"Recovery from drug addiction can be a long-term process and frequently requires multiple episodes of treatment."

As with other chronic illnesses, relapses to drug use can occur during or after successful treatment episodes. Addicted individuals may require prolonged treatment and multiple episodes of treatment to achieve long-term abstinence and fully restored functioning.

The NIDA has a clear understanding of the nature of the disease of addiction, and the unfortunate truth that there is no cure-all for this disease.

It's rare, but there are some folks walk into a 12-Step meeting, feel right at home, take the Steps, and never use again.

Much more common is the experience that our founder and most of our providers had:

• multiple attempts at treatment in a variety of settings;
• multiple attempts at participation in a 12-Step program;
• brief periods of abstinence followed by relapse;
• difficulty in obtaining proper psychological diagnoses;
• lack of understanding on the part of family and friends;
• a "poor fit" in most black-and-white settings available for addiction and alcoholism treatment.

There is no shortage of success stories from those who finally "got it". Sadly, there also is no shortage of funeral notices for people who didn't "get it".

Relapse is not a part of recovery per se, but relapses can and do happen. One of the basic tenets of both treatment and recovery is this: insanity is defined as doing the same thing and always expecting different results. This applies not only to behaviors relating to active addiction, but also to pursuing the same treatment method time and time again.

The one place where we wish the NIDA had expanded on their statement above was this: when one type of treatment (e.g., residential rehab) has not shown long-term effectiveness, it is time to try some out-of-the-box thinking. That's what led to the formation of our most successful treatment modality: the Sober Companion.

Participation in self-help support programs during and following treatment often is helpful in maintaining abstinence, especially when the client is guided by a true champion.