Private rehab treatment for alcohol or drug addiction can be expensive, and low-cost or free alternatives are seldom available. It's easy to sign up too quickly for treatment, without a proper understanding what to look for.
Before taking the plunge, here's everything you need to know when shopping around for addiction help in Cwmbrân.
Step 1 - Understand What You Need
Having gone through months (years?) of denial, when we're ready for treatment, it's easy to rush ahead into the first detox provider you call. But, choosing the wrong provider early on, might mean drawing the wrong conclusions about recovery, and what's possible for your future.
Detox, Rehab, Or Both?
Addiction treatment for alcohol or drugs usually starts with a detox, then therapy (rehab), followed by aftercare. But which of these is right for you?
- Have you tried treatment previously, without success? Or even, tried going it alone without professional help? (Be honest).
If you've completed previous treatment and have a good understanding of self already, the full programme may not be required. But if you don't have supports in place, the detox-only option may not be enough.
Rehab In The Right Place
Caught up in the need for detox, many will commit too early to a clinic as close as possible to home, without thinking ahead.
Looking farther afield can potentially mean finding a higher standard of care, for less cost.
Therapy levels vary wildly from clinic to clinic, and therapist to therapist. What feedback do you have on the clinic you plan to attend? We're getting to the real questions here about standard of care delivered, instead of just the bare minimum.
See all the locations Abbeycare serve, here.
Detox Requirements
Making sure you're getting the right support, can have a serious impact on long term results.
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.
Getting reassurance that the provider is not only ready to detox you based on your needs, but has done so many times for others in the past, is important.
KEY QUESTIONS
- Are you a rehab clinic, or a hospital?
- Do you have specialist addiction medics prescribing detox?
- If I have questions about my specific detox needs, who would I speak to?
Step 2 - How Does Rehab Work?
What should I expect, inside an addiction clinic?
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
After admission to a clinic, staff will usually look to plan out your care in the clinic, and how that will work, for you personally.
Most providers, at the start of your stay, will help you visualise personal goals and progress targets, in a specifically designed care plan.
This document will be used as your yardstick to measure progress and keep track. It's worth making the effort here.
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?
A Day In The Life
What's the daily routine, inside a rehab, during treatment?
Asking some key questions before admitting to a clinic can help you get a sense for what life is like in treatment, before committing.
In treatment, you should receive some form of agenda for each day of the week. This agenda is a good guide to what happens each day and what you'll be involved in.
The normal first stage of treatment is detox. Getting clear of the physical effects of alcohol or substance misuse in detox could take 3-6 days, for lighter use cases. Sometimes, detox will last much longer. 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
- How can I see what's inside the clinic, online?
- Give me an idea of how each day is structured, whilst in treatment?
- How do I get reassurance about the look and feel of the clinic, prior to arranging admission?
- When do you expect me to start taking part in the therapy process?
Does Covid-19 Affect My Rehab Treatment?
Since rehab treatment is usually a communal environment, you should expect to have to accommodate others on the journey.
Overcoming old patterns of self-isolation is normally a big part of getting better.
But recovery gains can only be made safely, with consideration to other health factors, in the bigger picture.
Step 3 - What Budget Is Available For Treatment?
Whilst private clinics offer fast access to specialist help, financing the stay in treatment needs planning.
Third sector organisations providing full stack care (detox, therapy, aftercare) under one roof are few and far between, but worth investigating in your area.
As you can imagine, the cheapest provider is not always the best.
Cheap providers often involve minimal rooms or living conditions, and poor therapy. Look instead for smaller providers, with more personal attention.
Call round a few providers, using our cheatsheet if needed - and get a feel for pricing, and whether they can meet your needs comfortably. Don't commit to anything just yet.
Options Beyond Rehab
Community-Led Support Channels
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.
Sadly, community aids like this are unable to help with the most acute phase, needed at the start of recovery - detox.
Community support is invaluable, at the right stage in the process. But starting out - you'll need more specialist help for detox.
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.
Eligibility for short term detox is slim, and is usually restricted to only a handful of cases.
Families and friends often agree to jointly finance private treatment, in cases where no publicly funded options are available.
Step 4 - Get Independent Reviews
While many providers will claim to show many positive reviews, their legitimacy is not always clear.
The industry regulators - the Care Quality Commission in England & Wales, and the Care Inspectorate in Scotland, publish the only independent reporting on standards available, for private rehab clinics.
These two regulatory bodies inspect rehab clinics on a regular basis (usually annually) and produce written reports on their findings.
Treatment providers are graded against standardised performance measures like environment, care standards, and support provided to clients.
How Clinic Inspections Work
There are 2 types of clinic inspections you need to know about - "Unannounced" and "Announced". "Unannounced" means the inspection team arrived at the provider with no forewarning; "Announced" means the clinic were aware of the visit in advance; therefore, always seek out reports detailing "Unannounced" inspections, to get the clearest picture possible, of day-to-day standards, inside the clinic.
Step 5 - Finalise The Details
With the homework all done, it's time to get serious about arranging treatment at one of the providers you've shortlisted.
The clinic team will ask you to complete a telephone questionnaire, to make sure they can meet your needs.
You can normally complete the necessary steps over the phone in 20 minutes or less, and then make an initial deposit towards treatment, that's used to hold the room in your name, until you arrive at the clinic.
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.
The deposit could be anywhere from £500 - £3,000, depending on specifics. Most clinics accept payment over the phone by card.
It's less common nowadays to see treatment clinics themselves offering payment plan options.
An email confirmation of your booking is usually sent to you, confirming the next steps.
Remaining Balance
Treatment providers will expect payment for the remainder of the balance of treatment, upon arrival 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.
Make sure to finalise transport arrangements a few days in advance, to ensure you attend the clinic on time, and avoid any surcharges on delays on treatment.
At this point, congratulations! Your recovery journey has already begun.
Easy Rehab Q&A Cheatsheet
Thank you for reading the ultimate guide to finding the right rehab treatment for Cwmbrân.
Thanks so much for reading our buyer's guide.
Abbeycare operate UK clinics providing help for alcohol or drug addiction for those in the Cwmbrân area.
We've worked with thousands from all over the world, and we can probably help you too.
In these last 15 years, our experience has gone from strength to strength.
Our team can even get transport organised too, if needed, from your location (with an extra charge).
Our inspection reports from the regulators, are available on our clinic pages, here: Abbeycare Scotland, Abbeycare Gloucester.
Our admissions team are ready to help.
Our medical team are ready to help you detox, comfortably.
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 question is - are you ready?
We'll help get things moving. Ring us direct, on 01603 513 091.
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