Finding the right alcohol or drug rehab options for you or a loved one can be overwhelming - at a time of greatest need. It's easy to sign up too quickly for treatment, without a proper understanding what to look for.
If you're considering rehab treatment in Caerau, first check our guide below - this is the UK’s no 1 guide on how to find the right rehab centre for you.
Step 1 - What Do You Want From Rehab?
When you or a loved one are finally ready for help, it can be tempting to pick up the phone and sign up for the first rehab clinic you can find. But use your needs, and past experience, first and foremost, as your guide to what treatment will work best.
Detox & Rehab: Short Term .v. Long Term
Some providers can try to sell Rehab, and even Aftercare, upfront, before you've even started treatment, but do you really need all these?
- Do you need detox, or rehab? It's important to be clear on this.
Be honest with yourself here, as going the detox-only route initially, when underlying work is truly needed, often ends in paying for treatment twice, not once.
Location, Location, Location?
The convenience of a nearby clinic can seem appealing when feeling in need of detox.
Make comparisons instead, against level of care, support, and independent reviews from The Care Quality Commission (England & Wales) or The Care Inspectorate (Scotland).
Clinics have to pass muster with regulators re the basics of detox and rehab, but how supportive is their team? What is the staff:client numbers ratio? What happens if you struggle in future? Asking a few basics like these upfront can save a lot of headache later.
See all the locations Abbeycare serve, here.
A Past History Of Addiction
Like many things in life, the quality of your experience in a rehab clinic can come down to the breadth and depth of experience of the staff you're working with.
You'll want a clear idea here of what detox protocol you're getting, and what help is available during it.
While an admissions team or sales team can give an indication of likely detox methods, this is of course finalised and decided upon by the supervising medical professionals present.
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
- Can you easily accommodate my detox needs?
- What experience do you have in administering detox for individuals with my specific intake and frequency?
- If there are unexpected issues during my detox, what happens?
Step 2 - The Rehab Need-To-Knows
What is day to day addiction treatment inside the clinic actually like?
For in-patient treatment stays, you'll have your own room in the clinic, where you stay, live and sleep, for anywhere from 7-84 days or more (28 days is the average stay).
Before admission, you should expect to complete an initial assessment over the phone with admissions staff, whose job it is to co-ordinate the information you provide with specialists inside the clinic, and ensure their facility can meet your needs.
The Plan For Treatment
Whilst all clinics operate a group environment generally, most should look to help you keep track of your progress, and monitor treatment goals reached.
This means a 'care plan' is drawn up, and agreed by you and your assigned care manager.
Be sure to take an active part in this, to avoid having standardised goals laid out, that don't match your preferences or personal situation. Don't miss this bit out.
KEY QUESTIONS
- Is the care planning the same for every client, or is it personalised to me?
- How do clinic staff know they're doing a good job at helping clients achieve recovery?
- Do you take account of my history of addiction when making treatment care plans?
- Is there continuity whilst in treatment, of who I deal with, each day?
What Do I Do In The Clinic, Each Day?
What is it like being in a rehab clinic?
Asking some key questions before admitting to a clinic can help you get a sense for what life is like in treatment, before committing.
Clinic operators must keep an entire group of clients on track every day. This can only be achieved when everyone works from the same daily schedule. The agenda lets you know what's happening when, and what activities you should participate in.
The duration of detox each individual needs, will vary, based on multiple factors, including frequency and recency of usage, history of addiction, previous detoxes, etc. Some will be ready to start therapeutic work after just a few days. Others may take 7 days or longer. Clinic staff understand this.
Visiting the clinic before committing to treatment will also help you gauge just what the everyday is like, inside a centre, before committing financially.
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?
- Is it possible to arrange a pre-admission visit, to look around? Is there any charge attached?
- When would I be expected to move from detox into therapy in the clinic?
Does Covid-19 Affect My Rehab Treatment?
Recovering from addiction is a group-oriented exercise.
Only with the support of others on the journey, can we hope to make a full recovery.
But recovery gains can only be made safely, with consideration to other health factors, in the bigger picture.
Step 3 - Planning The Financials Of Rehab
Whilst private clinics offer fast access to specialist help, financing the stay in treatment needs planning.
Public services are accountable to the tax payer, and seldom offer more specialist interventions.
If you're tempted to opt for the cheapest clinic straight away, think twice.
Cheap providers often involve minimal rooms or living conditions, and poor therapy. Look instead for smaller providers, with more personal attention.
Use this step to get a clear idea of what rough budget you can commit to treatment, ringing round a few providers for initial pricing if needed.
Looking Beyond Clinic Treatment
Mutual Aid Support
12 step support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are usually available in most locations, although meetings have largely shifted towards online now, in the wake of covid issues.
However, specialist medical help will be required to kick start the journey with detox, which cannot be obtained via such community groups.
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.
Community Healthcare Options
Obtaining short-term detox from NHS services is unlikely, due to demand on resources.
This is not a question of lack of intention to help, but more of resources and strain the healthcare system experiences, under heavy demand.
In reality, where the need for detox is urgent, we often see families and groups of friends pooling funds together, to help a loved one access treatment faster, from a private provider.
Step 4 - Get Impartial Consumer Reports
Review platforms are widespread nowadays and some reviews are not always trustworthy.
Arm yourself from the outset, with the *only* truly impartial consumer report available for private clinics - the Care Quality Commission (England & Wales) and/or Care Inspectorate (Scotland) inspection reports.
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.
Treatment providers are graded against standardised performance measures like environment, care standards, and support provided to clients.
Regulatory Reviews - The Need To Knows
On paper, a visit by regulators to a clinic can be "Announced", or "Unannounced" - the former means the clinic knew about the inspection in advance, the latter means they didn't. Hence, "Unannounced" inspection reports are more likely to provide a real-world picture of clinic conditions and service levels.
Step 5 - Arrange Admission
Now that you've read up, and compared a few clinics, it's time to arrange admission.
Expect to go through a few questions initially, when you call the provider you've chosen - this is normal.
An assessment shouldn’t normally take more than 20 minutes, after which you can pay any required financial deposit over the phone and expect some form of booking confirmation and receipt of payment.
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 above, expect to pay a deposit prior to admission.
Most clinics will expect a deposit of £2,000 or more.
It's less common nowadays to see treatment clinics themselves offering payment plan options.
Make sure to get an email confirmation of deposit paid, and confirmation of what happens next.
Remaining Balance
The remaining balance is normally paid for on arrival at the clinic, at the point of admission.
Interest on late payment for a significant sum like this can be significant, so it's worth getting this done on time.
Step 7 - Admission Into Treatment
Now it's time for the practical stuff of admitting. Double check you have a note of your confirmed date and time your due to admit to the clinic.
You'll usually be asked to bring certain essentials with you:
Make sure to check paperwork for any restrictions on device usage (not all clinics allow this), internet access, and visits from family.
It's also worth ensuring travel arrangement ahead of schedule - as some providers with have surcharges for late arrival.
From this point on, your recovery journey has begun!
Print Our Cheatsheet To Easily Compare Providers
Thank you for reading the ultimate guide to finding the right rehab treatment for Caerau.
Thanks for reading our ultimate guide to finding treatment help in Caerau.
Help for addiction is available at Abbeycare's UK clinics.
We've worked with thousands from all over the world, and we can probably help you too.
All that experience has helped us assist those with even the most complicated detox and rehab needs.
Even if you're not local, we can still help with transport into treatment (full transparency - some costs do apply).
How did we do with inspections from regulators? Check our reports, available on our clinic pages, here: Abbeycare Scotland, and Abbeycare Gloucester.
Our admissions team are ready to help.
Detox is available, with comfort and safety, with the help of our medical team.
Our therapy team are available, to help you identify triggers, patterns, and start truly overcoming them.
Our clinical team are ready to help you start the journey.
Are you ready?
If you're ready for help, call our admissions team direct, on 01603 513 091.
