Boston, MA Alcohol and Drug Rehab Centers

Unfortunately, Massachusetts is in the throes of a drug and alcohol abuse epidemic. Opioids are one of the biggest culprits, causing nearly 2,000 overdose deaths each year. But that’s not all. Residents are struggling with addictions to alcohol, cocaine, prescription drugs and many other substances. If you or a loved one has found themselves caught up in this epidemic, outpatient rehab may be the best way to reclaim your health.

Professional treatment is one of the most effective ways to fight addiction. Many inpatient and outpatient rehab centers have sprung up throughout Massachusetts and the Greater Boston metro area to help residents treat their drug and alcohol abuse and achieve recovery.

In fact, in 2017, over 10,000 people were admitted to treatment. They came from all parts of the Boston community, which you can see through these statistics:

Where Should I Go to Receive the Best Alcohol and Drug Detox Near Boston, MA?

As one of the country’s largest cities, Boston has a large metropolitan area that serves its residents. Not only are there outpatient rehabs in Boston, MA, city limits, but many of the surrounding suburbs have outpatient rehab centers. In many cases, these avoid the bustle and stress of the city, and provide a more natural and calming atmosphere for outpatient treatment. For example, Northeastern Addictions Treatment Center is a Massachusetts drug rehab located just 20 minutes outside Boston in Quincy, MA. When looking for Boston outpatient treatment options, it’s important to find a rehab center in Massachusetts that makes you feel confident and motivated to tackle your addiction.

What Should I Look for in a Detox Rehab Facility?

A good Boston detox facility is an important part of your treatment journey. If you’re looking for outpatient treatment in the Boston area and planning to go through detox, you should check for several specific features. Going through detox in Massachusetts will prepare you for the rest of your treatment, so you should feel safe. This means:

Is Addiction Treatment Necessary for Recovery?

You don’t need to struggle with addiction alone. Outpatient rehab centers in Boston, MA, like Northeastern Addictions Treatment Centers have professionals with years of training and experience. They know the best ways to treat your addiction with proven techniques, such as group therapy and counseling, that are impossible to do on your own.

Detox Program

Many times, before you can begin an outpatient rehab program, you must go through detox. Boston rehab centers provide medically supervised detox where you can quit using drugs and alcohol in a controlled environment. As they leave your system, you may feel withdrawals. However, treatment professionals supervise you 24/7 during the detox process and keep you safe and comfortable. Afterwards, they’ll help you transition to your outpatient rehab program.

Residential Inpatient Program

As the name suggests, residential rehab programs involve living at the treatment center. You have limited contact with the outside world so you can focus 100% on your recovery. You attend counseling and group therapy at the center and leave once you’ve graduated the program.

Outpatient Rehab Treatment

In an outpatient program, you continue with your everyday life including work, school and social relationships. You attend counseling and therapy at the center based on a regular schedule you decide on with your counselors, but you live at home. These kinds of programs are flexible and allow you to tackle your addiction with minimal effect on your outside life and routine.

Medication Assisted Program

When you’re looking for an outpatient program at a Boston rehab center, it’s worth checking if they offer a medication assisted treatment program, or MAT. MATs use medications that scientists have discovered help people stop taking drugs or alcohol, mainly opioids like heroin and prescription painkillers or alcohol. The most common medication is methadone, but there are several others like naloxone and buprenorphine.

Medication assisted programs, both inpatient and outpatient, have been shown to improve patient survival, increase treatment success and decrease illegal opiate use. This is because they substitute for drugs or alcohol in your system, so you don’t feel withdrawals. They don’t have the same addictive effects, though, so you can then more easily wean off of them.

Boston Sober Living

Sober living is a great way to transition from Boston drug rehab back into everyday life. At a sober living house, you live with other people starting their recovery. You usually attend group therapy with them and may have to submit to drug and alcohol tests to keep you accountable. This helps you start facing the many challenges of the outside world while staying in a semi-controlled environment with some of the same resources as rehab.

Aftercare Programs in Boston, MA

Even once you’ve finished rehab and have an arsenal of coping skills to see you through recovery, you may still need occasional outpatient counseling. A good outpatient rehab facility makes sure these services are available for those who have graduated their programs. You will always have someone there for you even when new life challenges arise.

Many insurance policies cover outpatient rehab programs. Of course, which programs are covered and the requirements for coverage may depend on your policy. It’s best to speak with your insurance company and the outpatient treatment center ahead of time. Here at Northeast Addictions Treatment Center, we can give you advice and help you through the process. Companies that usually cover rehab in Boston include:

How Does Alcohol Affect the Brain?

Most of alcohol’s intoxicating properties are due to its effects on the brain. In the short term, alcohol blocks brain cells from communicating with each other through chemical and electrical signals. This leads to the common effects of drunkenness such as discoordination, stumbling, slurred speech and social inhibition.

In the long term, brain cells get used to alcohol blocking them if you regularly drink a lot. They work extra hard to communicate with each other, so if you stop drinking alcohol, the brain is too active. This produces withdrawal symptoms like the shakes.

It’s also common for brain cells to “burn out” after trying too hard to work around the alcohol. Over long enough periods of time, this causes brain and nerve pathways to slow down. Many people who suffer from alcohol addiction for long periods actually have their brains shrink.

What Are the Effects of Cocaine?

Cocaine has many long-term effects on the brain. Most significantly, cocaine changes reward pathways, specifically those using a neurotransmitter called glutamate. Reward pathways control habits and compulsive behavior like drug taking. Similarly, cocaine changes how the brain responds to stress. With regular cocaine use, the brain comes to need cocaine as an unhealthy way to relieve stress.

Cocaine also stops certain parts of the brain from working correctly. Scientists have found that it heavily affects the orbitofrontal cortex, which controls decision making. In this way, cocaine prevents those who abuse it from making the right decisions when faced with the drug’s negative effects. In this way, it traps them in addiction.

What Are Prescription Drug Addiction Symptoms?

People abuse a number of prescription drugs including opioids, stimulants and anti-anxiety medications. All of these have different physical effects, but they share one primary symptom of addiction: the inability to stop using the drug despite negative consequences. Prescription drug addiction also has several behavioral symptoms:

A good outpatient rehab program is a great way to get your life back on track and trade in your addiction for recovery and sobriety—which you deserve! Here at Northeast Addictions Treatment Center we have a variety of treatments that help you do just that. These include accredited, evidence-based treatment programs like CBT and group therapy, all administered by credentialed professionals who are there for you for the long haul. If you or a loved one is struggling with drug or alcohol abuse, there’s no reason to keep suffering. Call Northeast Addictions Treatment Center today to get started on your customized outpatient treatment program.