According to Statista data for 2023, there are more than 17,500 rehab centers in the United States that specialize in addiction treatment. The number of such facilities is huge, which shows the large scale of the problem of drug and alcohol addiction. But how to choose a rehab that will give real results and help to return a person to a normal life? First of all, we will tell you what you should pay attention to.
License availability
Make sure the treatment center is licensed by the Department of Health Care Services. This document is issued for a period of 2 years and it is important that it is valid. A good drug and alcohol rehab always has an official website with a special page that shows proof of license.
This document also confirms the necessary qualifications of the staff. It specifies the services that are officially provided by the institution. You can see whether the clinic employs narcologists, psychiatrists, and psychologists.
Treatment programs
Facilities may have a narrow or broad specialization. For example, some treat only alcoholism, others only drug addiction. However, there are also rehab centers that work in several areas at once.
Current treatment programs:
- medical detoxification. Designed for the safe removal of toxins from the patient’s body with the prescription of drugs that alleviate painful withdrawal symptoms;
- psychotherapy. A set of therapies aimed at changing the patient’s perceptions and restoring his psyche. Includes individual, group, family, and other types of psychotherapy;
- dual diagnosis treatment. The disease in this case combines addiction and mental disorders, which increase the influence of each other and therefore require a special approach to therapy;
- partial hospitalization. This is when the patient is in the clinic during the day and at home at night;
- inpatient recovery. This program involves a permanent stay in the clinic for 30 days or longer.
Individual approach
Although addictions can develop from the same substances in different people, each case is unique. This means that an individualized approach is necessary for successful rehabilitation. It is also important that the patient is under maximum supervision from medical professionals. The more of these staff members there are for each patient, the more attention is given to them.
Comfort level
For the treatment to be successful, the conditions of stay must be comfortable. The medical institution should not resemble a prison, oppress the patient, or put pressure on him.
What is especially important:
- living conditions. It can be a single or double apartment or a room for several people. The bath can be shared or individual;
- nutrition. The cuisine can be dietary, typical for hospitals, or take into account the preferences of each patient;
- leisure activities. What do patients do in their free time? It can be a swimming pool, active games, workshops, participation in volunteer programs and much more.
Duration of treatment
How long do rehabilitation programs last? Usually the time frame is in multiples of 30 days: 30, 60, 90, etc. – up to 1 year or even longer. Some clinics specialize in short-term programs, while others focus on long-term programs. It’s important to find out at the beginning. The addiction specialist who is studying your case should recommend an approximate time frame for rehabilitation. This is what you will use when looking for a rehab.
Reputation and feedback
One thing is how a clinic positions itself. But what do other people say about it? To find out, just search Google for the name of the center along with the word “reviews”. This is how you can find reviews on different platforms.
The main thing is that the rehab should not have a lot of negative reviews. The low number of positive reviews can easily be explained by the fact that people share negatives more often than positives.
Cost
Not the least important is the cost of treatment. It can vary widely depending on the level of the clinic and the quality of the services provided. For example, more budget options cost up to 20,000 dollars for 30 days, premium class rehabs – from 40,000 to 100,000 dollars. Here it is very important to understand what exactly you need to pay for, whether the level of payment corresponds to the quality of service.
The second important point is whether it is possible to pay through health insurance. Some treatment centers also offer payment in installments, which is a serious advantage.
Choosing the right rehab is not easy. To do this, you need to analyze many options and select favorites. It remains to decide which of them provides the most effective, comprehensive, individualized treatment.
