LGBT Drug Treatment Blog

Choosing a Drug Treatment Center
Facing the fact that someone you love is not only suffering from drug addiction, but now must receive help to overcome the addiction, is difficult for anyone. Where should you start? Who do you turn to? What questions do you need to ask about drug treatment programs? Perhaps, you may have been at this point before, and you now feel a sense of hopelessness in finding a residential treatment center that will work this time around. Maybe, though, this is the first time you’ve had to take these steps to help someone you love. The process can feel overwhelming.

Ultimately, you want your loved one back. You want that person you love free from drugs. You want that person to live a healthy and productive life. By asking the right question on each of the following areas when choosing a residential drug treatment center, your chances of making this happen for your loved one will increase. For additional help in locating an effective drug treatment program call the national addiction helpline at 1-800-99-DETOX.

1. Success Rate of the Rehab – What is the success rate of the drug treatment center? Obviously, the higher the success rate, the more likely your loved one will succeed. Ask to speak with graduates of the drug rehab facility or their families. Get real opinions from real people.

2. Drug Addiction Treatment Philosophy– What philosophy does the drug treatment center use? Ask yourself if they are addressing all aspects of your loved one’s addiction, including what led them to drugs in the first place. Methods that only deal with one aspect of addiction are more likely to fail. Remember addiction results from a combination of many factors, including a lessening of morality and integrity and an increasing burden of guilt and shame. The life of an addict includes bad habits, poor health and difficulty facing problems. After speaking with the drug rehab program, ask yourself if they are handling not just the psychological aspects, but also the physical and mental aspects of addiction as well. Are they providing practical skills that will help your loved one succeed once the drug rehabilitation program is completed?

3. Addiction Treatment Services – What services does the residential drug treatment center offer? This is not only for your loved one, but for you as well. Will they help with legal issues? Will they assist in an intervention? In other words, to what length will they go to make certain your loved one gets the drug treatment they need?

4. Addiction Treatment Staff – Who are the staff members at the drug treatment center? The best trained staff will have had experience with drug addiction. They will not have learned about it in a book. Are they qualified for their positions? What real-life knowledge do they have with drug addiction? What is their reason for working in this field?

5. Follow-up Program – What type of follow-up program does the drug addiction treatment center offer? This is important. Sending a newly rehabilitated drug addict back into the world without any follow-up can be disastrous. Make sure that there is a program of this type in place. Good drug addiction treatment programs keep in touch over the phone regularly after one leaves the program.

6. Drug Treatment Program Location – Where is the residential drug treatment center located? A residential drug treatment center should be protected. Ask how easy it would be for your loved one to leave. Many addicts when first coming off drugs want to leave. Ensuring that this is difficult, while not seeming like a prison, increases the chances that the person will stay to finish.

7. Length of Drug Addiction Treatment – How long does the residential drug treatment center take? Although the standard program is 28 days, if the residential drug treatment center offers a longer program, it is more likely your loved one will succeed. However, if the residential drug treatment center allows your loved one to work at his or her own pace, without imposing time constraints, your loved one has an even greater chance of overcoming drug addiction.

8. Price of Drug Addiction Treatment – How much does the residential drug treatment center cost? Before eliminating any program because of its price, ask yourself this: What are they offering? Look back at the points above and determine what the drug rehab is truly giving to the one you love. Yes, the more it offers, the more likely the price will be higher. However, your loved one will have a greater chance at becoming a healthy productive member of society. How much is that person worth to you?

Choosing a drug treatment center can be difficult. Dealing with a loved one suffering from drug addiction is devastating. By breaking the process down into what is important and finding out the answers to the questions above, you will be able to make an informed choice as to which residential drug treatment program can best help you and your loved one. Drug addiction can be dealt with and overcome. For help in locating a quality drug rehab you can call the national addiction helpline for help at 1-800-99-DETOX.