Patients who suffer from alcohol use disorder (AUD) have a higher risk of losing control over when or how much you drink. They may also feel restless and irritable when they are not able to drink alcohol and have a tendency to continue using alcohol even when it begins to affect their health adversely.
Hence, there is a need for an alcohol assessment so that appropriate medical intervention can be recommended to the patient.

What is an alcohol assessment? 
The first step to receiving proper treatment for alcoholism is to recognize and accept that you have an alcohol use disorder. Most people find it difficult to escape the addiction as they are in denial about the true nature and extent of their alcohol intake. However, if you want to enjoy a healthy and fulfilling life, gaining independence from alcohol addiction is vital.

An alcohol assessment could be the first step towards this goal. Here are some symptoms that indicate a higher intensity of alcohol addiction and the need for prompt medical treatment.

Waking up at night 
If you wake up at night frequently to pass urine, it could be due to the increased consumption of alcohol.

Our body produces an anti-diuretic hormone that induces the kidneys to produce less volume of urine at night so that you do not have to go to the toilet frequently. However, alcohol can suppress the secretion of the anti-diuretic hormone, making your kidneys produce more urine due to which you have to get up at night frequently. [1]

Dryness 
Alcohol can dehydrate the body causing dryness of the skin and eyes. If you experience dry patches over your eyes the next morning, it could be a sign of excessive consumption. [2]

Poor sleep patterns 
Alcohol can interfere with the quality and duration of your sleep. It may prevent you from falling asleep causing an increase in the sleep latency period.
It can also prevent you from entering the deep phase of sleep called the REM phase. As a result, you will wake up feeling unrefreshed and drowsy. [3]

Impaired memory 
Alcohol can impact the cognitive functions of the brain. When consumed in excess, it may also affect your ability to recall any information or new skills you have learned. It can reduce your short-term memory to a great extent. [4]

Blackouts are also a common phenomenon linked to excessive alcohol consumption. Most heavy drinkers tend to lose track of what happened the previous night once they sober up. If you experience these symptoms frequently, there is a need to undergo proper medical treatment and counseling for alcohol addiction. [5]

Conclusion
An Alcohol assessment by a doctor can help you determine the extent of alcohol addiction or dependence. This will give you an idea of the amount or frequency of alcohol you consume, its adverse impact on your life, and how it has affected your personal life, career, and general well-being.

It will help you take the right steps toward alcohol treatment and improve the chances of successful outcomes.  Call us at 281-849-4080 to schedule an alcohol assessment with one of our board certified psychiatrists.

​References:

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6826793/
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5075667/
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2775419/
4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15303630/
5. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/alcohol-abuse-self-test#1

Impulse control disorders (ICD) refer to the conditions characterized by difficulty in controlling emotions and behaviors. The behavior of the patient often violates the rights of others and results in conflict with the law and societal norms.
The common forms of impulse control disorders include oppositional defiant disorders, conduct disorders, kleptomania, pyromania, and intermittent explosive disorders. These disorders tend to coexist in patients with alcoholism or addiction to recreational drugs. [1]
Also, men are slightly more prone to develop impulse control disorders than women. Here is a brief discussion about the common signs and symptoms of impulse control disorders.
​
Core Symptoms of impulse control disorders
The extent to which impulse control disorders share genetic, clinical, biological, and phenomenological features is not fully understood. Yet, several ICDs share a few core qualities as given below:

• Diminished or complete lack of control over problematic behaviors
• An insatiable craving or appetitive urge prior to the engagement in problematic behaviors
• Repetitive engagement in violent or aggressive behaviors in spite of adverse consequences
• A hedonic feeling or quality experienced while performing problematic behaviors

These features of impulse control behaviors have led to a description of these conditions being behavioral addictions.
These disorders appear to have clinical overlap with compulsive behaviors and possess the domain of impulsivity and compulsivity. However, compulsivity and impulsivity usually occur simultaneously or at different times, thereby complicating our understanding of their behaviors.

What are the common signs and symptoms of impulse control disorders?
The symptoms vary depending on the specific form of impulse control disorder a patient has. They may also show varying sets of symptoms depending on their age, gender, and the environment they are surrounded by. [2]
The symptoms of these conditions can be grouped under different categories such as physical, behavioral, psychosocial, and cognitive as discussed beneath. 
Physical symptoms:

• Burn marks on patients who engage in fire-starting tendencies
• Presence of multiple scars and injuries from engaging in violence or physical fights or due to the episodes of aggressive actions
• History of sexually-transmitted diseases resulting from risky sexual behaviors

Behavioral symptoms:

• Compulsive lying
• Tendency for stealing
• Participating in risky actions including sexual behaviors
• Starting fires
• Acting violently or aggressively against people including family members, animals, property, and objects

Psychosocial symptoms:

• Agitation
• Irritability
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Isolating oneself from family and friends
• A feeling of low self-worth
• Frequent episodes of emotional detachment

Cognitive symptoms:

• Acting on impulse
• Lack of logical thinking behind actions and behaviors
• Inability to remain calm and patient
• Obsessive thinking
• Compulsive thought pattern

These symptoms of impulse control disorders are more intense in patients with alcohol addiction. However, it has been found that proper treatment of ICDs together with counseling can help to control the aggressive and impulsive behaviors to a great extent. [3] [4]

Conclusion
Being aware of the symptoms of impulse control disorders can enable patients to seek appropriate medical intervention and prevent the harmful consequences related to the same. Find a psychiatrist near you for help. 
References:

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3822522/
2. https://www.resourcetreatmentcenter.com/behavioral/impulse-control/symptoms-effects/
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2895996/o
4. https://americanaddictioncenters.org/co-occurring-disorders/impulse-control-disorder

I think we can all agree that:
 
Finding the BEST addiction treatment program is nearly impossible. You search for addiction treatment near me but just can't find the right place.
 
Or is it?
 
As it turns out, treating addiction is MUCH more effective when all of the care is customized to each patient.  It seems obvious right?  The problem is that this rarely ever happens, even when addiction centers make this claim.
 
So how is healthcare effectively customized?
 
It starts with careful planning to ensure top quality care from every aspect of treatment.  I will explain this in detail below. 
 
The treatment facility and all associated medical professionals play vital roles.  The location and treatment amenities must be energizing and motivating, but the quality of staff are even more important. 
 
Let’s start with therapists.  The American Psychological Association has agreed that the ability to bond or form a quality therapeutic alliance is one of the most important characteristics of a therapist.  While really good therapists can achieve this bond with a vast majority of patients, there are plenty of average therapists and difficult patients that will struggle to build an effective level of rapport.  This is particularly problematic within an inpatient addiction center as many facilities will not allow patients to choose their therapist.  Patients are assigned a therapist, and it is often impossible to switch, despite having a poor or non-existent therapeutic alliance.  This in itself can result in failed addiction treatment.  Therapists also have varying levels of expertise with each psycho-therapeutic modality.  Different modalities include cognitive therapy, interpersonal therapy, habit reversal therapy, etc.  Outpatient addiction treatment allows patients to determine the type of therapy used and an associated therapist with expertise in that treatment area.
 
While a therapeutic bond is important, addiction patients also need therapists with appropriate training.
 
That last sentence seems self-explanatory, but it isn’t.  Many addiction treatment facilities utilize licensed chemical dependency counselors (LCDC’s).  Quality LCDC’s are quite effective at teaching skills that support sobriety, and they have a strong role within the addiction field.  These chemical dependency counselors are very beneficial when utilized correctly, but they often aren’t.  LCDC’s should work effectively with licensed professional counselors (LPC’s) in addiction settings.  Quality LPC’s are not only trained in addiction but also in a broad range of therapeutic techniques to treat all mental health disorders. 
 
The ability to provide counseling across the spectrum of mental illness is vital to comprehensive addiction treatment.  The percentage of addiction patients with a serious mental illness ranges from 30-60%, depending on the research study that you read.  Pay attention to the bolded word above – serious.  The majority of the remaining patients without a serious mental illness experience a lower degree of symptoms or mental flaws that could benefit from counseling.  Actually, it is my opinion that we could all benefit from quality counseling. 
 
Treatment for addiction should thus include dedicated treatment with a LPC or even more experienced - PhD level therapist.  Many addiction treatment centers do not include such highly trained therapists or do not have enough to support the volume of patients.
 
In my experience, individual counseling with a LPC should start with 2-3 sessions/week for at least 3 weeks before decreasing frequency.  Patients need to build a firm foundation in therapy, so that the techniques can be practiced effectively outside of appointment times.  Relapses should prompt more frequent treatment.  Few inpatient centers will provide this level of care. 
 
Effective counseling is one of the most important aspects of addiction, but medication management is also vital for those requiring medical detoxification or treatment of a serious mental illness.
 
Medication management is typically the realm of a physician.  Any physician trained in addiction should be able to properly detox a patient and significantly reduce withdrawal symptoms.  Proper detoxification does not eliminate the risk of seizures or other side effects, but it does significantly reduce the severity and likelihood of complications.  Even with minimizing risks, some patients will encounter complications that may require medical hospitalization.  Many patients can be safely detoxed in an outpatient setting, but certain risk factors (like past withdrawal induced seizures) may require an inpatient center for 24/7 monitoring.
 
Detoxification is just the start of medication management.  As I mentioned earlier, 30-60% of patients with addiction have a comorbid serious mental illness.  The only type of physician well trained in identifying and treating the full range of mental illness is a psychiatrist, but not all addiction physicians are psychiatrists.    
 
Ideally, addiction patients in an inpatient setting should see an addiction physician (psychiatrist or not) for an initial evaluation to manage detoxification.  Once detoxification is complete, an evaluation should be scheduled with a psychiatrist to identify and manage any mental health issues.  The problem is that insurance companies will generally not pay for 2 evaluations during the same admission or with the same physician.  To obtain this level of care, the patient must utilize separate physicians for detox and a later psych evaluation or pay cash.  Insurance companies expect the initial detox evaluation to include all relevant mental health information.  The people making these decisions at insurance companies have obviously not attempted to perform a thorough psychiatric evaluation on someone experiencing substance withdrawal.  Imagine trying to obtain a detailed mental health history on someone with acute appendicitis.  It can’t be done well.  The same could be said for someone going through acute withdrawal and trying to accurately present a life history. 
 
Beyond having the proper personnel in LCDC’s, LPC’s, and a psychiatrist for individual sessions, most treatment facilities include group therapy.  Group therapy is led by a therapist, but peers are generally allowed to share their experiences.  While some peers will provide valuable support and additional sobriety skills, others can be disruptive.  I’ve seen many pleasant people leave group settings demoralized because of a peer’s behavior.  The counselor leading the group should be able to quickly enforce rules and boundaries.  Unfortunately, this is another area where insurance companies interfere with quality treatment.  Treatment facilities may not receive reimbursement if patients are not attending groups, so counselors often provide too many chances to the offender at the detriment of the group.  Another alternative would be having separate groups based on personalities, but this requires additional staff that facilities often cannot afford.
 
Individual therapy is not interchangeable with group therapy.  Insurance companies do not agree here either.  Many addiction treatment centers continue to use group therapy as the main source of counseling as it is more cost-effective.  This cost-cutting is to the detriment of the patient.  Individual counseling is a necessity to identify personal maladaptive behaviors, treat co-morbid conditions, and encourage individual growth.  Sadly, many treatment centers provide less than 1 individual therapy session/week.  Infrequent therapy is ineffective therapy.
 
Counseling and medication management are major aspects of addiction treatment, but there are other smaller considerations that can contribute to effective care. 
 
The environment and facility amenities significantly contribute to effective addiction treatment through elevating morale and maintaining motivation.  Between physician appointments, group therapy sessions, individual therapy, and other treatment modalities, there is a lot of concentration and personal growth packed into each day.  Over the course of 30-90 days, you can imagine how difficult it must be to continually stay motivated and focused.  This is less of a problem with outpatient addiction treatment as patients can maintain their hobbies and activities.  At inpatient centers, there should be enough fun activities, amenities, and exercise equipment to re-energize and relax from the intensity of each day.  Few provide many amenities, and the result is irritable patients that provide less than ideal effort.  Without sustained effort, treatment is less likely to be effective.
 

If you have ever had the chance to visit a mental health center near you, you must have noticed different specialists treating different categories of people and diagnoses. The services your mental health center provides range from anxiety disorder treatments to family therapy. Here are five essential services you will likely find when you go in for mental health services.

Mental Health Diagnosis And Referral

The mental health center is not just for those with diagnosed mental health issues. Anybody that suspects they might be suffering from one can make an appointment and request assistance. They also provide support through the diagnosis and treatment. If they can’t provide the needed services, they can refer the patient directly to a different therapist who can help. For emergencies, you should dial 911 or head to an emergency department.

Special Mental Health Services

Regular therapists can’t always handle all mental health issues depending on the nature of the ailment. Patients with neurodegenerative conditions, personality disorders, intellectual disability, and extreme PTSD may need more specialized treatments and would need to be seen by a psychiatrist or psychologist. 

Digital Support

Not everyone can access a mental health center physically due to various challenges like disability, remote locations, or other constraints. Fortunately, most health centers offer digital support for such patients in the form of phone and online services. These are usually in the form virtual visit platform or website where they can get advice and support for minor mental health issues and even get prescriptions. 

Personal Mental Health Services

Not every patient will benefit from community health care services because some ailments require personalized care. These patients should reach out to a mental health provider like Your Family Psychiatrist who can provide personalized psychiatric care. 

Medication Support

Some patients require medications to help them treat or manage their mental health issues. Your psychiatrist can prescribe and manage the dosage and response to these medications.