Traditional methods in rehabilitating psychoactive drug dependents in Malaysia: An alternative modality

Pcychoactive drug addiction treatment and rehabilitation programmes world wide are facing with the difficulty of successfully treating and rehabilitating drug dependents because this rate of success is very much determined by the rate of slips, lapse and relapse (recidivism).The success rate for the rehabilitation of drug dependent ranges from 50 to 70 percents, and specifically,in the case of Malaysia,around 60%.Popular current treatment modalities have been employed in Malaysia since 1983, namely detoxification, physical, pyschososial and psychological treatment via various modes such as full time in-house treatment schedules (the serenti programme),therapeutic community,and the out-patient programmes.The only modality being excluded or being practiced is the methadone maintainance programme and other similar treatment procedures using substitute mood altering agents.However, another treatment approach which has been neglected by research is the traditional modality such as the homeopathy approach, the religious (Islamic-spiritual) method and other spiritual approaches, since the number of drug addicts being rehabilitated at these centres are small, and where approaches and procedures differ greatly from one centre to the next.This study looks at one of the traditional approaches, identifying the underpinning philosophical assumptions,processes, procedures and modes of implementation.The paper also report preliminary finding in terms of its effectiveness in treatment and endow observation on its future prospect as an alternative method of rehabilitating drug addicts