The intervention phase is more or less like a preparatory phase where the person is explained the seriousness of his or her alcoholism and is made to realize how important treatment is for their condition. This may prove to be difficult initially, because denial is one of the most important factors in the scenario of alcohol addiction treatment in Michigan. The treatment providers will likely take help from the families and friends of the patients so as to build a strong support and motivation system for them to accept an addiction treatment.



Once the person is ready for the treatment, the detoxification phase will begin. This is where the patient will be medically cleansed of all presence of alcohol in it. This takes time; it will depend on various factors such as the length of the patient's addiction, their physical and psychiatric composition, whether or not they are on some other kinds of prescription drugs, etc. However, in general cases, the duration of alcohol detox in Michigan is of about seven days.

The purpose of the detox program is to bring the patient out of the alcohol dependency in a complete manner. This is done by cleansing the substance out of the person's system in entirety. This is definitely not simple. If the patient's addiction is too much intensive, then the patient will be isolated in a treatment setting where he or she will be made to completely abstain from alcohol. The idea of putting them in an isolated treatment setting is to keep them away from all kinds of memories that might trigger a craving for alcohol in them. It takes a while for the patient to adjust to such a setting. The abstinence will make the patient experience withdrawal symptoms. This will happen usually within two to five days of the commencement of the abstinence. Again, this will depend on the kind of addiction the patient has been in.

One of the main focuses of the treatment program at this stage is to remove the withdrawal symptoms from the person. This is definitely not an easy task. The patient needs to be put on specific medicinal therapies in order to make this happen.

The following patterns of medication are used in alcohol addiction treatment in Michigan:-

1.Medications are provided in order to increase the hangovers that are produced due to alcohol addiction. Since these symptoms are definitely quite inconvenient and uncomfortable, the person will be psychologically weaned off from consuming any more alcohol. It is noticed that the hangover symptoms due to alcoholism are produced because of the release of acetaldehyde in the body. So any medication that will pump in more acetaldehyde into the body can be taken as a way of stopping the person from consuming more alcohol. Antabuse is the leading anti-alcoholism drug that has this effect. When consumed, it will produce an increase in the amount of acetaldehyde in the body and that will amplify the hangover. As a result, the person will not like alcohol quite as much.

2.Another attempt at reducing alcohol addiction in people during the treatment is by giving them a drug that reduces their capacity of absorbing alcohol in the body. Due to that reason, though the person might consume alcohol, he or she will not feel its effects. After a while, the person will give up alcohol in the absence of the effects that the substance must produce. Naltrexone is such a medication.

3.Medication is also needed to normalize the condition of the patient's nervous system once the alcoholic abstinence has begun. This is needed so that the person feels healthy once again and realizes that the removal of alcohol from their system can actually bring back good health unto them. Medications such as Campral can help to normalize the chemical reactions that take place in their body due to alcoholism. This is more of a stabilizing drug that allows the patient to plow on with the detoxification process.

Once these medications are provided and the person is sustainably out of the addiction, it is important to ensure that the person will stay out of the addiction for a long period of time. This is possible through the aftercare program that follows the patient's successful detox treatment.

These three phases define alcohol addiction treatment in Michigan. However, there might be differences in the way the program is implemented in various centers across the state.