Do you or a loved one need addiction treatment for alcohol or drugs? It's easy to end up paying too much for a treatment clinic that underdelivers.
Our guide includes advice on how to weigh providers against each other, and a printable Q&A for when you speak with treatment clinics direct. Let's get started.
Step 1 - Detox .v. Rehab
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 considering first, what your treatment needs truly are, can help you pay for rehab just once, and not twice.
Detox & Rehab: Short Term .v. Long Term
A normal stay for alcohol or drug treatment would include the three stages of detoxification, rehabilitation, and aftercare planning. But there's no point in spending more than you have to.
- Do you need all three stages of treatment, detox > rehab > aftercare? Think about this carefully.
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.
When Is Close To Home, Too Close To Home?
Thinking of treatment nearby? It's a natural response when feeling low.
But the provider on your doorstep doesn't necessarily provide the best overall value, in the context of your entire recovery journey.
Most clinics provide standard detox protocols and some form of therapy. But will they still be supporting you after you leave the clinic? It pays to shop around here.
See all the locations Abbeycare serve, here.
Previous/Complex Detoxes
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.
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
- Are you a rehab clinic, or a hospital?
- 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 - Get The Low Down On What Happens Inside The Clinic
Tell me about how treatment works.
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.
What Is A Care Plan?
Whilst all clinics operate a group environment generally, most should look to help you keep track of your progress, and monitor treatment goals reached.
In the best clinics, where personal attention is high, you'll work with an assigned case manager, throughout your stay, who should help you draw up a care plan, in this way.
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
- To what extent is my care and management planned and mapped out?
- How do you help clients measure goals and progress?
- Does care planning account for my detox needs, therapy needs, or both?
- Is there a member of staff assigned to me personally?
What Actually Happens Inside A Clinic?
What's the daily routine, inside a rehab, during treatment?
The structure of each day will vary of course, from one provider to the next.
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.
Factors such as previous detoxes, history of relapse, amount and duration of intake, and others, will determine how long the detox stage of treatment takes. 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.
Call the clinic's admissions team to arrange to look around the inside of the centre before completing any paperwork. This can give you a real feel for how the day to day looks and feels.
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?
- Can I arrange a visit to the clinic, to look around, without obligation, before committing?
- Based on my information, how quickly would you want me to start taking part in the therapy schedule, following detox?
Addiction Treatment & Covid-19
They say, that rehab and recovery are team sports.
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 - Managing The Budget For Treatment
Getting funds together for rehab in Robertstown takes planning, for most families.
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.
Like most things in life, it's tempting to go for simply the cheapest cost provider.
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.
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.
Alternative Options
Local Mutual Aid Meetings
Big Book, or 12 step meetings, are available via groups such as AA and NA, across most towns and cities.
Whilst mutual aid plays a big part for many, later in their recovery journey, those at the start will need professional help to detox safely.
Local mutual aid meetings *can* be a huge help, and can be a source of potential sponsors and sober mentors for the future. But initially, it's important to get professional help to detox safely, and comfortably.
NHS Assistance
In the first instance, it's possible to present to your GP and discuss the possibility of referral to your local addictions team, in the NHS. They will usually help you monitor the effects of addiction in your life, but are unable to refer or provide funding for immediate detox, in most cases.
At best, only the most extreme or chronic cases are normally considered for hospital detox or residential clinics.
Aggregating funds together, between friends and family, can be a good approach to securing private treatment instead, where the individual can't finance it themselves.
Step 4 - Get Independent Reviews
Reviews on websites are easy to pass off as genuine, but how do you really know they are?
Enter The Care Quality Commission (E&W) and The Care Inspectorate (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.
Treatment providers are graded against standardised performance measures like environment, care standards, and support provided to clients.
Regulatory Reviews - The Need To Knows
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 - Arrange Admission
At this point, you've got enough info to decide on one of the clinics you've seen.
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.
Take the opportunity at this point to arrange payment via insurance policy, if applicable.
Step 6 - Funding Your Stay
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.
It's less common nowadays to see treatment clinics themselves offering payment plan options.
Be sure to get a written confirmation of receipt for your deposit, and confirm with the provider any admin fees due, in the event of admission delays, or even cancellation, due to unforeseen circumstances.
Balance To Pay
Treatment providers will expect payment for the remainder of the balance of treatment, upon arrival the clinic.
Pay this on time to avoid surcharges that could quickly mount up later.
Step 7 - Admission
Make note of the day and time you're due to admit to treatment.
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.
Most clinics have a busy schedule and making sure you arrive on time is important. Getting your means of transport to the clinic organised ahead of time, will ensure things are effortless, on the day.
And of course, enjoy your recovery!
Asking The Right Questions
Thank you for reading the ultimate guide to finding the right rehab treatment for Robertstown.
Thanks so much for reading our buyer's guide.
Abbeycare's UK clinics are available to those in Robertstown.
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 Gloucester.
Our admissions team can advise on what options are available.
Our medical team can assist you to detox, safely, and comfortably.
Our therapy team are available, to help you identify triggers, patterns, and start truly overcoming them.
Our clinic team are ready to help you get started.
The only question is - are you ready?
If you're ready for help, call our admissions team direct, on 01603 513 091.
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