It consists of bringing patients face to face with reality of the disease. The goal of intervention is also confrontation that is to break through feeling of denial and help the patient recognize the adverse consequences likely to occur if the disease is not treated. This step involves convincing the patient that they are responsible for their own action, while reminding them of how alcohol/drug has created significant life impairments. It also maximizes the motivation for treatment and continuous abstinence.

Detoxification
It is the control withdrawal, wash out of the substance from the system. The withdrawal occurs because the brain has physically adapted to presence of the particular drug and cannot act adequately in its absence.

Replacements are used.

Counselling
It focuses on day to day life issues to help patient maintain a high level of motivation for abstinence and to enhance their functioning. Counselling deals with how to build a lifestyle free of alcohol/drugs.

Counselling is done in two ways:
Individual
Group

Counselling helps to develop modes of coping to be used when craving for alcohol/drug increases and when any event of emotional state makes a return to addiction.

Recovery is a process of trial and error, patient uses slips that occur to identify high risk situations and develop more appropriate coping techniques.

Most treatment efforts recognize that the affect of alcohol/drug has a significant effect on relationships and important aspect of recovery involves helping family members and close friends understand the disease and realize that rehabilitation is an ongoing process that last 6-12 months.