When someone is choosing a drug or alcohol addiction treatment center for themselves or a loved one, it is important that they know what to look for to find a high quality drug rehab that will meet their needs. This is a scary and vulnerable time in people’s lives. Preparation is important. Do some research. Don’t just choose the first place you find on the internet or the place that easily accepts your insurance. Not all drug and alcohol treatment centers are the same. Make sure you know what you’re looking for and what you’re looking at before making a decision. However, don’t take too long. The window of opportunity for someone to willingly go into treatment can close fast. That’s why it’s important to have some information so you can quickly find the best place for you or your loved one to start the journey of recovery.
One of the worst mistakes people make is quickly selecting the first place that looks affordable. Often people will simply go to a place that is in-network with their insurance carrier, since this is often the cheapest option. While many in-network addiction treatment providers offer quality services, make sure that is the case. Also, make sure you’re not sacrificing quality for affordability. Just because a rehab takes your insurance doesn’t mean that is the best fit or that the treatment services offered are of a high caliber. Make sure you do your research.
It’s important to have some basic information on addiction treatment while looking for the best drug rehab to meet the needs of the identified client. Will this place meet their needs? Does this place do good work? Do they offer quality treatment or just a lot of bells and whistles like nice amenities or a vacation-like destination? Also, understand the difference in types or levels of treatment. What is a detox and does the person need a detox? Understand that IOP means intensive outpatient and that outpatient is much different than inpatient. There is also an in between level called PHP (partial hospitalization treatment). IOP takes place on an outpatient basis and is for several hours a day. PHP is a full day treatment with the person living at home or some other resident. Inpatient is often a hospitalization-like setting (the most intensive level of treatment) and usually only lasts for 28 days. IOP and PHP can go for much longer periods of time. A detox is a short term period that can be done either inpatient or outpatient that detoxifies the substances safely from the body of the client. Detox should always be medically supervised.
Here are some other things to consider when looking for a quality treatment program:
- Is the program dual diagnosis? A person should always go to a dual diagnosis program. This means that the program and their staff are capable of handling both substance abuse issues as well as mental health issues. Why is this important? Because most addicts and alcoholics will have some sort of co-occurring disorder, such as depression, anxiety or OCD. Going to a treatment center that cannot handle both is a mistake because both issues must be treated simultaneously in order for the person to recover.
- Is the program clinically driven? It’s nice to call up a drug rehab and have them tell you about the nice pool and how close they are to the beach or that they have private rooms or that you’ll be driven around in luxury SUVs for transportation. That’s all well and good, but these fancy amenities won’t do much for someone that is looking to overcome drug addiction or alcoholism. Sure, a large bed may sound nice but when someone is detoxing from heroin the quality of the bed means very little. They will let you bring your cell phone to use? Of course that sounds great, but truth be told unless your a CEO running a company or something similarly situated…YOU PROBABLY DON’T NEED YOUR CELL PHONE IN REHAB! What you want to hear is how the program is clinically driven. What are the groups like? Are they dual diagnosis? Can they deal with anger issues or trauma issues. How much group and how much individual treatment occurs? If you’re a family member, how intense are their family programs? Listen to the person on the phone and how they describe their program from a clinical perspective and not just from a sales perspective.
- When calling up a program, are they focusing on the cost of treatment rather than the treatment itself? This means, how do they treatment the payment for treatment. Did the person on the phone immediately ask “What type of insurance do you have?”. And if they don’t accept your insurance, were you immediately disregarded? Did they discuss payment options? Did they work with you on the phone to find out about the specific issues going on, regardless of if you could or could not afford that particular treatment center? The truth is, cost of addiction treatment isn’t cheap. Just like any other medical issue, treatment can be expensive. Sometimes insurance pays all or part of it, but sometimes it does not. Many people have no money and no insurance. There are treatment programs that accept that population. However, a lot of times people don’t know how to find those resources. A good, quality treatment program will not focus on the financials. They will take time to work with a person to help them find available resources if that client cannot afford their program. They will work out payment plans if possible.
- Does the treatment center offer individualized care. Not every drug addict and alcoholic is the same, thus addiction treatment cannot be a cookie cutter approach. Healing and recovery happens differently for each person and therefore a client’s treatment plan must be created to meet them where they are at..but make sure not to leave them where they are at. A quality treatment center will individualized care for each patient and will make sure to work with the patient as they progress. They will not expect every client to be a model client. They expect resistance. They expect treatment to ebb and flow. Sometimes acting out behaviorally or even a relapse aren’t necessarily the worst things in the world, because they offer a clinical opportunity for the treatment team to address that area with the patient and then redirect them onto a better path. Expecting drug addicts and alcoholics to act proper and walk the line the second they enter into treatment is a ridiculous notion. A good treatment facility will create the best care tailored to each clients needs and what is in the best interest of the client.
- Finally, does the treatment center offer a true holistic treatment paradigm? Do they offer comprehensive treatment to treat the patient’s mind, body and spirit? A good quality treatment center will offer three core components to their treatment paradigm: a medical component to deal with the physical issues, a psychotherapeutic component to deal with the mental and emotional issues and a social services component that looks at living conditions, vocational issues, educational issues and the like. They will also offer additional services to treat the spirit, including things like a spiritual counselor, yoga or acupuncture. They will also offer a comprehensive family program, as addiction is a family disease. They will offer education to the family and will also often offer treatment for the family of the client, involving them in every facet of the client’s treatment. A good quality treatment center will also coordinate with any outside involved providers, such as a primary therapist or a family doctor.
High quality, comprehensive addiction treatment is hard to find. Often it does not come cheap. However, it’s important to know what to look for when searching for a quality treatment center. Do they do good work? Are they clinically driven? Do they individualize treatment? Are they comprehensive in their approach? If they aren’t affordable, do they work with you to help you find other quality resources that will work for you? These are important things to remember when looking for drug treatment for you or your loved one.
If you or someone you know is suffering from a drug and alcohol addiction and needs treatment please call us for help. Maryland Addiction Recovery Center offers the most comprehensive addiction treatment in the area. If we aren’t the best fit, we will work with you to find a treatment center that fits your needs. Please call us at (410) 773-0500 or email info@marylandaddictionrecovery.com. For more information on all of our alcohol and addiction treatment services and resources, please visit the web site at www.marylandaddictionrecovery.com.