Alcohol is freely advertised in many countries. It is relatively cheap and often easily obtained. It is a part of many celebrations and enjoyed by adults both male and female. Alcohol is a legal product. But it is also at the root of many a sad experience. Drunk drivers cause appalling damage to life and limb. Drunken people are involved in fights. Marriages fail and families break up because of alcohol abuse. The cost in lost working hours due to alcohol related problems is too great to calculate but it is enormous.

So to counteract such a costly and devastating phenomenon, drastic and detailed action needs to be taken. Often that action is best carried out in a residential treatment facility catering for patients suffering from addiction to and abuse of alcohol. Sadly the impact is often on both the brain and the body. Finding a cure, a fix and one which is permanent is never easy and often long. In fact the battle against the disease for the sufferer can be a lifelong struggle. Members of the support group Alcoholics Anonymous are taught about living a day at a time, often an hour at a time.

In a residential treatment facility the program is full on. A wide range of medical professionals is on hand to provide round the clock treatment. Sadly there is no simple cure and what works with one recovering alcoholic, may not work with another. Every patient is unique. And that means too that the length of stay in a treatment center will vary. Someone who has been drinking for decades and has relapsed once or more times may require a longer stay than a relatively new drinker. The programs are tailor-made to meet the specific needs of each individual.

Of course the treatment cannot end once the patient leaves the treatment facility. Slipping back into their old ways makes a mockery of their intensive residential program. So there are steps in place to help the patient once they return home. This can include joining a support group, being helped by family members and even finding a suitable new job and network of friends. Avoiding temptation is important and that can mean finding new interests where a drinking culture is not part of the scene.

The 12 step program is one of the most common undertaken by drinkers but each person is assessed to find the ideal approach to their individual needs. Whatever the form of treatment provided, it is a matter of record that these residential treatment facilities have an excellent record of success. The vast majority of patients are able to dry out and with the proper back-up programs and ongoing support from AA and other such institutions, people suffering from alcoholism are able to recover and go on to a life avoiding the previous consequences of their addiction.

But the problem is so devious and so widespread that governments and private individuals are always encouraged to invest wisely and well in programs to assist people from abusing alcohol in the first place and to find treatment programs if they do succumb.