The first step for people addicted to heroin is detoxification. This may occur within a hospital or outpatient setting. At the Center for Addiction and Desensitization, we utilize physicians who specialize in the treatment of drug and alcohol addictions in both an outpatint and hospital setting. During detoxification and afterward, physicians may spend much time treating medical complications associated with drug and alcohol abuse. At times, certain anticraving or antidepressant drugs may be used.
Desensitization is another important treatment component in helping people to achieve abstinence.
Certain sights, sounds and smells that are associated with drug use can produce overwhelming physiological cravings that lead to continued use or relapse for those in recovery. People addicted to heroin or opiate based drugs could remain in a treatment center or jail for several days or weeks. However, upon their release and exposure to conditioned drug triggers, anxiety and withdrawal can result. Desensitization is the process of exposing people to their conditioned triggers or high-risk relapse situations until physiological reactions become extinct. Stages of Recovery Family and individual therapy is yet another treatment variable.