New to addiction treatment? Clinic programmes and options for private addiction help can be confusing. 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 Clydach, 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 Need?
At the bottom of another binge it can feel all too easy to quickly commit to the nearest clinic offering a fast detox. But use your needs, and past experience, first and foremost, as your guide to what treatment will work best.
Detox, Rehab, Or Both?
Some providers can try to sell Rehab, and even Aftercare, upfront, before you've even started treatment, but do you really need all these?
- Have you been detoxed before? (Be honest).
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.
Clinic Location
Caught up in the need for detox, many will commit too early to a clinic as close as possible to home, without thinking ahead.
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.
More Than One Previous Detox?
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.
Specific detoxes that may need more specialist intervention include high dose methadone transfers, multi-substance detoxes, or cases with previous hospital admission for addiction.
Likewise for therapeutic help, what specialist qualifications in addiction do the team have? Ask here about issues that have been sticking points for you in the past, and their suitability to help.
KEY QUESTIONS
- Do you foresee any complications with my detox?
- Do you have specialist addiction medics prescribing detox?
- Are there suitable staff in the clinic who are equipped to handle detox complications?
Step 2 - The Rehab Need-To-Knows
What should I expect, inside an addiction clinic?
Private rehab clinics are centres where all the normal addiction treatment options like detox, therapy, and relapse prevention, are provided in a private setting, all under one roof, with specialists in the field. With your own room, and seclusion away from the addiction triggers in normal life, you have a chance to truly recover.
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.
What Is A Care Plan?
Reputable clinics will try to personalise the care you receive, as far as possible.
A care plan, lays out in detail, how your stay will proceed, what targets you have for treatment, and how you'll measure them. Clinic addiction specialists (ideally assigned only to you) should help you prepare this and use it as a tool throughout your stay.
Together you'll map out key milestones, while accounting for past addictive patterns and behaviours. Don't miss this bit out.
KEY QUESTIONS
- Do I get an individualised care plan that I have input into?
- Do you have a one size fits all approach to treatment, or do you work with each individual's needs?
- Do you take account of my history of addiction when making treatment care plans?
- How is my treatment regimen communicated between staff members?
What's Rehab Treatment Like, Day To Day?
What Is Day To Day Life Like, In Treatment?
It can be tricky to discern exactly what happens each day in treatment, as the routine can vary.
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.
The normal first stage of treatment is detox. Some will be ready to start therapeutic work after just a few days. Others may take 7 days or longer. There is no fixed timescale for each individual.
Arranging a visit to the clinic, before committing any funding, can help reassure you of standards of care, and avoid a costly mistake. Ask about this.
KEY QUESTIONS
- Is it possible to see internal photos of the centre, before admitting?
- Do I take part in daily activities even during detox?
- Is it possible to arrange a pre-admission visit, to look around? Is there any charge attached?
- When do you expect me to start taking part in the therapy process?
How Does Covid-19 Affect Rehab Centres?
Rehab is almost always a group exercise, even at higher end clinics.
Gains achieved during treatment can be amplified by the help of the peer group around you.
Making long term recovery gains today, means being careful to check on some basics re covid-19 preparedness and preventative measures.
Step 3 - Planning The Financials Of Rehab
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.
As you can imagine, the cheapest provider is not always the best.
Double check standards of care and therapy provided for lower cost providers - you may be surprised. Opt instead for a middle-tier clinic, with a better balance of cost to care levels provided.
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.
Other Ways To Get Help
Support In The Community
Most locations hold local Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings which can assist in the mutual aid and social elements of recovery.
However, specialist medical help will be required to kick start the journey with detox, which cannot be obtained via such community groups.
Mutual aid meetings have earned their place in everyone's recovery. But initially, it's important to get professional help to detox safely, and comfortably.
NHS Addiction Options
Immediate help to detox from NHS services is usually not possible. It's more common to receive a referral to a local Drug/Alcohol support team, and begin weekly meetings with a keyworker.
This is not a question of lack of intention to help, but more of resources and strain the healthcare system experiences, under heavy demand.
More often, where a genuine need for short term detox exists, it's more common to see loved ones and family pulling funds together to help someone get help.
Step 4 - Get Impartial Consumer Reports
While many providers will claim to show many positive reviews, their legitimacy is not always clear.
Our heroes here are the industry watchdogs - The Care Commission, and The Care Inspectorate.
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.
Service providers receive a full report on the watchdog's findings.
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.
Normally, the provider will take you through a few initial questions, when you call, to make sure you're a good fit, and will work well together.
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.
If you’re paying via an insurance policy, this is the time that will get sorted out also.
Step 6 - Funding Your Stay
As above, expect to pay a deposit prior to admission.
Depending on total costs, your deposit could be anywhere from £500 - £3,000 or more.
You won't find many clinics offering payment options directly, unfortunately.
Ask for an email confirmation of booking, and get clarity on when the admission details will be finalised, and your date of admission confirmed.
Paying For The Rest Of Treatment
Treatment providers will expect payment for the remainder of the balance of treatment, upon arrival the clinic.
It's a good idea to pay this promptly, to avoid excess charges.
Step 7 - Get Started
By now, you should have an agreed time and date of arrival at a clinic.
Pack enough essentials for your treatment duration, like:
Make sure to check paperwork for any restrictions on device usage (not all clinics allow this), internet access, and visits from family.
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.
And of course, enjoy your recovery!
Easy Rehab Q&A Cheatsheet
You've reached the end of our ultimate guide on finding the right rehab!
Thanks for reading our free guide.
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.
There's no substitute for the years of experience we've had, assisting with even the most complex cases.
Our team can even get transport organised too, if needed, from your location (with an extra charge).
How did we do with inspections from regulators? Check our reports, available on our clinic pages, here: Abbeycare Scotland, and Abbeycare Gloucester.
Abbeycare admissions team can advise on options that suit your needs.
The Abbeycare medical team can help you detox comfortably.
The Abbeycare therapy team are specialists in helping you identify and work through the underlying triggers behind addiction.
Our clinic team - many of them in recovery personally - are ready to get you started.
The only question is - are you ready?
Ready to get started? All calls are confidential. Ring direct on 01603 513 091.
