Addiction Recovery

Chemical dependency is a disease. It is not a bad habit, choice, or a result of a personality flaw. In fact, the addiction recovery movement has made substantial strides in recent years changing perceptions by educating people about the biological nature and destructive properties of addiction. Addiction involves a physical and/or psychological dependence and can result from a person's environment and biological or psychological influences. Addiction recovery is multifaceted and, while addiction recovery centers can offer many options to arrest or treat addictions, there currently is no cure.

Alcohol addiction recovery came to the forefront in the 1940s as a result of the mutual aid movement through Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Through the 1980s, alcohol addiction recovery treatments featured the AA 12-Step model. Drug addiction recovery movements adapted the AA model, as did addiction recovery movements aimed at gambling, sex, co-dependency, spending, food, and many other conditions people use to escape from life's problems.

The AA 12-Step model remains widely popular and continues to be promoted by addiction recovery centers. Over the past two decades, many other important and highly successful tools have been added to alcohol and drug addiction recovery treatment services. These include highly effective medications to control cravings and withdrawals, as well as clinical treatment to minimize cravings and triggers and promote lifestyles of healthy recovery. The premier mental health and addiction recovery centers listed on this site incorporate all of these tools, including the best of Eastern and Western addiction recovery philosophies, to help you or your loved one get back to leading the life you were meant to lead. All of our addiction recovery services are personalized, discreet, and confidential.

More than half of adults with both an addiction and serious mental illness don't get the treatment they need. – (SAMHSA, Report to Congress, 2002)