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Seeking Drug Abuse Treatment: Know What To Ask

3. Does the program adapt treatment as the patient's needs change?

Individual treatment and service plans must be assessed and modified as needed to meet changing needs.

A person in treatment may require varying combinations of services during its course, including ongoing assessment. For instance, the program should build in drug monitoring so the treatment plan can be adjusted if relapse occurs. For most people, a continuing care approach provides the best results, with treatment level adapted to a person's changing needs.

A patient's needs for support services, such as day care or transportation, should also be met during treatment.

Components of Comprehensive Drug Abuse Treatment Components of Comprehensive Drug Abuse Treatment diagram The best programs provide a combination of therapies and other services to meet a patient's needs.

This page was last updated December 2011.

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Use the SAMHSA Treatment Locator or 1-800-662-HELP.

Featured Publication

Featured Publication

Drugs, Brains, and Behavior - The Science of Addiction

As a result of scientific research, we know that addiction is a disease that affects both brain and behavior.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health

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Questions for our staff? E-mail information@nida.nih.gov or call 301-443-1124 (240-221-4007 en español).

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