Finding the right alcohol or drug rehab options for you or a loved one can be overwhelming - at a time of greatest need. Choosing the wrong provider can mean serious consequences for future sobriety, relationships, and family life.
If you're considering expensive rehab treatment - read our need-to-knows before taking the plunge.
Step 1 - Understand What You Need
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 considering first, what your treatment needs truly are, can help you pay for rehab just once, and not twice.
Detox Only, Or A Complete Recovery Programme?
A stay for alcohol or drug rehab normally follows the sequence Detox > Rehab > Aftercare, but do you need all three?
- Do you need all three stages of treatment, detox > rehab > aftercare? (Be honest).
Committing unnecessarily to all 3 stages of treatment may see you paying too much, but not having enough support down the line could also mean paying the cost of rehab again.
Rehab In The Right Place
The convenience of a nearby clinic can seem appealing when feeling in need of detox.
But there's more to consider, in your long term sobriety journey, than the clinic next door.
Most clinics provide standard detox protocols and some form of therapy. But will they still be supporting you after you leave the clinic? Asking a few basics like these upfront can save a lot of headache later.
See all the locations Abbeycare serve, here.
If You Have Complex Needs
The quality of support you receive from the clinic team, can make or break recovery results.
Multiple previous detoxes, or challenging liver issues, should mean you're extra careful that the clinic can accommodate your needs, both safely, and comfortably.
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
- How long should detox take, for me?
- Do you have specialist addiction medics prescribing detox?
- If there are unexpected issues during my detox, what happens?
Step 2 - Behind The Scenes In An Addiction Treatment Clinic
What is the typical admission process?
Rehab clinics are not hospitals with shared wards - you'd normally have your own room in the clinic for the length of your stay. Some clinics also offer shared rooms - although this has become less common since the advent of coronavirus.
Since every individual is different, and needs can vary widely, (even two people consuming the same amount of alcohol or drugs can need very different timescale and treatment) - a personal assessment is usually needed, before admission to a clinic can go ahead.
Mapping Out Needs And Treatment Goals
Clients are normally encouraged to actively monitor their progress towards recovery treatment goals and outcomes.
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. Don't miss this bit out.
KEY QUESTIONS
- Do you provide a written plan for me to follow, during treatment?
- How do clinic staff know they're doing a good job at helping clients achieve recovery?
- Does care planning account for my detox needs, therapy needs, or both?
- How is my treatment regimen communicated between staff members?
What Do I Do In The Clinic, Each Day?
What actually happens in a clinic, every day?
Asking some key questions before admitting to a clinic can help you get a sense for what life is like in treatment, before committing.
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 schedule will be your guide for day to day life in the clinic, as you move through the stages of treatment in your care plan.
The time it takes to feel better at the initial stages of treatment is personal to each individual. The pace of your treatment can vary. For example, for those with lighter intake levels, progression beyond the detox phase of clinic work can happen in just a few days. Sometimes, detox will last much longer. This level of variance between individuals is very normal.
Also, make sure to ask to arrange a visit to look around the clinic, first.
KEY QUESTIONS
- Do you have a virtual online tour I can take?
- 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 do you expect me to start taking part in the therapy process?
Rehab & Covid-19
Few people successfully make it into long term recovery without the help of the bigger group around them.
Gains achieved during treatment can be amplified by the help of the peer group around you.
But doing so safely, in the age of Covid-19, means ensuring the clinic you choose has provisions in place to guard against risk of infection.
Step 3 - Managing The Budget For Treatment
Getting funds together for rehab in Gwersyllt takes planning, for most families.
The differences between public and private options are vast.
Automatically choosing the lowest price provider can lead to poor care levels inside the clinic, detrimental to your recovery progress.
Instead, to keep costs reasonable but standards high, consider providers further afield, or smaller clinics with a lower headcount and rural location.
Without committing yet, get in touch with at least 3 potential treatment centres and ask about costs and your needs. You'll also get some insight here as to how much attention each provider pays and their levels of care.
Looking Beyond Clinic Treatment
Mutual Aid Support
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.
Community support is invaluable, at the right stage in the process. But for short term help for detox, you'll need professional assistance.
Community Healthcare 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.
Where no public healthcare short term options are viable, or where the individual doesn't have enough funding in place for treatment, we often see families and friends pooling together to finance detox for a loved one.
Step 4 - Find Objective Reviews
Review platforms are widespread nowadays and some reviews are not always trustworthy.
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.
Inspectors from these organisations visit private clinics nationwide, and check they comply with minimum standards of care, producing reports which they publish on the world wide web.
Clinics are graded across multiple areas of care, including support standards, management, and clinical environment.
How Clinic Inspections Work
In some visits, the provider is made aware in advance, that the inspection is occuring - these are what's known as "Announced" inspections. Other times, inspection teams show up without warning - these are "Unannounced" inspections - therefore, to get the most reliable information, look for reports which state the inspection was Unannounced.
Step 5 - Choose A Clinic
Now is the time to come to a decision about where you're completing treatment.
The clinic team will ask you to complete a telephone questionnaire, to make sure they can meet your needs.
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.
Take the opportunity at this point to arrange payment via insurance policy, if applicable.
Step 6 - Paying For Rehab
As above, expect to pay a deposit prior to admission.
Expect to pay anywhere from £1,800 to £4,000 to book a place in a treatment provider's clinic.
The days of clinics offering finance facilities directly, are mostly gone, although a few do still offer in-house plans to pay for treatment.
Make sure to get an email confirmation of deposit paid, and confirmation of what happens next.
The Remaining Funding
The balance to pay for treatment, if not paying via insurance or a third party, is usually due when you arrive to admit to the clinic.
It's a good idea to pay this promptly, to avoid excess charges.
Step 7 - Admission Into Treatment
If you don't already have it, contact the admissions team and confirm your date and time of arrival.
You'll need to bring a few basic necessities with you:
Your booking confirmation or documentation received should note guidance on extras such as internet usage, family visits, and precautions or special measures in place as a result of covid-19.
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.
Take a well-deserved rest, as the road to recovery opens up before you.
Asking The Right Questions
You've reached the end of our ultimate guide on finding the right rehab!
Abbeycare have provided this guide free of charge, to help you make the right decision when considering addiction rehab treatment options.
Abbeycare's UK clinics are available to those in Gwersyllt.
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).
Check our independent inspection reports, available on our clinic pages for Scotland, and Abbeycare Gloucester.
Our admissions team are ready to help.
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.
Our clinic team are ready to help you make the progress you need.
Are you ready?
If you're ready for help, call our admissions team direct, on 01603 513 091.
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