Alcohol Addiction Treatment on Long Island: All You Need to Know

Alcohol use disorder is a prevalent problem in the U.S., affecting the lives of millions. In 2024, 9.7% of Americans (some as young as 12) developed alcohol addiction. More concerning, it’s predicted that 29% of adults who have had alcohol once in their lives will get AUD at some point.

The New York State alcohol abuse figures reflect this prevalence: with over 8,050 New Yorkers passing away annually due to excessive alcohol consumption. What’s more, binge drinking is common among adults in the Nassau/Suffolk region, making Long Island a hot spot for AUD.

As a result, the need for trusted alcohol addiction treatment on Long Island is on the rise. But before you learn about alcoholism treatment options, you must understand what AUD is, its causes, its symptoms, and how professionals diagnose it.

What Is Alcohol Addiction (Alcohol Use Disorder)?

Alcohol use disorder (a.k.a alcoholism or alcohol addiction) is a medical condition where a patient isn’t able to stop drinking despite its negative effects on their life.

This addictive behavior could be damaging their health, hurting their relationships, or hindering their performance at work or school. Regardless, and even if they acknowledge their addiction problem, they’re unable to stop.

It’s important to understand that any form of addiction, including alcohol, is a type of mental health disorder. Clinically known as substance use disorder, an addiction causes impairments in core cognitive and emotional processes, making it challenging to cease this harmful behavior.

Alcohol Use Disorder Causes

To this day, the causes of alcohol addiction are still being researched, as several factors could be at play simultaneously. Causes could be environmental, psychological, or genetic, and it’s often an intricate web of them all:

• Genetic predisposition: According to research, someone with a family history of alcohol addiction has an increased risk of developing one.
• Environmental impact: People with childhood trauma are more likely to suffer from alcohol addiction, as well as those affected by peer pressure. The same goes if they live in a neighborhood or a house where heavy alcohol use is normalized.
• Mental health conditions: Individuals with ADHD, PTSD, anxiety disorders, or depression are more prone to develop alcohol dependence.
• Drinking from an early age: People who begin drinking at a younger age than 15 are more inclined to struggle with AUD than those who wait until they’re 21 or older to try alcoholic drinks.

Alcohol Use Disorder Symptoms

Do you suspect that your friend, coworker, or spouse has an alcohol addiction problem? Here are a few symptoms to watch for:

• Continuing to drink alcohol with the knowledge that it’s damaging their lifestyle and relationships
• Constantly craving certain alcoholic beverages
• Spending significant time drinking, trying to get a drink, or recovering from a hangover
• Missing important events or family obligations because of alcohol
• Trying and failing to stop
• Suffering from withdrawal symptoms when trying to limit their alcohol intake
• Drinking to avoid withdrawal symptoms
• Planning their entire days around procuring and consuming alcoholic beverages
• Consuming alcohol in dangerous situations (driving or using heavy machinery), as well as while pregnant or breastfeeding
• Drinking more alcohol than they first intended, or for a longer duration
• Continuing to drink even if they have a mental condition with symptoms that worsen with alcohol

Alcohol Use Disorder Complications and Negative Effects

Heavy, prolonged exposure to alcohol leads to further complications that only start with overpowering hangovers, severe withdrawal symptoms, and even esophageal cancer.

• Alcohol poisoning
• Cirrhosis of the liver
• Alcohol-induced hepatitis
• Cerebellar degeneration
• Delirium tremens
• Alcohol-induced cardiomyopathy

These are the effects on physical health. Yet, there are many other ways that an alcohol addiction can negatively impact a person’s life:

• Causes child neglect (and in some cases, outright abuse)
• Destroys meaningful relationships with friends, family members, and partners
• Gets in the way of a successful career
• Hinders personal goals and achievements
• Diminishes natural talents and abilities
• Affects self-esteem and confidence
• Develops feelings of loss, estrangement, and loneliness
• Causes mood swings, irritability, and irrational behaviors
• Increases the risks of perilous situations (car accidents, falls, burns, injuries, etc.) or disabilities
• Promotes violence, including domestic violence, sexual violence, homicide, or suicide
• Closely linked to depression or anxiety

Alcohol Addiction Treatment on Long Island: What to Expect

Whether you or the person you care about lives in Nassau, Suffolk, or Queens, addiction treatment on Long Island is accessible for all. Through Long Island Interventions, you or your loved ones will be matched to trusted treatment facilities to overcome alcohol addiction issues.

To understand what typically happens inside treatment programs, here’s an overview of alcohol addiction diagnosis, how the treatment process goes, therapy options, and medicinal treatments.

Alcohol Addiction: Diagnosis and Testing

The medical staff at a treatment center begins testing by examining your physical health and looking for signs that point to an alcohol addiction problem.

They rely on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) for guidance. It clearly outlines possible symptoms of an addiction, helping professionals decide the severity of the condition based on the number of displayed symptoms.

Out of a list of 11, a patient needs to have displayed these numbers of symptoms within the previous year to be diagnosed as having mild, moderate, or severe addiction:

Addiction level	Number of symptoms displayed in the last 12 months
Mild	2–3
Moderate	4–5
Severe	6 or more

What Does the Treatment Process Look Like?

Most treatment programs on Long Island for alcohol addiction work in the following order:

1. Alcohol detox: This is a crucial and sensitive part of the treatment process, handled by a trained medical professional to help patients dispose of alcohol in their systems in a safe and controlled environment.
2. Behavioral therapy: Since addiction affects the brain, therapy methods enable patients to recognize negative thinking patterns and behaviors that make them resort to alcohol abuse. Then, these therapies work to correct harmful thoughts, conducted in a supportive setting to reinforce positive thinking.
3. Medications: Depending on the addiction’s severity, doctors may include medicinal intervention in the treatment plan to manage withdrawal symptoms and limit cravings.
4. Aftercare: Aftercare is as important as any other part of the treatment program. After recovery, aftercare is effective in helping patients maintain long-term sobriety, avoid relapse, and lead a healthy lifestyle.

What Are Treatment Options for Alcohol Addiction?

With alcohol being the most commonly used substance in the U.S., according to the NY OASAS, addiction treatment options are various and extensive.

At your chosen facility, healthcare professionals will tailor a treatment plan to your specific needs. They’ll factor in your symptoms, the severity of your condition, any co-occurring mental health issues, and other physical health concerns.

Here are a few treatment options you can expect if you start alcohol addiction treatment on Long Island:

Evidence-Based Behavioral Therapies

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying harmful thoughts, how they’re linked to addiction, and how to develop coping skills to deal with alcohol use disorders.
• Family therapy educates the families of people with addiction on their struggles, how to best support them, and what coping strategies they can follow on the road to recovery.
• Motivational Interviewing (MI) builds motivation in alcohol addiction patients for a faster, more effective recovery.
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a form of talk therapy closely associated with CBT. It focuses on people whose emotions drive them and affect them more deeply.

Pharmacotherapy Treatments

If healthcare providers recommend pharmacotherapy alongside behavioral therapy, some medications they’ll include in the treatment plan are:

• Naltrexone (ReVia, Vivitrol): This is a medication that helps minimize both alcohol and opioid cravings, and it comes in the form of an oral tablet or an extended-release injectable.
• Disulfiram (Antabuse): This is a form of medicinal treatment that causes undesirable side effects when a patient consumes alcohol with it. Soon, it develops a negative association with alcohol in people struggling with addiction, making it easier to give it up.
• Acamprosate (Campral): Acamprosate, when accompanied by counseling and other behavioral health therapies, does a great job of preventing relapse. It works to restore brain chemicals to their normal levels after being disrupted by heavy alcohol use.

Alcohol Addiction Programs in Long Island Treatment Centers

Depending on how severe an addiction is, specialists will recommend a treatment model that best suits each patient’s condition, including:

Inpatient/Residential Care

In inpatient programs, people struggling with severe alcohol addiction are required to stay at a facility under 24/7 specialized care. The environment in this treatment center is supportive, compassionate, and carefully monitored by a team of healthcare professionals.

Residential treatment programs can take anywhere from weeks to months to achieve recovery.

While they prevent individuals from going about their daily obligations, they’re effective for people with complex conditions, like those suffering from another mental health condition alongside the addiction.

Outpatient Programs

On the contrary, outpatient programs are for mild to moderate addictions. They don’t include full hospitalization, but rather a predetermined number of therapy hours that a patient must complete at a treatment facility each week.

These programs allow patients to still go to school or work, since they return to their homes after finishing their therapy sessions. They’re more flexible than inpatient treatment plans.

Sometimes, when a patient has completed treatment inside a residential care facility, they may then be referred to an outpatient program. This way, it acts as a transitional stage between 24/7 intensive care and eventually a fully recovered, sober living.

Final Words: Seeking Professional Help on Long Island

Alcohol addiction is not a sign of personal failure; it’s a medical condition that must be approached using the right methodology. If you suspect you or a person you care about has an alcohol use disorder (AUD) after reading about its symptoms, seeking help is your next step.

For patients seeking alcohol addiction treatment on Long Island, contact Long Island Interventions today. Its mission is to connect people struggling with addiction in Nassau, Suffolk, and Queens with trusted treatment centers in the region.

You don’t have to walk this path alone. With a personalized treatment program that caters to your individual needs, focuses on your medical history, and factors in your level of addiction, your journey to recovery will seem less daunting.

From CBT and DBT therapies to medicinal intervention and then aftercare, every part of the treatment plan is well-thought-out to deliver long-term results.