Finding the right alcohol or drug rehab options for you or a loved one can be overwhelming - at a time of greatest need. Thousands blindly walk into addiction treatment in expensive rehab centres and find that the reality doesn't meet expectations.
Here's everything you need to know when buying rehab - including how to ask the right questions and weed out weaker options.
Step 1 - Understand What You Need
There are a wealth of treatment options available for those fresh to the journey of recovery. But, choosing the wrong provider early on, might mean drawing the wrong conclusions about recovery, and what's possible for your future.
Detox-Only, Versus Full Rehabilitation Programme
A stay for alcohol or drug rehab normally follows the sequence Detox > Rehab > Aftercare, but do you need all three?
- Have you tried treatment previously, without success? Or even, tried going it alone without professional help?
Opting for the full package will provide more support, but think about if it's necessary.
Finding Rehab Near Adamsdown
Understandably, when feeling low and needing detox, most will opt for a clinic close to where they live.
Looking farther afield can potentially mean finding a higher standard of care, for less cost.
Detox can be found in many places, but a strong rehabilitation programme with excellent therapy can mean much greater progress in the long term. Just a few minutes work here, can pay off down the line.
Multi-Substance Detox, Or Previous Attempts At Rehab
Getting the right help means being picky about the support you'll receive while in treatment.
This can be especially important where you have complex drug or alcohol detox needs.
The medical team at a given clinic have the final say of course, but the admissions team for a provider should be well-versed enough to give you an idea of how your detox will proceed.
Ask if the clinic you're dealing with has specialist professionals who've delivered your detox in the past, and with what results.
KEY QUESTIONS
- Do you foresee any complications with my detox?
- Do you have specialist addiction medics prescribing detox?
- My case is complex- what happens in the event of complications?
Step 2 - Understand How Rehab Works
What should I expect, inside an addiction clinic?
You'll stay full time in a clinic, normally with a dedicated room and your own space, complete detox, and attend therapeutic sessions several times a week. Towards the end of your stay, the clinic should set up supports for the future. More about that later.
Expect to complete a pre-admissions screening process over the phone - this is quite normal.
What Is A Care Plan?
Reputable clinics will try to personalise the care you receive, as far as possible.
Most providers, at the start of your stay, will help you visualise personal goals and progress targets, in a specifically designed care plan.
Whilst not the most exciting part of the journey, this is a necessary means to help you monitor progress toward your long term vision. Make sure to take an active part in this stage.
KEY QUESTIONS
- Do I get an individualised care plan that I have input into?
- How do I know if I'm on the right track, during treatment?
- Does care planning account for my detox needs, therapy needs, or both?
- Is there continuity whilst in treatment, of who I deal with, each day?
What Actually Happens Inside A Clinic?
Tell me about the daily routine in treatment?
Short of actually admitting to treatment, we need to ask questions here that let us know what we should expect to see, hear, and feel, once admitted to a clinic.
Every day new clients enter treatment and previous ones leave. Although everyone is at different stages of treatment, providers must keep everyone on track. This means preparing and issuing a daily agenda. This will give a clear indication of what activities happen when, where, and what's expected of you.
Detox from alcohol or substance misuse in a clinic can last anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on multiple factors. Depending on usage levels, many will be able to progress to the next stage of treatment after just a few days. Others may take much longer than this to progress. This level of variance between individuals is very normal.
Always enquire about having a look around the clinic, by visiting first, before committing. Most clinics don't have an open-door policy, but will happily let you see inside, by arrangement.
KEY QUESTIONS
- What see inside photos do you have, of the clinic, online?
- Can you send me an example of what the daily schedule is like, in the clinic?
- Do you offer the opportunity to look around the clinic before admitting?
- When do I get to start taking part in the therapeutic help inside the clinic?
How Does Covid-19 Affect Rehab Centres?
Rehab is almost always a group exercise, even at higher end clinics.
Those in long term recovery achieved it, only by accepting help from others, and helping them, in return.
But making headway in your recovery, at the expense of other health factors, won't help anyone.
Step 3 - What Budget Is Available For Treatment?
Whilst private clinics offer fast access to specialist help, financing the stay in treatment needs planning.
The ability of third sector or voluntary organisations to deal with more complex detox needs is usually slim - it's worth looking into this though.
If you're tempted to opt for the cheapest clinic straight away, think twice.
Instead, seeking out non-brand name providers, who spend less on business and more on care levels, can pay off.
Get a rough indication of costs at this stage by calling a few clinics direct and make it clear your call is just an initial enquiry, to avoid over-committing to one provider too early.
Looking Beyond Clinic Treatment
Local Mutual Aid Meetings
Most cities and towns across the world play host to mutual aid style meetings locally, like the 12 step driven groups of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.
For most at the start of the recovery journey though, detox options are a very real need, and not something that can be obtained without more specialist help.
Local mutual aid meetings *can* be a huge help, and can be a source of potential sponsors and sober mentors for the future. But for short term help for detox, you'll need professional assistance.
NHS Assistance
Whilst the NHS do have addiction keyworkers in different regions, they’re normally overrun with enquiries and demand on resources, meaning obtaining funding for a rehab stay is unlikely.
Usually, only the more complex cases with a long history of addiction are considered for placement into specialist detox units.
Families and friends often agree to jointly finance private treatment, in cases where no publicly funded options are available.
Step 4 - Find Objective Reviews
While many providers will claim to show many positive reviews, their legitimacy is not always clear.
In these situations we need an independent and impartial regulator's opinion - in this case, The Care Quality Commission (CQC) for England and Wales, and The Care Inspectorate, for Scotland.
The CQC and The Care Inspectorate are the industry regulators, and complete routine inspections of private rehabs, which are often classified under the 'Care Homes' category, in their records.
Clinics are reviewed on quality and expertise of their service, staff, and care levels provided.
Clinic Inspections - What You Need to Know
When looking for CQC or Care Inspectorate reports, always look for those stating the visit was "Unannounced" instead of "Announced" - this means the provider was not aware the inspection was occurring, and hence is most likely to provide most insight into genuine standards of care.
Step 5 - Decide On A Provider
It's now time to decide on one of the clinics you've looked at.
It's not uncommon at this point, for the provider to take you a through a number of pre-admission questions, as they have to ensure your suitable for the clinic and its environment.
A telephone assessment might last up to 30 minutes, after which the provider will likely request you to pay a deposit towards treatment, so that they can progress further with your admission.
Any additional financial issues, such as paying via insurance policy, would normally also be sorted out at this stage.
Step 6 - Funding Your Stay
As mentioned, an initial deposit payment is usually expected.
Expect to pay anywhere from £1,800 to £4,000 to book a place in a treatment provider's clinic.
A few offer payment plans to help spread the cost of rehab, although nowadays this is less common.
An email confirmation of your booking is usually sent to you, confirming the next steps.
Outstanding Balance
The provider will likely ask you to settle the remainder of the treatment balance due, after arrival at the clinic.
It’s worth making the effort to settle this on time, as some providers can levy surcharges for late payment, and this quickly adds up, on larger balances.
Step 7 - Admit to treatment
If you don't already have it, contact the admissions team and confirm your date and time of arrival.
You'll usually be asked to bring certain essentials with you:
Rules re mobile phone and device usage varies from clinic to clinic - it's worth checking before you set off - how many devices are allowed, and what the internet usage policy is. Many clinics have a restricted use policy, to keep clients on track.
Treatment centres must co-ordinate their clinical and medical teams availability for your arrival - so being on time matters. Try to arrange your transport to the clinic, ahead of time, to make sure things run smoothly.
From this point on, your recovery journey has begun!
The Top Questions To Ask
Thank you for reading the ultimate guide to finding the right rehab treatment for Adamsdown.
You'll find all the right questions to ask a treatment provider in our printable checklist.
Download it on our main guide page here (direct download - no sign up required). You can download it here.
Thanks for reading our ultimate guide to finding treatment help in Adamsdown.
Abbeycare's UK clinics are available to those in Adamsdown.
Since 2005, we've been helping thousands to overcome addiction, comfortably, and safely.
In our 15 years, we've worked with even the most complex detoxes, needs, and issues.
Not nearby? No problem, we can arrange transport too, in many cases.
Our clinic inspection reports are available on the relevent service pages: Abbeycare Scotland, Abbeycare Hygrove.
Our admissions team can advise on what options are available.
Detox is possible, safely and comfortably, with the help of our medical team.
Our therapists are ready to help you get the insights you need, to stop the pattern of addiction, and reclaim your life.
The Abbeycare clinic team are ready to help you co-ordinate everything.
The only thing left is - are you ready?
Ready to get started? All calls are confidential. Ring direct on 01603 513 091.
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