Research conducted in Australia (link here) indicates that after just a few weeks of attending an alcohol rehab patients showed a marked improvement in their general mental functioning.

The University of Wollongong's Illawarra Institute for Mental Health partnered with a Salvation Army rehabilitation center at Morrisset on the NSW Central Coast. The Salvation Army is the largest provider of residential addiction treatment in Australia. Their rehab centers in NSW, ACT, and Queensland have more than 500 beds between them. The university researchers will have access to their rehabilitation and detoxification services in several cities.

The leader of the project, Dr Kelly, found evidence to suggest that after only 3 weeks patients had improved mental health and were more confident about their ability to cope with their alcoholism.

This is certainly encouraging news for anybody considering being admitted to an alcohol rehab facility in South Africa. Alcoholics often arrive at alcohol rehab facilities with co-occurring mental health problems (like depression or anxiety) as well as problems with their physical health.

This research confirms that a properly supervised medical detoxification (detox) program followed by even a short-term alcohol treatment program in an alcohol rehab center in South Africa has a very good chance of significantly improving the mental health of an alcoholic.