The “Sobriety Point” is a government program that aims to combat alcohol addiction. In Russia, it has been used since 2010. After the first year, the media actively talked about the innovative methodology. This is the only program aimed at the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction and supported by the state. The leading scientists of Russia representing the Ministry of Health and the St. Petersburg Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education took part in its development. The program operates in many regions of Russia, during its operation, many people were able to get rid of terrible dependence and return to a normal, healthy life.
Anti-alcohol program
The program "Point of sobriety" involves complex therapy. It was developed specifically to treat the most severe psychophysical addictions - alcohol and opioid. In just 5 years of its work, it has covered more than 17 regions of Russia. One of the first centers of “Sobriety Point” appeared in Bryansk, Volodarsky district. Then other regions began to join the program: Krasnoyarsk Territory, Novosibirsk Region, Yakutia, Sverdlovsk and Bryansk Regions, Tatarstan and others. More than 6 thousand people got a second chance thanks to the implementation of the state program.
The hours of “Sobriety Points” in Bryansk, Volodarsky district, can be found by calling the hotline.
Who is it for?
This program is intended for alcoholics and drug addicts with any stage of addiction. Parents who are on the verge of deprivation of rights, drug addicts of any age, alcoholic mothers, any other population groups can participate in the “Sobriety Point”.
A person can begin to move to his personal point of sobriety at any time if he realizes that he has an alcohol or drug addiction. However, it often happens that a patient, especially alcoholism, until the last moment refuses to admit that he is not able to independently cope with his problem.
Therefore, the specialists of the program "Point of sobriety" has developed a special list of questions to understand whether a person has an alcohol addiction.
Here are some of them:
- Do you have binges?
- Did you feel the morning hangover?
- Does your mood rise if someone suggests drinking alcohol?
- Do you have trouble sleeping, fatigue, irritation after several days without drinking alcohol?
- Has it ever happened that you could not control the amount of alcohol consumed?
- Do you need alcohol to feel comfortable, relax?
In the case when the answer to at least one question is positive, we can conclude about the formation of alcohol dependence. In this case, one cannot do without the help of psychotherapists and narcologists.
How does the Sobriety Point program work?
The mechanism of the program
First of all, it is worth noting that any addiction, whether it is opioid or alcoholic, is a serious chronic disease.
A dependency has three components:
- Biological dependence. Opioids and alcohol can stimulate pleasure centers located in the brain.
- The social factor. Often the use of alcoholic drinks and prohibited substances allows you to join a new company, find contact with important people.
- The psychological factor. The human psyche is no longer able to fully function without a portion of alcohol or a dose of a narcotic substance.
The “sobriety point” in the treatment of patients takes into account and works with each of these components
To destroy mental dependence and eliminate the body's need for the use of toxic substances at the biological level, a special pharmacological agent is used. This substance is naltrexone. It is an opioid receptor blocker. The medication is part of the federal list of the most important and vital medicines. It’s more familiar to ordinary people under the name Vivitron.
Work with a psychotherapist
With the aim of influencing the psyche of a dependent person and helping him to refuse prohibited substances and alcohol, they work with a psychotherapist. The return to society and becoming a full member of society is facilitated by meetings with relatives - friends, spouse, parent.
An important feature of the program is that the narcologist also works with friends and relatives of the patient. This is necessary so that the people around the patient are well aware that the person is struggling with a terrible disease, and help him overcome the addiction.
The phone “Sobriety Points” in Bryansk is often searched on the net.
Program structure
This includes two programs: one aimed at overcoming alcohol, the other at opioid addiction. Their structure is similar, it consists of the same stages - naltrexone injections, appointments with a doctor, telephone support for a patient, work of a narcologist with relatives of the patient.
The most important thing in both programs is active participation in the process of the most dependent, his conscious movement towards sobriety. The course of therapy always includes independent work. This approach allows the patient and his family to know in advance the topic of the session and prepare for it. In addition, each cycle of the Sobriety Point program in Bryansk, Volodarsky District, has certain features.
Opioid addiction
This program is designed for 1 year, it includes the implementation of 4 injections of the drug (the narcologist selects the dose individually), 30 sessions of interaction with the doctor, 16 meetings of relatives of the dependent with a specialist.
Therapy is divided into 4 stages:
- Motivational stage. Its duration is 10-14 days. At this stage, the doctor determines the diagnosis, its main goal is the formation of motivation and the establishment of cooperation.
- First step. Lasts the first two months. At this stage, cooperation is strengthening, active therapy is underway, the first results are being evaluated.
- Second phase. This stage lasts from the third to eleventh months. The doctor, the patient, his family have established mature cooperation, the patient is undergoing maintenance therapy.
- The third stage. It lasts for the twelfth month. This is the stage of planning and completion.
Injections begin after half a month of therapy, then at the end of 1, 2, 11 months. In the first 14 days, the addict meets the specialist 3 times, then, until the end of the second month, once a week. Starting from the third and ending with the eleventh month - twice a week. At the third stage, the final session occurs. In addition, throughout the therapy, that is, continuously, the doctor carries out telephone interaction with the patient and his relatives.
Alcohol addiction
Standard therapy for alcohol dependence in accordance with the program "Point of sobriety" involves a six-month interaction. If the patient shows a desire, it can be extended to a year or a year and a half. The treatment cycle involves 6 injections of the medicine, 12 meetings of the addict with the doctor, 4 conversations of the doctor with relatives, and constant support of the addict by phone.
The program against alcohol dependence includes 4 stages:
- Elementary. Its duration is 1 month.
- Active psychotherapeutic effect. Continues throughout the second and third months.
- Supportive psychotherapeutic effect. Takes the fourth and fifth months.
- Psychotherapeutic support - the last, sixth month.
The first administration of Vivitron to the patient is carried out before the start of therapy, then, each subsequent dose is administered at the end of the next month of therapy, up to the fifth. At the first stage, the addict meets with the narcologist once a week, at the second stage - once in two weeks, in the subsequent - once a month. In addition, throughout the course of the treatment, the narcologist provides telephone support to the alcoholic and his relatives.
Program Benefits, Results
According to official data, the results of the “Point of Sobriety” course are very positive. Approximately half of opioid addicts, after the completion of the therapeutic effect, form a stable remission throughout the year. After six months of therapy, remission is also observed in approximately 70% of cases. It is also worth noting that the craving for narcotic substances already halves after the second month of therapy, stably at a low level for about six months.
The results of treatment for alcoholism are even more impressive. Craving for alcoholic beverages is reduced by 4 times already at the end of the first month of targeted therapy. About half of the addicts who have undergone annual therapy do not drink alcohol at all for a year, the rest drink alcohol once a month.
In addition, each of the regions of the country can add its own victories to these statistics. For example, in Tatarstan, 45 women took part in one of the stages of therapy, whose parental rights were limited. After therapy under the Sobriety Point program, 90% of them were able to regain their children, and half of the women refused to drink alcohol at all.
The main advantages of a therapeutic course
The program has certain advantages, among which:
- Therapy is simultaneously aimed at every component of addiction: social, psychological, biological.
- The patient is provided with the continuous support of a psychotherapist, which allows the addict to give up drugs and alcohol, and return to normal life.
- Relatives of the patient are directly involved in therapy, are assistants to a narcologist, and help a loved one get rid of addiction.
- Naltrexone-based medication provides long-term effects. The effect of its use persists for a month after a single injection.
- The medication is well tolerated, it can be prescribed even to those patients who have various liver lesions, which is important for alcohol addicts, suffer from cirrhosis.
- Therapy is carried out remotely. The patient only periodically visits the clinic to make an injection and talk with a narcologist. The rest of the time, he simply keeps in touch with the specialist by phone. That is, a person is not locked at home, he can lead a familiar life: to meet friends, work, study.
The Wind of Change and Sobriety Point programs are popular on the net. But they have little in common. The first program is a psychological correction of the deviant behavior of adolescents.
Reviews of the "Sobriety Point"
Narcologists throughout the country note the persistent effect and uniqueness of this program. Its main feature is the emphasis on the conscious participation of the patient himself, his family members. At the same time, drug exposure allows the body to get rid of the formed dependence. At the same time, the participation of relatives helps a person realize that they want to help him, they love him, so he begins to stubbornly go to recovery.
Positive feedback on the “Sobriety Point” in Bryansk, Volodarsky district. Patients note that the program gave them a second chance at life, allowing them to get rid of addiction and find new goals.