Getting Started
The Authentic Recovery Center is a drug rehab located in Los Angeles, California. We offer multiple levels of care, including detoxification, residential and outpatient drug rehab programs. If you would like to learn more about our facility call 1 877 415 4673 now.
Learning More
This section of the website offers helpful information about drug rehab. We will approach the subject from the perspective of learning how to choose a drug rehab program.
Drug Rehab Information
The first step towards recovery from addiction is, of course, acknowledging that one has a problem. Without this admission, treatment is more often than not without significant benefits. If, however, one has admitted they are in need of help, then the next step is determining if one in fact needs treatment. To this question there is no easy answer because each individual is unique, and every situation fraught with its own considerations. Indeed if treatment were a clear cut course, with simple cause and effect relationships that applied uniformly to everybody in every circumstance, then relapse would not be as prevalent as it is. However, if one has indeed come to a point in their life where treatment is necessary, then information is available to assist in the next path to take.
How to Choose a Drug Rehab Program
The following is a list of questions that might aid you to determine the next course of action to take. It is but a starting point and by no means comprehensive, but it will help to empower you to be your own advocate and make an informed decision.
- Are you accredited? This is the first question one must ask in their search for the correct treatment center. In California, treatment programs are licensed by the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, which enforce proper standards of care, and provide guidelines to which facilities must adhere to ensure that clients are receiving responsible treatment. To be clear, services vary from center to center, and some facilities are better equipped to service specific populations. However, as a starting point, determining the accreditation status of a facility is the first step to determining its legitimacy.
- What population do you specialize in? Since there really is no such thing as generalized treatment, it is important to figure out what populations a treatment center focuses on. Some facilities are geared towards treating individuals coming out of the criminal justice system, and therefore employ what are referred to as behavior modification techniques. These techniques aim to reestablish boundaries regarding criminal or antisocial behaviors, and often do so using a rewards/punishment methodology. Frequently, programs with this focus do not provide adequate services to address the full spectrum of biological and psychological issues necessary to treat addiction comprehensively. Ask and do research. There are a number of services online that will provide you with many answers to your questions.
- What sort of therapies do you use? Drug addiction is complex, and the recovery process should reflect this. Stylistically, there are a number of different treatment modalities designed to meet the many issues addicts face trying to recover. Determining what style(s) of therapy a facility uses will give you some idea of the assumptions the treatment center makes regarding both addiction and recovery. Some centers focus more on family of origin issues, while others take a psychiatric approach and focus more intensely on the medical component of addiction. Ideally, an accredited treatment center will use an integrated approach, utilizing as many styles of therapy as are necessary to meet the needs of the individual, including a comprehensive strategy to address issues relating to other psychological conditions such as anxiety, depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or any number of other illnesses.
- What is your program like? This perhaps seems like a broad question, but it is a common one nonetheless. Ask what services are provided for family members and significant others. Acquire information about aftercare services and duration of treatment. Is the facility coed? Do clients receive passes and how often do they meet with their therapist? Is there legal assistance if one has to go before a judge and how many people can it serve at once? This last question is important. The size of a facility can determine the quality of attention that is given to each client.
- What if a loved one does not wish to enter treatment? There is no final answer to this question, as each situation and each individual is unique. There is a virtual cottage industry that has emerged in the past twenty years or so that caters to this specific situation. Interventionists run the gamut from fully qualified psycho-therapists to untrained family members, employers, and friends. Interventions, unlike medical detoxes, are not bound by the same rules and standards, and often an appeal at the right moment from the right person will nudge the addict in the direction necessary for them to choose to enter treatment. Timing is essential, as is the emotional state of the addict, which therefore makes interventions a very imprecise science. There are circumstances, for example, where a child that is financially dependent on their family for support is forced into treatment because they are threatened with being cut-off, or other circumstances where a spouse threatens divorce or separation, which can precipitate an addict entering treatment. The traditional logic says that this is the wrong way; and that an addict must chose to enter treatment solely by their own volition or they will not be ready to change. But that is a half-truth. The whole truth is it’s impossible to determine at what stage or point in an addict’s using career they become willing to hear or learn or change, and prognosticating is a notoriously flawed occupation. The whole truth is that people often enter treatment for all of the “correct” reasons and relapse the day they graduate, where others may enter treatment for all of the “wrong” reasons – family appeasement or the imminent loss of a job – and hear something during their stay which opens them up in a way that is totally unexpected and would have been impossible to foresee. Each situation demands wisdom and subtlety, but educating one’s self about both recovery and addiction is an excellent place to begin.
- Do you provide a medical detox? This question actually provides two answers. Determining whether or not a facility has the required staff to detox an individual is important, as most people enter treatment with some kind of active dependence. Medical detoxes are only performed by MDs and require that a facility have specific certification, further allowing you to determine a center’s standing with the state. Typically, the more regulated a facility is, the tighter its care and services will be. It is also worth noting that consistency during treatment is vitally important. It is often beneficial to have the same doctor monitor one’s post-detox medication regime as the one who actually performs the detox. Frequently symptoms of conditions such as depression are present during detox, which diminish as the addict physically stabilizes and grows accustomed to being clean. In cases such as this, it is beneficial having the same physicians throughout the entirety of the client’s treatment.
- Do you treat dual diagnosed clients? This question is bound up with the preceding inquiry about medical detoxes. For a facility to properly treat dual diagnosed clients, the facility must be licensed to provide medical care, which means being under the care of as prescribing physician or psychiatrist, because typically conditions such as bipolar disorder or depression or various anxiety disorders require medication in conjunction with other therapies. Determine what styles of therapy a facility uses. For example do they use a cognitive behavioral approach? Do they use a relatively newer model of therapy known as EMDR? In a best-case scenario a facility will utilize some combination of treatment modalities to ensure they meet the needs of each client.
- What is the ratio of staff to clients? This question seeks to answer what kind of attention a client can expect. Typically, the larger the facility the less attention one receives, usually to the detriment of the individual. This includes not just auxiliary staff such as techs or counselors, but clinical staff as well. Inquire what the credentials are of the therapists who work with the clients, and try to determine if they have certification regarding specific conditions and illnesses.
- What distinguishes your facility from the others? In Southern California alone there are, literally, hundreds of drug and alcohol treatment facilities. Like any other service providing industry, these facilities run the spectrum from excellent to negligent. Try to get a sense of the facility’s overall philosophy regarding addiction and treatment. This is different than determining what styles of therapy the facility’s therapists employ, and is also not the same as determining the status of a center’s credentials and certifications. Determining a center’s overall philosophy will help you to figure out some of the unwritten priorities the center makes with regards to its various levels of care, in addition to its meta-view regarding addiction as a an illness, or a disease, or a social phenomenon. If a center has no overall philosophy, one would do well to proceed with caution.
- How much is your treatment center, does my insurance cover it, and is it worth the price? The first part of this question is rather obvious. Clearly one has to determine what is the best possible care available given the resources one has to work with. Some facilities offer what are called scholarships, where the price of treatment is deferred, while others may be willing to negotiate on a sliding scale. Taking the time acquire information, and asking questions, is crucial. Whether treatment is worth its price is a question that should answer itself. Addiction is a form of murder; it destroys the soul of the addict and literally tears families and couples apart. The response to that question would have to be – recovery is priceless.
Call to Learn More about Drug Rehab Today
If you would like to learn more about drug rehab call 1 877 415 4673 now. Our credentialed staff can help you gather information about how to choose the best drug rehab programs for yourself or a loved one. You can also get a comprehensive list of questions to ask a drug rehab representative by visiting choosing a drug rehab center.
The Authentic Recovery Center is a Los Angeles drug rehabilitation program, but we also have a national network of facilities across the United States. If you would like to find out more about our treatment center or another program call us today.
