Do you or a loved one need addiction treatment for alcohol or drugs? 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 Pembroke Dock.
Step 1 - Get Clear On Your Needs
Having newly made the life changing decision to get help can feel rejuvenating....as well as more than a little vulnerable. But, choosing the wrong provider early on, might mean drawing the wrong conclusions about recovery, and what's possible for your future.
Detox Only, Or A Complete Recovery Programme?
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?
- Do you need detox, or rehab? (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.
Treatment Near Pembroke Dock
Caught up in the need for detox, many will commit too early to a clinic as close as possible to home, without thinking ahead.
But the provider on your doorstep doesn't necessarily provide the best overall value, in the context of your entire recovery journey.
Detox beds can be found in hospitals, and virtually any clinic. But does their long term support match your needs in the longer term? It pays to shop around here.
Multi-Substance Detox, Or Previous Attempts At Rehab
You should know: your progress in treatment can depend heavily on the strength of the clinic staff around you, and the support of your peers.
If you've been detoxed in the past, and are looking for recovery afresh, it's a good idea to check on exactly what detox you'll get.
The clinic team over the phone should be able to give a rough indication of how they'll approach your treatment.
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?
- 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 - 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.
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
If your clinic provides strong personal attention in the programme, they should help you map out what you want from treatment, exactly.
If staff do not offer to help draw up a personalised care plan of action for your clinic time, and longer recovery journey, you've chosen the wrong provider.
Together you'll map out key milestones, while accounting for past addictive patterns and behaviours. Don't miss this bit out.
KEY QUESTIONS
- Do you provide a written plan for me to follow, during treatment?
- Do you have a one size fits all approach to treatment, or do you work with each individual's needs?
- Does care planning account for my detox needs, therapy needs, or both?
- Is there a member of staff assigned to me personally?
A Day In The Life
Tell me about the daily routine in treatment?
It can be tricky to discern exactly what happens each day in treatment, as the routine can vary.
In treatment, you should receive some form of agenda for each day of the week. The agenda lets you know what's happening when, and what activities you should participate in.
The time it takes to feel better at the initial stages of treatment is personal to each individual. Detox could last just a few days. Sometimes, detox will last much longer. This level of variance between individuals is very normal.
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
- Can I see a virtual tour of the clinic, before committing?
- Do you have sample daily agendas for treatment I can look at?
- How do I arrange to see inside the clinic, before admitting?
- When would I be expected to move from detox into therapy in the clinic?
Does Covid-19 Affect My Rehab Treatment?
Few people successfully make it into long term recovery without the help of the bigger group around them.
In fact, a big part of recovering in the longer term, is re-learning to interact with others, and break the old patterns of isolation.
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.
There are few half way house providers that exist generally, between public providers, and private treatment, so get clear from the start on which you need.
Your mental health matters, and because of the costs involved, it's easy to opt for a very low end provider, with minimal support. Not always a great idea.
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.
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.
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.
If you're just starting out in recovery though, detoxing comfortably first, will undoubtedly be the priority.
Thousands benefit from local community groups every week. But at the early stages, it's important to get safe and comfortable professional help to detox.
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.
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
Review platforms are widespread nowadays and some reviews are not always trustworthy.
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 regulatory bodies complete inspections to ensure a minimum level of service is met.
Clinics are reviewed on quality and expertise of their service, staff, and care levels provided.
Regulatory Inspections - Keynotes
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 - Choose A Clinic
At this point, you've got enough info to decide on one of the clinics you've seen.
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.
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.
It's a good time at this point to also sort out any payment by insurance policy, or other means.
Step 6 - Arranging Payment
As mentioned, paying a deposit secures your room in the clinic, prior to arrival.
Expect to pay anywhere from £1,800 to £4,000 to book a place in a treatment provider's clinic.
Not many clinics remain, who offer finance payment plans, directly.
An email confirmation of your booking is usually sent to you, confirming the next steps.
Remaining Balance
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.
Interest on late payment for a significant sum like this can be significant, so it's worth getting this done on time.
Step 7 - Admitting To A Clinic
Make note of the day and time you're due to admit to treatment.
Bring along a few supplies with you, like those below. You should be able to arrange for anything else, after arrival.
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.
Print Our Cheatsheet To Easily Compare Providers
You've reached the end of our ultimate guide on finding the right rehab!
We’ve compiled the top questions to ask a provider, in one easy to print PDF to have handy when you ring clinics.
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 Pembroke Dock.
Abbeycare have central UK locations, and serve the Pembroke Dock area.
Thousands have already joined Abbeycare to overcome addiction, from every corner of the globe.
All these years we've stuck to the basics that work - structured detox, therapy, and aftercare solutions that help get folks back on track.
Even if you're not local, we can still help with transport into treatment (full transparency - some costs do apply).
Our inspection reports from the regulators, are available on our clinic pages, here: Abbeycare Scotland, Abbeycare Hygrove.
Our admissions team are ready to help.
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?
To get your questions answered, or to get started in recovery, our team can help, on 01603 513 091.
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