To clarify, relapse is when a person in recovery from alcohol and/or drug use returns to using alcohol or drugs after a period of abstinence. Relapse is not exclusive to the disease of addiction, which we now refer to as the disordered use of substances. We diagnose people with alcohol use disorder (AUD), opioid use disorder (OUD), and cannabis use disorder (CUD), for instance.

For general use, we say substance use disorder (SUD) and person with a SUD, or person with AUD. We use person-first language and foreground the disease model of addiction with this new terminology, which reduces stigma and allows us to understand AUD/SUD the way we understand other medical conditions that also require evidence-based support and have a real risk of relapse, such as diabetes and hypertension.

We should also clarify what we mean by recovery. There are various accurate and helpful definitions of recovery, each of which focuses on different aspects of the process. This definition, proposed in a paper published in 2019, works very well and aligns with our current understanding of the complexity of the recovery process:

“Recovery is an individualized, intentional, dynamic, and relational process involving sustained efforts to improve wellness.”

The concept of relapse prevention is not exclusive to the disordered use of alcohol or substances, either. Consider these five rules of recovery, published in the peer-reviewed journal article “Relapse Prevention and the Five Rules of Recovery.”

The Five Rules of Recovery

Recovery involves:

1. Behavioral change
2. Total honesty
3. Asking for help
4. Practicing self-care
5. Sticking to your plan

A team of therapists and psychiatrists created those rules for people in recovery from alcohol or drug use, but they could well have been created by a team of cardiologists for a person with heart disease, or a specialist creating rules for a person with diabetes.

Alcohol Awareness Month: Relapse Prevention

Every year during the month of April in the U.S., we recognize Alcohol Awareness Month in order to raise awareness about the dangers of alcohol consumption, alcohol use disorder (AUD), increase knowledge about evidence-based treatment for AUD, and reduce stigma about AUD and the treatment and recovery process. To learn more about Alcohol Awareness Month, please navigate to the blog section of our website and read this article:

Alcohol Awareness Month 2024

To learn more about how we define recovery, please read these articles by our Chief Medical Officer Dr. Chris Johnston on the website Medium:

What is Recovery? Abstinence, Sobriety, or Something Completely Different?

Recovery, Recovered, Recovering: New Definitions Acknowledge the Process of Recover

To increase your knowledge about the role of relapse prevention in the big picture, please read this article on our blog:

Relapse Prevention: The Aftercare Plan

The title of that article is the perfect entry to discussing relapse. Aftercare is everything related to health, recovery, and wellness that happens after a formal treatment program is finished. An aftercare plan includes items like first doctor’s appointments, community support meeting times, self-care activities, connections to vocational, housing, education, and food support, and – the topic of this article – a relapse prevention plan.

What is Relapse? An Expanded View

As we mention above, in this context relapse means a return to alcohol or drug use after a period of abstinence. That’s a good, basic understanding of relapse, which we’ll elaborate on now. The authors of the study cite above – Relapse Prevention and the Five Rules of Recovery – identify three distinct stages of relapse: emotional, mental, and physical. Here’s what they mean by that.

Emotional Relapse

One way to think about this stage of relapse is like an iceberg. Emotional relapse is everything going on under the surface before a relapse. It’s not a perfect analogy, because the precursors to relapse are felt by the person and may be seen by their peers. Signs of emotional relapse include:

• Denying, ignoring, or not talking about emotions
• Self-isolation/withdrawal
• Reduction in frequency of attending community support meeting
• Stopping going to meetings
• Attending meetings without participating
• Getting distracted trying to solve other people’s problems
• Unhealthy eating habits
• Poor sleep hygiene

The thread that connects the elements of emotional relapse is an overall decline in self-care, which means the person in recovery neglects their physical, emotional, and psychological health.

Mental Relapse

During this stage, the person in recovery recognizes that they want to return to alcohol or drug use. If the person in recovery does not intentionally interrupt this stage and analyze the preceding emotional stage, likelihood of relapse increases. Signs of mental relapse include:

• Increased frequency of cravings for alcohol/drugs
• Increased intensity of cravings for alcohol/drugs
• Thinking often about past use
• Glamorizing/mythologizing past use
• Denying negative consequences of past use
• Lying and bargaining in relation to past use
• Spending time planning ways to use alcohol/drugs
• Looking for opportunities to use alcohol/drugs
• Proactively planning relapse

Physical Relapse

This stage is actual relapse to alcohol or drug use. Some addiction professionals distinguish between a one-off, short relapse – a slip or a lapse – and a full relapse, which means a longer return to alcohol or drug. In either case, researchers indicate:

• Most physical relapses are relapses of opportunity
  • A person in recovery thinks they can return to use without accountability to themselves or others
• Physical relapses lead to uncontrolled mental and emotional relapse
  • Increases likelihood of repeated physical relapse, i.e., prolonged return to use

Researchers and clinicians recognize that effective coping skills along the continuum of relapse can reduce risk of relapse, and the absence of the ability to interrupt the stages of relapse at any point – emotional, mental, or physical – increases risk of relapse.

That’s why a relapse prevention plan is an essential component of any aftercare plan or long-term recovery plan.

What is a Relapse Prevention Plan?

A relapse prevention plan is something a person in recovery designs – with the help of their therapists, counselors, and recovery peers – to reduce the risk of relapse. A robust relapse prevention plan includes practical, actionable tools to help a person in recovery increase emotional/psychological self-awareness, recognize the emotional and psychological factors that increase risk of relapse, called triggers, actionable tools to use in order to manage triggers, and finally, a plan for steps to take if relapse happens.

We adapted the template we share below from a program developed and published by the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation called “Living in Balance (LIB),” with supporting research published by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in the report “Approaches to Drug Abuse Counseling.”

Marlett and Gordon, the therapists/researchers who developed the cognitive-behavioral approach to relapse prevention that serves as the theoretical basis for the LIB relapse prevention template, describe the chain of events that most often precede a relapse to alcohol or drug use, sometimes called a slip:

“A person headed toward a slip makes numerous small decisions at the time which, although seemingly small and irrelevant at the time they are made, actually bring the individual closer to the brink of the slip. A chain of small decisions can lead, over time, to relapse.”

A person in recovery and their counselor/therapist acknowledge this phenomenon when they create a relapse prevention plan. In essence, they recognize the stages of relapse, the necessity of identifying them, and the benefit of intervening in them.

The LIB template can help people in recovery:

• Identify triggers
• Understand how triggers lead to relapse
• Interrupt the stages of relapse at any point
• Manage triggers
• Return to recovery if relapse happens

To see an example of a template based on the LIB model, read the next article in this two-part series: Alcohol Awareness Month: What is a Relapse Prevention Plan? Part Two.

The post Alcohol Awareness Month: What is a Relapse Prevention Plan? Part One appeared first on Pinnacle Treatment Centers.

• Increase awareness of the harm caused by alcohol use disorder (AUD).
• Increase awareness of the negative physical, psychological, and emotional consequences of alcohol misuse
• Raise awareness about AUD treatment
• Decrease stigma, misinformation, and fear about AUD treatment

After 32 years organizing Alcohol Awareness Month, the non-profit group Partners in Prevention took over, and built on the original mission: raise awareness, increase access, and reduce stigma around all facets of drinking, from the impact of low-to moderate daily consumption to the detrimental impact of binge drinking, heavy drinking, and alcohol use disorder.

Negative Consequences of Alcohol Consumption

We’ll now share information that hasn’t received significant attention in the media – yet. Reports published by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAA), and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show the following:

• 2015-2019: 140,000 alcohol-related deaths  each year
• 2008-2017: 10,000 deaths in alcohol-related car crashes each year
• 2020: Deaths in alcohol-related car crashes increased by over 14%
• Daily: 32 people die in alcohol related car crashes – that’s one death every 45 minutes

For perspective, the number of deaths attributed to alcohol each year is 75 percent greater than the number of deaths attributed to opioid overdose, but this figure does not receive enough attention. In addition, over twice as many men died of alcohol-related causes between 2015 and 2019, which means that we, as a collective, need to continuously remind everyone – but especially men – of the following message we’ve all heard almost all our lives:

Don’t Drink and Drive.

Although we prefer to discuss the consequences of alcohol misuse in human terms, the CDC recently published a study on the financial consequences of alcohol use in the U.S. Here’s what they reported:

The Real Costs of Alcohol Consumption

• Top-line cost of excess drinking: $249 billion
  • Binge drinking accounts for 77%
  • Decreased work performance accounts for 72%
  • Health care accounts for 11%
  • Criminal justice expense account for 10%
  • Car crash expenses account for 5%

Followed by cigarette smoking, sedentary lifestyle, and poor eating habits, alcohol causes the most preventable deaths in the country. That’s another fact most people aren’t aware of – yet.

Now let’s take a look at how many people in the U.S. use alcohol. We’ll look at data on overall use, binge drinking, heavy drinking, and alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Alcohol Consumption in the U.S.: The Latest Data

The 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health provides current and reliable data on alcohol every year. The annual report includes data from more than 70,000 people nationwide, which allows us to make evidence-based conclusions about drinking across age and demographic groups in the U.S.

This is the most recent information on alcohol use, published in early 2023.

Alcohol Use in the Past 30 Days, 2022

• Past 30-day use: 137.4 million
• Binge drinking: 61.2 million (44.5%)
• Among binge drinkers:
  • 18-25: 29.5% (9.8 million) – small decrease
  • 26+: 22.6% (50.1 million) – small increase
  • 12-17: 3.3% (834,000) – moderate decrease
• Binge drinking, under age 21: 8.2% (3.1 million) – moderate decrease
• Heavy drinkers: 18.3% (16.1 million) – no change
• Among heavy drinkers:
  • 18-25: 7.6% (2.6 million) – moderate increase
  • 26+: 6.0% (13.4 million) – small decrease
  • 12-17: 0.2% (63,000) – significant decrease
• Heavy alcohol use, under age 21: 1.7% (646,000) – very small increase

The latest guidance form the NIAA and SAMHSA indicate that both binge drinkers and heavy drinkers have elevated chances of developing alcohol use disorder (AUD), compared to people who consume low to moderate amounts of alcohol. Therefore, in 2022, 77.3 million people age 12+ showed an increased likelihood of developing AUD compared to low-to-moderate drinkers. That figure include 3.75 million people under the legal drinking age.

Now let’s look at rates of AUD.

AUD 2022: Detailed Age Data

• 12 + total: 10.5% (29.5 million) – no change
• 12-17: 2.9% (753,000) – small decrease
• 18-25: 16.4% (5.7 million) – moderate increase
• 26+: 10.4% (23.1 million) – small decrease

Now let’s compare those AUD to rates of addiction to other substances. In 2022, the NSDUH included alcohol use disorder in their data on people with substance use disorder (SUD). In the following data sets, SUD includes people with AUD.

Past 12 Month Substance Use Disorder: 2022

• Total diagnosed with SUD: 48.7 million
• Alcohol: 29.5 million
• Drugs other than alcohol: 27.2 million
• Cannabis: 19.0 million
• Opioids: 6.1 million
• Legal opioids: 5.6 million
• Legal stimulants: 1.8 million
• Methamphetamine: 1.8 million
• Cocaine: 1.4 million

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is the most prevalent addiction disorder in the U.S., followed by cannabis. Those are the figures on addiction: now let’s look at the numbers on treatment.

Treatment Need and Treatment Received: 2022

People who needed treatment were those who received a clinical diagnosis for AUD or SUD. People who received treatment were those who reported receiving professional support in a designated alcohol or drug treatment center in the 12-months before taking the survey.

Needed Support for SUD in the Past 12 Months

• 12+: 54.5 million
• 12-17: 2.9 million
• 18-25: 10.1 million
• 26+: 41.4 million

Received Professional SUD Support in the Past 12 Months

• 12+: 13.1 million
• 12-17: 1.1 million
• 18-25: 1.6 million
• 26+: 10.2 million

Type of SUD Support in the past 12 Months

• Community Support (AA or NA): 5.7 million
• Peer Coach: 2.0 million
• Telehealth: 3.5 million
• Outpatient (designated treatment center): 2.2 million
• Outpatient (any treatment): 12.6 million
• Inpatient support: 1.3 million
• Hospital inpatient support: 2.2 million
• Emergency room: 1.9 million

This data reveals a problem we work to address every day, which is known as the treatment gap. The treatment gap is what it sounds like. It’s the numerical difference between the people who need treatment and the people who receive treatment.

Let’s take a look at the treatment gap for 2022.

The Treatment Gap: 2022

• Overall, 12+: 76% in need received no professional support
• 12-17: 63% in need received no professional support
• 18-25: 84% in need received no professional support
• 26+: 75% in need received no professional support

From our perspective, the treatment gap is far too wide, especially in the year 2024. Evidence-based treatment is available, and awareness about the dangers of alcohol and substance use disorder increases every year. But the numbers don’t lie. We need to expand our efforts to increase awareness about alcohol use disorder, increase education about treatment for alcohol use disorder, and increase access to treatment for alcohol use disorder.

We published an article the our blog about this topic. Please visit our website to read this helpful article:

Recovery Communities Help Close the Treatment Gap

Now let’s get back to the main purpose of this article: sharing information on National Alcohol Awareness Month.

National Alcohol Awareness Month: How We Can All Help

The most important this all of us can do is separate fact from fiction. First, in our own minds, and next, in the mind of our friends, peers, and loved ones, if we’re so inclined. Here are the primary messages people need to understand:

• Millions of people in the U.S. need professional support for AUD or problem drinking
• AUD is not a character flaw or a moral weakness: AUD is a medical condition that responds well to evidence-based treatment
• Evidence-based treatment is available in every state in the country

That’s our mission: spread facts, and help people whenever we can.

There’s one more thing we need to address before we close this article. In recent years, research has shown that even low or moderate levels of drinking can lead to significant, long-term health risks.

The CDC recently issued this statement:

“Evidence suggests that drinking within the recommended limits may increase the overall risk of death from several types of cancer and some forms of cardiovascular disease. For some types of cancer, the risk increases even at low levels of alcohol consumption (less than 1 drink in a day).”

That’s not all. Another study showed the following facts about the relationship between binge alcohol consumption among moderate and heavy alcohol consumers and long-term health problems:

• After an initial health assessment, moderate drinkers accounted for over 80% of health problems associated with alcohol nine years later.
• Binge behavior among moderate consumers cause more problems than binge behavior among heavy consumers
• Moderate consumption combined with binge consumption elevated risk of health problems associated with alcohol by over 400%

To learn how the CDC defines drinking levels such as moderate, heavy, and binge, click here.

These facts are still relatively unknown among the general public. In addition to the initial goals of National Alcohol Awareness Month – spread awareness about AUD and AUD treatment – sharing this new information about the health risks of alcohol is essential. We can use this month to help people who need treatment get the treatment they need, and to educate people about the risks of long-term alcohol consumption, with a specific focus on the dangers of binge drinking among people who consume a moderate amount of alcohol.

The post Alcohol Awareness Month 2024 appeared first on Pinnacle Treatment Centers.

We published an article on the topic in July 2023:

Medication-Assisted Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder (MAT for AUD)

In that article, we identified three medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for AUD treatment. Those medications include:

• Naltrexone
• Acamprosate
• Disulfiram

All three medications are effective. Data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) publication “Medication-Assisted Treatment for the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder: A Brief Guide” confirms the following benefits of MAT for AUD:

• Decreased alcohol consumption
• Improved cognitive function
• Improved ability to initiate and participate in AUD treatment
• Decreased cravings for alcohol
• Prevents alcohol use entirely (disulfiram)
• Facilitates positive lifestyle changes

Of those three medications, clinicians use Naltrexone and Acamprosate as first-line pharmacotherapies and Disulfiram as a second-line pharmacotherapy. Note: pharmacotherapy is a fancy way of saying therapy/treatment with pharmaceutical medication. While Naltrexone and Acamprosate work by affecting neurotransmitters associated with alcohol and alcohol cravings, Disulfiram is different. It makes ingesting alcohol extremely unpleasant: a person who drinks alcohol with Disulfiram in their system will experience sweats, shakes, nausea, anxiety, and vomiting.

It works, but it’s not used as often as the other two medications for alcohol use disorder, which are the topic of a new study that got our attention: “Pharmacotherapy for Alcohol Use Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” The research team organized the project around a simple question:

Which pharmacotherapies are associated with improved outcomes for people with alcohol use disorder?

Their systematic review and meta-analysis included 118 clinical trials with a total of 20,976 participants. They found compelling evidence supporting the use of oral naltrexone and acamprosate for people with alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Why Do We Need Another Study on Medication for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD)?

This information published by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) describes the significant need for a greater understanding of alcohol consumption and its consequences:

“Emerging evidence suggests that even drinking within the recommended limits may increase the overall risk of death from various causes, such as from several types of cancer and some forms of cardiovascular disease. Alcohol has been found to increase risk for cancer, and for some types of cancer, the risk increases even at low levels of alcohol consumption (less than 1 drink in a day).”

With regards to the common cultural trope/idea that moderate alcohol consumption has some positive outcomes, they clarify their point of view:

“Although past studies have indicated that moderate alcohol consumption has protective health benefits… it’s impossible to conclude whether these improved outcomes are due to moderate alcohol consumption or other differences in behaviors or genetics.”

We discuss this new information at length in previous articles. Please navigate to the blog section of our website and read this piece:

Moderate Drinking, Binge Drinking, and Alcohol-Related Problems

That’s one reason we need more research on alcohol: much of what we know about the health effects of alcohol needs revision, especially in the minds of the general public. Another is that alcohol causes significant harm that goes largely unrecognized and underreported. Here’s data published by the CDC, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAA), and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that most people are unaware of:

Harm Caused by Alcohol

• 2015-2019: 140,000 alcohol-related fatalities each year
  • Males: 97,000
  • Females: 43,000
• That’s 75% more than the reported opioid-related fatalities in the same time
• 2008-2017: 10,000 people alcohol-related automobile fatalities
• 2020: 11,654 alcohol-related automobile fatalities
  • That’s 14.3% more than 2019

A study released in 2022 about problems among moderate alcohol drinkers who occasionally binge-drink revealed this surprising set of facts:

Binge Drinking Among Moderate Drinkers: Long-Term Problems

• 85% of alcohol-related problems at 9-year follow-up appeared in moderate drinkers
• Binge and heavy drinking at baseline predicted the presence of alcohol-related problems at 9-year follow-up.
• Moderate drinkers who reported binge drinking episodes reported more alcohol-related problems at 9-year follow-up more than heavy drinkers who reported binge drinking episodes
• Risk of multiple alcohol-related problems at 9-year follow-up increased by 439% for participants who reported moderate drinking with binge drinking episodes at baseline

Next, the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2021 NSDUH) contains the most up-to-date information on alcohol use available.

Alcohol Use: Past Month, Binge, and Heavy Drinking, Age 12+

• 133.1 million people reported drinking in the past month
• 60.0 million (45.1%) reported binge drinking
• Binge drinking by age group:
  • 18-25: ~10 million
  • 26+: ~50 million
  • 12-17: ~1 million
• Binge drinking among underage people: ~3 million
• Heavy drinkers: ~16.3 million
• Heavy drinkers by age group:
  • 18-25: ~2.5 million
  • 26+: ~14 million
  • 12-17: ~100,000
• Heavy drinkers under age 18: ~600,000

Alcohol Use Disorder: By Age Group

• 12 + total: ~30 million
• 12-17: ~900,000
• 18-25: ~5 million
• 26+: ~23.5 million

Next, evidence form studies published here and here show AUD is various negative health outcomes, including but not limited to:

• Hypertension
• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Cognitive impairment
• Sleep problems
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Peripheral neuropathy
• gastritis and gastric ulcers
• Liver disease including cirrhosis
• Pancreatitis
• Osteoporosis
• Anemia
• Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders
• Several types of cancer

Finally, evidence from a study published here indicates alcohol consumption is associated with and increase in additional negative outcomes, including:

• Homicide
• Suicide
• Motor vehicle crashes and deaths
• Sexual violence
• Domestic violence
• Drownings

Taken as a whole, that’s a compelling set of facts that leads to one conclusion: alcohol causes more problems than most people realize. That conclusion leads to this realization: we need to know more about how to support people with alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Therefore, scientists conduct more research, and we report it to you here. With all that in mind, let’s take a look at the results of the study we introduce above, “Pharmacotherapy for Alcohol Use Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.”

Naltrexone or Acamprosate: Which Medication for Alcohol Use Disorder is More Effective?

The primary metric the research team used to judge the effectiveness of the medications for alcohol use disorder was alcohol use/ consumption over the 30-day study period. Secondary metrics included health and wellness factors, motor vehicle crashes, and mortality. However, the studies reviewed in the meta-analysis didn’t include data sufficient to draw any statistically significant or relevant conclusions on their secondary metrics. Therefore, we’ll report the results of their primary metric: alcohol consumption during the 30-day study period.

The metric they used to assess consumption is interesting. They assessed:

• Return to drinking
• Return to heavy drinking
• Percentage of drinking days
• Percentage of heavy drinking days

To report their findings, they used a construct called number needed to treat (NNT). What that means is the number of people they needed to treat with the medication in question to prevent one (1) person from returning to heavy drinking or drinking. The team identified the most effective dose for patients – 50 mg/d (milligrams per deciliter) – and reported results based on that dosage.

Here’s what they found.

Naltrexone or Acamprosate? The Results

The number of patients needed to treat (NNT) to prevent 1 person from returning to any drinking, at a dose of 50 mg/d:

• Naltrexone: 18
• Acamprosate: 11

Compared with placebo:

• Oral naltrexone was associated with lower rates of return to heavy drinking
• Injectable naltrexone was associated with fewer drinking days over the 30-day treatment period:
  • Average of 5 fewer drinking days
• Injectable naltrexone was associated with greater reduction in percentage of heavy drinking days over the 30-day treatment period:
  • Percentage of heavy drinking days decreased by 5%
• Acamprosate showed no statistically significant improvement in return to heavy drinking
• Adverse effects included:
  • Naltrexone: nausea/vomiting
  • Acamprosate: diarrhea

We’ll summarize this data now. The meta-analysis showed naltrexone reduced:

• Return to any drinking
• Return to heavy drinking
• Percentage of drinking days
• Percentage of heavy drinking days

The meta-analysis showed acamprosate reduced:

• Return to drinking
• Number of drinking days
• Acamprosate was not associated with reduced return to heavy drinking

Here’s how the research team describes their findings:

“Oral naltrexone and acamprosate were each associated with significantly improved alcohol consumption-related outcomes compared with placebo. In conjunction with psychosocial interventions, these findings support the use of oral naltrexone, 50 mg/d, and acamprosate as first-line pharmacotherapies for alcohol use disorder.”

MAT for AUD: How it Works

The most important thing to understand about medication-assisted treatment – whether for alcohol use disorder or opioid use disorder – is that it’s not just about the medication. Please note the summary from research team reads “…in conjunction with psychosocial interventions…” the results support the use of oral naltrexone and acamprosate for AUD.

SAMHSA indicates treatment plan with medication for AUD must include:

• Therapy, counseling, lifestyle changes, peer support, and complementary treatment modes
• Educational workshops on relapse prevention, healthy communication, healthy relationships
• Family participation (biological or chosen family)
• Treatment for co-occurring disorders
• A timeline and criteria for discontinuing MAT
• Timeline and criteria for completing treatment
• An aftercare plan for ongoing support upon discharge from treatment

In other words, MAT programs for AUD should be integrated, comprehensive, and holistic. Integrated means clinicians plan how the various modes of treatment will reinforce one another. Comprehensive means they treat all issues simultaneously: a person with a mental health disorder and a substance use disorder needs treatment for both at the same time. Treating one without treating the other reduces chance of successful recovery from both. Finally, holistic means the program addresses the whole person: biological, social, and physical. We concur with the definition of health espoused by the World Health Organization (WHO):

“Health is a state of completer physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

When a patient comes to us for support for alcohol use disorder – or any substance use disorder – that’s why MAT is one option. It helps a person achieve total, holistic health, and puts them on the road to long-term sustainable recovery, and a life without alcohol or drugs.

The post What’s the Best Medication for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD)? appeared first on Pinnacle Treatment Centers.