Tag Archives: treatment center

How to Choose the Right Drug or Alcohol Treatment Center

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How can you best choose the right drug or alcohol treatment center?

This is a common question for anyone that is thinking about going to treatment, and it’s also a big question for the family of a struggling addict or alcoholic. How can someone choose the right treatment center so that they can insure that they will stay clean and sober?

There are a few issues you will want to consider here:

What level of treatment does the addict or alcoholic need? Some people need a medically supervised detox, while others do not. This will depend a bit on what substance or substances are being used. For example, alcohol poses a serious threat when it comes to detox, so that will definitely need to be medically supervised. Opiate drugs such as heroin or Vicodin will generally need a medical detox as well. Keep in mind that not all treatment facilities have a full medical detox. Knowing what level of care you need will obviously be a key point in your research.

Is this any different from previous treatment centers? A surprising number of addicts and alcoholics go to treatment and then relapse shortly after leaving. What’s really shocking is that many of these people continue to go back to the same treatment center, clearly blaming themselves for failing to stay clean and sober. This is a tricky argument here, but I can assure you it is valid: if you keep failing with one treatment center, why not try somewhere else? Likewise, if you go to several different treatment centers for short term residential stays, why not try going to long term treatment instead? This is a concept that is thoroughly endorsed in AA as well: “insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try going back to treatment again. But it does mean that you might want to try a different drug treatment center, or even a completely different approach (for example, short term versus long term treatment).

Will this treatment center save someone that doesn’t want help? The answer to that question is no, which means that no treatment can help this particular person in their journey (yet). Unfortunately, no one can beat an addict or alcoholic into submission, and no treatment center can convince an addict to want to stay clean. Sometimes the best you can do is offer to help someone and then get out of their way.

A corollary to this idea is this:

“When someone is truly ready to get clean and sober, it doesn’t matter what treatment center you take them to.”

In other words, the success rate of the recovering alcoholic or addict is heavily dependent on their personal convictions, not on the strength of their chosen treatment program.

This can easily be confirmed to be true by interviewing a handful of successful recovering addicts and alcoholics. Simply ask them about the treatment center or method by which they got clean, and ask them which was more important: “That they were truly done using drugs and alcohol, and desperately wanted to change,” OR “That they found the perfect treatment center that somehow worked a miracle in them.”

I can guarantee that it’s personal conviction and level of surrender.

Treating Addiction – Why are Treatment Centers so Expensive?

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Treating addiction is expensive. Period.

Actually staying in a drug rehab costs a lot of money, simply because it is essentially a health care facility similar to hospital. If the rehab offers detoxification services (and most do) then these will be medically supervised by nurses and possibly even doctors which will only add to the higher cost.

But the high cost of treating addiction goes further than this. It’s expensive to treat because addiction is so complicated.

For example, many addicts and alcoholics have co-occurring disorders–a mental illness diagnosis of some sort along side of their chemical addiction. Helping this type of person to recover from addiction will usually involve treating their mental illness as well. This drives the cost of treatment up even further, as psychiatric counseling and any necessary medications are not going to come cheap.

Not only is it expensive, but the financial implications with treating addiction and alcoholism are getting worse in the following ways:

1) Treatment services are becoming more expensive – as the cost of health care in general continues to rise.

2) Insurance companies become less and less willing each year to pay the cost of treatment.

3) Insurance companies are only willing to fund shorter treatment stays, which are proving less effective, requiring more visits in the future and ultimately costing more.

4) State funding for treatment is gradually being reduced over time.

You have to give credit to AA and 12 step fellowships. While they may not have the medical facilities necessary to safely detox an alcoholic, many people have skipped going to formal treatment centers entirely and made their way to a successful sobriety through the use of AA alone. Given that it is essentially “free” (self supporting through their own contributions), a person could feasible stay clean and sober without ever spending a single dime on their recovery, simply through the use of meetings.

What makes this even more maddening is that the success rates are very close when comparing treatment centers to AA. When looking at the success and failures in recovery, it almost seems like the initial stay in rehab was inconsequential. Long term sobriety rates point to the fact that it really doesn’t matter how you got clean, it matters how you stay clean. Rehab is short term, but sobriety has to last for a lifetime.

What is it Like in Drug Rehab?

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A lot of people are hesitant to go to a drug rehab, because they’re not sure what to expect there. It can feel like a pretty big step to check in to a place, or even to make that first call and set up an appointment to try and get help. Here’s what you need to know.

Relax: There’s no reason to be afraid

The thing about drug rehab facilities is that they are controlled environments, thus making them a relatively safe environment for recovering addicts. Not only do they take extra measures to keep drugs and alcohol off their grounds, they also do everything that they can to maintain a safe environment beyond the scope of substances. This means that most facilities do not tolerate violence or threatening behavior, and most have trained staff that know how to handle those types of situations.

Some people are nervous that they might be looked down upon or belittled by the staff at a treatment center…..this is extremely unlikely, as virtually all facilities employ a mix of recovering and non-recovering staff, so many of them have been in your shoes before. They know exactly what you’re going through and how scary it can be to get clean and sober, so they will only be kind and supportive–never demeaning.

Detox

Most drug rehabs have a detox area that is medically supervised. This is another big part of what makes treatment a safe place to be. Some withdrawal symptoms are potentially dangerous and can lead to seizures or even death, so being in a detox unit is really the best place you can be if you’re quitting drugs and alcohol. In most treatment centers, the only thing you have to do while you’re in detox is sleep, and the staff will do what they can to keep you as comfortable as possible. This will sometimes include certain medications, the majority of which will not be addictive or habit/forming pills. Under rare circumstances, a stronger medication might be needed if someone has become seriously unstable from withdrawal, but most patients will not experience this. Detox usually lasts about 3 to 5 days, depending on the drug or drugs that a person is coming off of.

Residential Treatment

Most drug rehabs have a residential unit that normally houses patients for short term stays. These might range anywhere from a few days to possibly 28 days. This is where the real recovery program takes place.

There are different philosophies at different rehabs, but a large percentage of all rehabs are 12-step based. This means that the foundation of their program is based on the 12 step programs of either Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. There are alternatives out there, but they are relatively scarce compared to 12 step treatment centers. Chances are good that if you are going to detox and short term treatment, it is probably 12 step based.

If you are put off or nervous about attending meetings, I would encourage you to “feel the fear and do it anyway.” Going to meetings gets easier after you go a few times and realize that the people there genuinely just want to help each other. I was terrified of meetings (and of treatment) but I eventually got desperate enough to give it a try anyway. I’m glad I did.

Residential treatment will also consist of therapy groups and maybe some informative lectures. Most rehabs will also connect you with a therapist or counselor that can work with you on a one-on-one basis. In other words, you don’t necessarily have to spill your guts or share your whole story with everyone. It is possible to connect with an individual and get a lot of relief by simple talking to them on a one-on-one basis.

Confidentiality

Some people are afraid to go to treatment because they think everyone will know and they will somehow be ostracized for their condition. This is almost never the case and drug rehabs are bound by law to protect your identity while you are there. It is unfortunate what has happened in the media when a celebrity checks into rehab and it gets plastered all over the news. Obviously, this doesn’t happen with regular people, so don’t let the negative exposure that has happened in the media deter you from getting clean and sober.

It takes guts

It takes guts to go to treatment. There are 2 major fears that you have to overcome: One is the fear of treatment and everything that it entails: is it like jail? Is it like a hospital ward? Will they strap me down? and so on. The other major fear is that of facing life without self-medicating. The fear of being clean and sober, period. The fear of facing life and actually feeling your emotions and not medicating them.

Treatment centers are set up to try to alleviate both of these fears. They do the best they can to welcome you and make you comfortable and teach you how to enjoy a sober life. There really is no reason to be afraid of checking in some where! Just gather up enough courage to give it a try, and you will be amazed at where recovery will take you, if you let it.

Good luck to everyone out there and God bless. Try recovery today…..what have you got to lose?