Did you know there are almost 15,000 drug rehab centers scattered across the country right now?
That’s great news if you’re in the process of looking for help with drug addiction. It means you shouldn’t have to look too hard to locate rehab facilities in your area.
But it can also present problems for you as far as finding the right drug rehab center is concerned. When there are so many options to choose from, it can be difficult to track down the center that will give you the best chance of overcoming your addiction.
To increase your chances of finding a drug rehab facility that will yield positive results, take the time to ask the different rehab facilities that you’re considering some questions. The answers you get back should help make your decision a lot easier.
Here are 10 questions to ask before choosing a drug rehab center.
1. Do You Offer a Treatment Program for My Specific Drug Addiction?
When you reach out to a drug rehab center for the first time, the first thing you’re going to want to do is make sure they offer a treatment program for your specific drug addiction.
Most addiction treatment centers have programs in place for heroin, cocaine, opiates, and other major drugs. But not all centers are capable of providing a high level of care for all drug users. Certain drugs require a specific medical detox while others require none. Through our experience in treating a range of addictions, we recognize that there are patterns and similarities between drug use habits. Our structure of groups and educational classes are personalized to suit each drug-use pattern.
A great drug rehab center will offer treatment programs for all of these types of drugs:
- Amphetamines
- Benzodiazepines
- Cocaine
- Crack Cocaine
- Crystal Meth
- Heroin
- Methamphetamine
- Opiates
- Sedatives
- And more
You can usually find out whether or not a rehab center has a treatment program in place that would benefit you by checking out their website. But you should also double-check with someone at the center when you speak with them.
2. How Do You Deal With Detox?
When you first check yourself into a rehab center, you’ll likely start by going through a physical examination as well as a psychological evaluation. It’ll provide the professionals at the center with the information they need to know about you.
That shouldn’t be too difficult for you. But then comes the hard part.
Before you can start to receive treatment, you’ll need to go through the process of detoxing from your drug of choice. Depending on how bad your addiction was, you may experience some especially unpleasant physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms as you detox.
There are some people who are able to detox from a drug within just a few days without too much of a problem. But those cases are few and far between.
The majority of drug users will struggle to get through the detox stage. Some will even suffer potentially life-threatening withdrawal symptoms that could put their health at serious risk.
Because of this, it’s incredibly important for a rehab center to customize a detox plan for you. The plan should include providing you with access to medical professionals who can step in and help your detox go as safely and as smoothly as possible.
Ideally, the rehab center you choose should have a 24/7 medical team ready to spring into action at the first sign of trouble during detox. Otherwise, you could end up in real danger if your detox doesn’t go according to plan.
3. Is Dual Diagnosis Something That’s on Your Radar?
Do you suspect that you might be dealing with a mental health issue in addition to your drug addiction problem?
This is actually a lot more common than you might think. A survey done back in 2014 revealed that there are about 8 million Americans who have been diagnosed with a combination of a mental health issue and a substance abuse problem.
You are said to have a dual diagnosis if you fall into this category.
There are some rehab centers that specialize in treating dual diagnoses and do their best to look out for them. There are others that will only treat you for your substance abuse problem without delving too deep into your mental health issue.
If you check yourself into the latter, it could obviously present a big problem for you. You might end up getting the help you need with your drug addiction, but your mental health issue could prevent you from fully overcoming your substance abuse problem.
See how a rehab center plans to handle the possibility of a dual diagnosis before you agree to check yourself into it.
4. What Approach Do You Take to Treating Addiction?
Each and every drug rehab center has a unique philosophy that it uses to offer treatment to those dealing with drug addiction.
There are some rehab centers that take a whole body approach to treating a person working their way through addiction. They’ll rely on everything from acupuncture sessions to nutrition changes to try and help you fight back against addiction.
There are other rehab centers that put more of an emphasis on religion and attempt to use it to treat addiction. You’ll spend time in prayer and study spiritual teachings as you strive to beat drug addiction.
There is no right or wrong approach to dealing with drug addiction. But there are some methods that might work better for you than others. Carefully consider which approach you think you’ll respond to best.
5. Do You Provide Inpatient Services, Outpatient Services, or a Combination of Both?
Do you think that you’re going to need round-the-clock treatment to overcome your battle with drug addiction?
If so, you’re going to need inpatient services from your rehab center. When you enroll in an inpatient program, you’ll spend every second of every day in the center working on bettering yourself. You’ll attend therapy sessions, learn new life skills, and attempt to rebuild your life from inside the rehab center.
But inpatient programs aren’t your only option. You might also benefit from the outpatient services provided by some rehab centers.
With outpatient programs, you’ll only spend part of your days at the rehab center. Depending on the center, you might spend anywhere from five to eight hours per day at the center for three to five days per week. During that time, you’ll attend support groups, meet with counselors, and take part in other activities designed to help you heal.
Additionally, there are some rehab centers that will combine inpatient and outpatient services for you. They might start you off by having you stay at their center 24/7 before moving you over to more of an outpatient routine after a couple weeks.
There are some people who need inpatient care and others who get by without it. It really all depends on your addiction and how you respond to treatment.
6. How Long Do Your Drug Rehab Programs Last?
Regardless of whether you take advantage of inpatient or outpatient services through a rehab center, you’re going to get put on a program that will last for a certain amount of time.
Usually, drug treatment programs will last somewhere around four or five weeks total with an option to extend them longer. There are some extended care programs that can last for as long as 60 or 90 days.
But every rehab center is a little bit different. So make sure you inquire about how long your specific program will last before you sign up for it.
7. What Will the Atmosphere Be Like in Your Rehab Center?
When you walk into a rehab center, you’ll notice that it has a very distinct feel to it. You want to make sure that you’re comfortable with the atmosphere in the center since you’re likely going to be spending a lot of time in it.
Some rehab centers look and feel just like hospitals once you step inside. You’ll be subjected to a very clinical experience in a center like this.
Other rehab centers look and feel like retreat centers. There are even some that are located next to oceans on the beach. You’ll get the sense that you’re on vacation when you’re in a center like this.
It’s up to you to decide which of these types of rehab centers will put you in the right frame of mind for rehabilitating your body and mind.
8. Who Will Be Working With Me on a Regular Basis?
In theory, the resort-like rehab center that we just described above might sound like the perfect place to tackle drug addiction.
But it’s the people inside the rehab center you choose, not the building itself or its surroundings, that will ultimately determine how successful you are.
The rehab center that you check yourself into should be stocked with professionals who know how to help addicts cope with their drug addiction and work their way through it. A great rehab center should have:
- Detox specialists
- Psychiatrists
- Medical doctors
- Social workers
- Dieticians
- Case managers
- And more
Make sure you speak with a rehab center’s admissions director (another important person that every rehab center should have!) about who you’ll be working with and how qualified they are.
The goal is to put you in front of those who have experience with treating drug addiction effectively. Those people should be able to supply you with the resources you’ll need to get through your rehab stay and break through to the other side.
9. Are Your Services Covered by My Health Insurance Plan?
This is one of the most important questions that you’ll have to ask to a rehab center. You need to find out if your health insurance plan will cover all or part of your stay at the center.
Since drug addiction has become such a big issue in America, there are more and more health insurers providing people with coverage for rehab stints. But there’s a decent chance that your health insurance provider might not pay for you to stay at a rehab center.
If this turns out to be the case, don’t despair! There are lots of rehab centers that can set you up with a payment plan or offer to help you finance your stay. You may also qualify for some kind of financial aid to cover some of your stay at a rehab facility.
Explain your situation to the admissions director at a rehab center and see what kind of solutions they can offer to you. There should be some options for you to try if your insurance plan doesn’t cover drug rehab.
10. How Successful Has Your Center Been With Treating Others in the Past?
If you’re on the verge of checking into a rehab center, you could probably use a little bit of inspiration. It would be nice to hear that someone else who was once sitting in your seat was able to enter rehab and regain control of their life.
Just about all drug rehab centers will boast about how successful they’ve been as far as treating others. But push them to give you some specific examples of how they’ve helped others in your community.
In a perfect world, they should be able to provide you with stats on how many people have come through their doors and successfully kicked a drug habit. But at the very least, they should be open to discussing some of their biggest success stories.
This will offer you some hope and show you which rehab centers are the most committed to seeing their patients succeed. At the end of all this, you should be ready to pick the facility that will help turn your story into a successful one.
Find the Right Drug Rehab Center Today
Searching through drug rehab centers can be a little bit overwhelming at first. There are so many out there that it can be tough to narrow down your search to just a few top contenders.
But these questions should help you to cut out the fat and find a few drug rehab centers that sound best to you. From there, you can take a closer look at them before settling on the one that you want to use to get over your drug addiction once and for all.
