Choosing a good drug rehad center for those who needs help is a very important process.
Making choices from a bewildering variety of different programs and different promises, an education in what to look for in a program can save both money and heartbreak.
When a family or caregiver knows just what to ask a rehab facility before trusting a loved one to their care, they can more accurately choose a rehab that fits their needs.
To help families make the right choices of rehabilitation service, here are vital questions that should be asked before making decision.
1. What results do you expect from rehabilitation?
Different rehabilitation programs actually expect different results. Some consider success to be a person who continues to attend meetings or takes the methadone that was prescribed. Others consider that a person completing their twenty-eight-day program is a success. Others see success by the number of people who stay abstinent after they return home. And some others include many factors of recovery, such as gainful employment, improved family relations and morality and so on.
You and the family must decide which result is desired before making a decision. This decision will guide you through the process of selecting a facility. Ask any rehab program you are considering how they measure their success and what that success rate is.
2. Is the program short-term or long-term?
28 day program rehab is the most common type of drug rehab program. This may not give people the time they need to achieve stable sobriety. Recovery may require longer time.
3. Does the program’s treatment substitute another drug for the one the person was addicted to?
Many of drug treatment programs offer methadone, buprenorphine or Suboxone to the person recovering from addiction to drugs like heroin, prescription painkillers or others. This type of program is often referred to as a harm reduction program.
4. Does the treatment rely on the use of other drugs that may themselves be addictive or harmful?
Many rehab programs with a pharmaceutical orientation may use benzodiazepine-class drugs like Valium or Xanax (or even stronger medications) to relieve symptoms of distress in those going through their programs. While benzodiazepines may be needed for a few days for a person in acute alcohol withdrawal, they are not the only solution for distress during rehabilitation. Other programs emphasize building up a person’s physical health early in the recovery process by using vitamins, minerals and exercise. An improvement in health can result in greater mental calmness and alleviation of symptoms of distress for many. Some people also find it easier to be more social and constructive when they feel healthier.
A reliance on medications as part of treatment can also result in an addiction to these medications.
Some other programs will give an alcoholic a drug like disulfaram to make him (or her) feel sick he if drinks again. But the possible include severe and sometimes fatal liver problems and impotence. Some individuals may not need these drugs as part of their rehabilitation programs. Ask the rehab service what medications they prescribe and why.
5. Does the program have a method of alleviating physical cravings for drugs or alcohol?
Very important point for families to understand. A person in addiction recovery, he (or she) may struggle each day with severe cravings. Many rehab programs do not have a direct method of alleviating these cravings. Instead, they offer prescription medications to chemically suppress craving, frequent support meetings and counseling to help a person deal with the cravings. But if there is no method of directly addressing and reducing cravings, the urge to abuse drugs may be stronger than the support and may drive the recovering person back into drug abuse.
When a rehab program has nutritional, detoxification or other techniques that effectively alleviate cravings, a person in recovery has a greater ability to focus on developing sober living skills and repairing the harm done to others.
6. Does the program include a nutritional component?
When an addicted person arrives at a rehabilitation program, multiple studies have shown that it is typical for him to be in a very poor state of health.
A thorough addiction recovery program needs to include nutritional support for the person in recovery so that the person’s deficiencies are repaired.
7. Does the program teach a recovering person sufficient life skills to support a sober life?
No matter how good a person feels when he leaves a rehab program, he is going to be hit by problems, stresses and influences that might tempt him to use drugs or alcohol again. Old drug-using friends or drug dealers will come around again. There could be a setback, a job loss, divorce or other stress factor.
A person must have the skills to deal successfully with these influences.
8. Does the rehab program you are considering think that addiction is a chronic disease and one should expect multiple relapses on the way to sobriety?
Drug Rehab Centers tend to either believe that relapses are normal aftermaths of rehab or that relapse can be prevented by a thorough, effective program. It would be wise for a family to interview a prospective rehab on this point.
9. Does the Drug rehab center seem to offer an instant cure or some other promise that doesn’t make sense?
Treatment programs may promise results that seem illogical. The promise being made should sound right to the family trying to save the life of a loved one.
10. Are the steps of the program ones that you feel good about your loved one experiencing?
Families are trusting rehab programs with something very precious: the future of loved ones. In some cases, those loved ones go through unexpectedly severe experiences that families would not really want for them. Forced labor, confrontational methods of counseling, heavy drugging during withdrawal or rehabilitation, even electric shocks or the administration of psychedelic drugs may be used as treatment. It would be wise for a family to understand every phase of treatment and agree with its use as treatment for someone they care about. Be sure you ask the staff of the rehab facility about each phase of treatment.
Only you can descide if drug rehab center is good for your loved one