help people relieve stress and feel better.
With art therapy, writing therapy, and other supportive therapies, professionals help people express themselves and reduce stress.
With nutrition and exercise programs, professionals help people achieve and maintain healthier goals.

When Is Dual Diagnosis Treatment Necessary?

Whenever someone has a co-occurring disorder, dual diagnosis treatment is critical. The reason it is important is because many mental health disorders are so unpleasant that people often turn to substances for relief. However, mental health issues can also develop because of long-term effects of substance use. Drug rehabilitation centers in Tennessee use a comprehensive analysis to identify any co-occurring disorders and treat them.

If people seek drug rehab at Tennessee facilities and do not treat a mental health issue, they face a higher risk of relapse. People who have co-occurring disorders that are not properly managed also face a risk of multiple relapses and overdoses. Some mental health issues are more common with certain types of substance abuse. For example, stimulant abuse and depression commonly occur together, and people with panic disorder often turn to alcohol. Anxiety, depression, BPD, schizophrenia, PTSD, and panic disorder are common co-occurring issues that TN rehab centers treat.

Paying for Alcohol or Drug Rehab at Tennessee Facilities

These are the main ways that people pay for treatment at alcohol and drug rehab centers in TN:

Private pay
Insurance
State or local programs

The state offers assistance to qualifying individuals, such as those who are unemployed, have low income or meet other criteria. Since the Affordable Care Act requires insurers to cover mental health and addiction treatment, people with marketplace plans should have coverage. The easiest way to determine this is to call one of the Tennessee addiction treatment centers. Staff members can usually help people decipher their coverage.

Recovery Resources

During alcohol or drug rehab in Tennessee, people learn about and participate in meetings, which are important for staying in recovery. These are the meetings that alcohol and drug rehabs in Tennessee use:

Narcotics Anonymous is a 12-step meeting for drug addiction recovery.
Alcoholics Anonymous is a 12-step meeting for people in alcohol addiction recovery.
SMART Recovery is a non-12-step meeting for addiction recovery with science-based approaches.
Celebrate Recovery is a Christian 12-step meeting for addiction recovery.

Also, the ACA’s website is a helpful resource for understanding what insurers must cover for addiction treatment. The FMLA website provides helpful information about legal requirements for employers allowing time off for necessary medical treatment.

Finding Alcohol and Drug Rehabs in Tennessee

If you need resources for yourself or a loved one, we are here to help. From finding an interventionist to finding alcohol and drug treatment centers in Tennessee, we are happy to assist. Please contact us to learn more.