The purpose of this article is to help individuals learn how to choose the right drug treatment center for themselves or their loved ones. Reading this article will allow you to develop a basic understanding of:

1. The Different Types of Facilities
2. The Different Levels of Care
3. The Different Treatment Services

This article is by no means a comprehensive picture of all the different types of drug treatment centers or drug treatment services. This is because in Southern California alone, there are 500+ facilities located within 100 miles of Los Angeles. So there is no way to outline all of these centers or their treatment capabilities. What this article will assist you in accomplishing is to determine the following:

1. What type of facility you want to attend
2. What level of care you initially feel is most appropriate based on need
3. What types of treatment services you want the facility you attend to offer

This article is designed to help individuals, or their loved ones, who are experiencing:

1. Addiction
2. Alcoholism
3. Substance Abuse
4. Chemical Dependency
5. Prescription Drug Addiction

If you or your loved one is experiencing any of the following it is best that you seek a free evaluation by calling (877) 415 4673:

1. Depression
2. Sex Addiction
3. Panic Disorder
4. Dual-Diagnosis
5. Eating Disorder
6. Anxiety Disorder
7. Bipolar Disorder
8. Trauma Disorder
9. Gambling Addiction
10. Acute Withdrawal; or
11. Immediate Need for Crisis Intervention

Step 1 “Choosing the Appropriate Type of Facility”

Residential drug treatment centers basically break down into three categories. These are:

1. Adolescent Facilities
2. Young Peoples Facilities
3. Adult Facilities

Each of these categories treats a certain age group. These are:

• Adolescent Facilities- typically meet the needs of individuals ages 13-17.
• Young Peoples Facilities- typically meet the needs of individuals ages 17-25.
• Adult Facilities- typically meet the needs of individuals ages 18+.

So the first step in choosing the right drug treatment center is to determine which category of treatment you or your loved one falls into based on age.

Step 2 “Choosing the Appropriate Level of Care”

The different levels of care offered within the three types of facilities basically break down into 5 categories. These are:

1. Detoxification Services (Residential)
2. Primary Care Services (Residential)
3. Extended Care Services (Residential)
4. Partial Care Services (Non-Residential)
5. Outpatient Care Services (Non-Residential)

Each of these levels of care offer different types of support. Here is a basic description of each level of care:

Detoxification Services typically assist individuals in withdrawing from alcohol and/or drugs through the aid of medications prescribed by a physician. (NOTE: Detoxification Services are not usually considered a complete treatment for addiction. These services are specifically designed to help individuals establish a clean and sober baseline so that alcohol and/or addiction education and clinical treatment can be initiated; both which help to prevent the possibility of relapse in the future.)

Primary Care Services typically introduce educational concepts of alcohol and/or addiction recovery and provide different types of recovery-related activities including; individual counseling, individual therapy, group therapy and alumni support groups, all of which are designed to be supportive while creating awareness of the issues that have contributed to developing chemical dependency and/or substance abuse tendencies. (NOTE: Many centers offering primary care services also offer relationship counseling and/or a Family Program.)

Extended Care Services typically are residential but less structured than primary care services and usually serve individuals transitioning from Primary Care. These services represent a platform to further assist people who have limited life experiences or an extensive alcoholism and/or addiction history in living clean and sober while developing an independent daily routine. Extended Care Services include individual counseling, individual therapy, group therapy and alumni support groups. It’s often a place where individuals can learn basic life-skills while practicing recovery principles in a safe environment and still receive the clinical support needed to further a personal understanding of their own substance abuse and/or chemical dependency issues.

Partial Care Services typically are non-residential and usually represented by 2-5 hours of treatment related services per/day. Individuals in attendance have the opportunity to attend group therapy and receive limited individual counseling and/or individual therapy. Because this level of care is non-residential, people attending can embrace their free time by attending school or maintaining employment. This level of care represents a safe place for individuals to process some of the feelings and emotions that are coming up during day-to-day activities as they directly relate to their recovery process.

Outpatient Care Services are non-residential and allow individuals to shore-up an ample self-supporting daily routine (of school or work) with nightly groups and limited individual counseling and/or individual therapy. This level of care represents a safe place for people to process recovery-related feelings and emotions on an intimate group basis and typically serves to create a positive-peer group and sense of community away from the stressors of living clean and sober in early alcohol and/or addiction recovery.

So the second step in choosing the right drug treatment center is determining what level of care is most appropriate for you.

Step 3 “Choosing the Appropriate Treatment Services”

Once you have determined the type of facility your age makes you eligible for and once you have basically decided what level of care appears most appropriate, it is time to determine what type of treatment services you want the drug treatment center to offer. Treatment services offered in drug treatment centers basically break down into three categories. They are:

1. Medical Services
2. Clinical Services
3. 12 Step Services

• Medical Services typically encompass acute detoxification services, post-acute detoxification services and psychiatric services. (NOTE: Not all drug treatment centers offer medical services.)
• Clinical Services typically encompass the types of clinical therapy offered during treatment. These include psychological evaluation, individual therapy, experiential therapy, group therapy, couples therapy and/or family programs. (NOTE: Not all drug treatment centers offer a full array of clinical services.)
• 12 Step Services typically encompass recovery related individual counseling, recovery groups, trigger identification and relapse prevention, 12 Step meeting attendance and education/introduction to a 12 Step Program. (NOTE: Most drug treatment centers offer 12 Step services.)

So step three is determining what sort of services you want the drug treatment center to offer. Some centers offer medical, clinical and 12 Step services while others may only offer limited clinical services and 12 Step services.

Step 4 “Deciding on Cost”

Now you should have a basic idea of the following:

1. The type of facility you want to attend (based on age)
2. The appropriate level of care (based on need)
3. The types of treatment services you want your ideal facility to offer (based on need)

In the United States in 2004 the least expensive treatment center was $0 for an indefinite stay. That center primarily focused on 12 Step Services and vocational activities. (In other words, clients worked to pay for their stay while attending daily 12 Step meetings) The most expensive drug treatment center in 2004 was located in Southern California and was $120,000 for a 2-week stay. This center primarily focused on exclusive medical treatments, psychiatric evaluations and psychologically supportive therapeutic measures.

An Important Fact:

A study conducted by the NIDA determined that 30-day treatment centers were approximately 30-35% successful in treating addictions. The same study found that if clients transitioned from primary care into some form of aftercare for 6 months or more that the success rates increased to 65-70%. (Success was defined by 5 years of continuous recovery) Aftercare for the purposes of this study was defined as: Extended care services, partial care services, outpatient care services or individual therapy.

So what does this mean?

It means that money won’t buy recovery. But the amount of money you spend may allow you or your loved one to receive treatment services that are more in line with their belief systems and historical experiences than perhaps say, a drug treatment center that only focuses on vocational activities. It also means that the longer you or your loved one can afford to stay in treatment, or if you can pay a certain amount for primary care services but still leave a reservoir of funds available for aftercare services the more likely it will be you or your loved one will achieve lasting recovery success.

Here are some helpful tips for deciding on the amount you want to spend for enrollment in a drug treatment center:

• If you need detoxification services and primary care services then find a drug treatment center that offers detox as a component of primary care. This allows you to spend one amount and still cover both needs.
• Leave yourself a reservoir of funds available for aftercare services once you conclude primary care. In other words, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. If the NIDA has determined that 6 months of various aftercare services will increase the likelihood of success, then be sure you have funds available to secure these future services.
• Strong clinical services usually increase the cost of treatment. For example; a program that only offers 12 Step services is usually cheaper than a program that offers both 12 Step services and clinical services.
• Be realistic. The best approach is to find a program that offers a multitude of services under one roof. This allows you to cover all your bases with one expenditure and prevents costly enrollment fees if you were to say, enroll in four different facilities to receive four levels of care.

Step 5 “Asking the Right Questions”

To protect yourself or your loved one take the time (Probably not more than 10 minutes) to ask a few very pertinent questions of the center you’re thinking of enrolling with. Even in a time of crisis, which is often the case when researching a drug treatment center, a few crucial questions may help you to secure your decision to enroll or to continue your research to find a better suited facility.

Remember to ask the drug treatment centers representative whether they meet the criteria you have already determined you may need.

For Example:

1. “Do you provide treatment for adults?”
2. “Do you offer primary care?”
3. “Do you provide medical, clinical and 12 Step services?”

If the representative answers these questions to your liking then here are some important additional questions to ask. (NOTE: Below each question is also the preferred answer.)

Question 1- May I have a copy of your daily schedule?

Answer: Yes

Question 2- Are you licensed by the State to provide drug and alcohol treatment?

Answer: Yes

Question 3- How many individual session’s will I (Or my loved one) receive per/week?

Answer: “The facility representative should say at least 4 per/week”

Question 4- Are those individual sessions conducted by a certified counselor or licensed therapist and related to addiction recovery or dual-diagnosis?

Answer: Yes

Question 5- What is the cost of your facility?

Answer: “The facility representative should state the cost”

Question 6- Does that cost cover all expenses?

Answer: Yes

Question 7- If a psychiatric evaluation is necessary, is that also included in the cost?

Answer: Yes

Question 8- Do you provide onsite medical detoxification services?

Answer: Yes

Question 9- Does a physician oversee the onsite detoxification services?

Answer: Yes

Question 10- Do nurses help with the hour-to-hour needs of each person needing onsite detoxification services?

Answer: Yes

Question 11- Do you provide 24 hour supervision of clients?

Answer: Yes

Question 12- Do you offer a Family Program for friends and/or loved ones?

Answer: Yes

If the representative answers all the previous questions satisfactorily then here are some questions that will amplify your understanding of the facility. Once you ask these questions you will have a comprehensive picture of the complete scope of services offered by the facility. (NOTE: These answers will vary from facility to facility)

Question 1- What sorts of individual clinical therapy do you offer?

Question 2- What sorts of groups do you offer?

Question 3- Do you offer daily or weekly outdoor activities? What sorts of activities do you offer?

Question 4- Do you offer experiential therapy? What sorts of experiential therapy do you offer?

Question 5- Do you offer spiritually based activities? Are they mandatory?

Question 6- Do you offer yoga, meditation or any holistic treatment?

Question 7- Do you offer individualized treatment?

Question 8- How do you individualize a person’s care?

Question 9- What if I or my loved one leaves treatment early? Do you offer refunds?

Question 10- Have you had any complaints filed against you? What was the basis for these complaints?

Question 11- Are you a Co-Ed facility?

Question 12- How many people do you treat at one time?

Question 13- What is your staff to client ratio?

Question 14- How many clients are assigned to each counselor/clinician?

Question 15- What are the living arrangements like? How many people are assigned to each room?

Question 16- Do you offer private counseling offices?

Question 17- Do you have space for people to have private time?

Question 18- Do you allow visitation?

Question 19- What makes your facility unique?

Question 20- What is the general age group currently being treated at your facility?

NOTE: These questions are not unrealistic to ask. Use your intuition wisely during this process. If you begin to feel the representative is telling you what you want to hear ask to have his/her statements put in writing. If the representative refuses, it is probably wise to continue your research and to find another facility.

Step 6 “The Red Flag Questions”

There are a few questions that you may ask that are considered “Red Flag Questions.” If a facility representative answers “yes” to these questions you have great cause to be alarmed. Below each question is an explanation of why a “yes” answer is alarming. These questions are:

Red Flag Question 1 - Do you have the cure for addiction?

Alarming Because: There is no documented cure to addiction.

Red Flag Question 2 - Can you guarantee my success?

Alarming Because: Only your actions can guarantee your success, once you leave the center the responsibility to make healthy choices lies with you.

Red Flag Question 3 - Are you the best drug treatment center?

Alarming Because: There are a multitude of great drug treatment centers and people are getting clean and sober in centers all across the United States. Of these quality centers none are better or worse than the other, and ethical facilities are cognizant of this fact and willing to be vocal about it.  

Conclusion

This article is intended to serve as a helpful tool only. If you have additional questions or are in need of a free evaluation to assist you in determining what level of care is most appropriate to meet your needs then call (877) 415 4673.

Remember that there are numerous resources available to help individuals struggling with substance abuse or addiction related issues. This article does not describe them all. If you have questions about how to find these resources, or you would like a comprehensive picture of all the differing types of drug and alcohol treatment related services available in your area call (877) 415 4673.