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.
Before taking the plunge, here's everything you need to know when shopping around for addiction help in Slough.
Step 1 - What Do You Want From Rehab?
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 .v. Rehab
A stay for alcohol or drug rehab normally follows the sequence Detox > Rehab > Aftercare, but do you need all three?
- Have you been detoxed before? (Be honest).
Opting for the full package will provide more support, but think about if it's necessary.
Treatment Near Slough
Understandably, when feeling low and needing detox, most will opt for a clinic close to where they live.
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? It pays to shop around here.
See all the locations Abbeycare serve, here.
A Past History Of Addiction
Getting the right help means being picky about the support you'll receive while in treatment.
You'll want a clear idea here of what detox protocol you're getting, and what help is available during it.
While an admissions team or sales team can give an indication of likely detox methods, this is of course finalised and decided upon by the supervising medical professionals present.
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?
- 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 day to day addiction treatment inside the clinic actually like?
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.
The clinic you enquire with, have to make sure they can look after you and your needs for detox and rehab. They'll ask some standard questions about your usage, and history with addiction. This is normal, and it's important for them to rule out extreme cases where their environment may not be safe, or provide a comfortable detox experience.
Keeping Track Of Getting Better
Whilst all clinics operate a group environment generally, most should look to help you keep track of your progress, and monitor treatment goals reached.
This means a 'care plan' is drawn up, and agreed by you and your assigned care manager.
Whilst not the most exciting part of the journey, this is a necessary means to help you monitor progress toward your long term vision. This part is important and can determine your progress later, so don't skip it.
KEY QUESTIONS
- What sort of care planning takes place when I enter the clinic?
- How do clinic staff know they're doing a good job at helping clients achieve recovery?
- What will my care plan include?
- Is there continuity whilst in treatment, of who I deal with, each day?
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.
Since residential rehab is a group environment, most clinics provide each client with a daily agenda, every night for the following day. 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. Detox could last just a few days. Others may take much longer than this to progress. 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
- How can I see what's inside the clinic, online?
- What is the daily agenda of activities inside the clinic, and how soon after detox will I be expected to take part?
- How do I arrange to see inside the clinic, before admitting?
- When do you expect me to start taking part in the therapy process?
Addiction Treatment & Covid-19
Since rehab treatment is usually a communal environment, you should expect to have to accommodate others on the journey.
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
Getting funds together for rehab in Slough takes planning, for most families.
The differences between public and private options are vast.
As you can imagine, the cheapest provider is not always the best.
Working with minimalist care, in a clinic with spartan conditions is not conducive to personal breakthroughs. Instead, look for alternative providers with smaller programmes, headcount, and overheads, to strike the right balance.
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 Avenues For Help
Mutual Aid Support
Even since covid-19, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous groups are still available, although most have now adopted online platforms to hold meetings, these can still be a rich source of support.
For most at the start of the recovery journey though, detox options are a very real need, and not something that can be obtained without more specialist help.
Thousands benefit from local community groups every week. But for short term help for detox, you'll need professional assistance.
NHS/Public Funding Options
Obtaining short-term detox from NHS services is unlikely, due to demand on resources.
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 - Read The Reviews
Assessing a provider's standard of care is important - but can be tricky for the layman.
Enter The Care Quality Commission (E&W) and The Care Inspectorate (Scotland).
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.
Clinics are graded across multiple areas of care, including support standards, management, and clinical environment.
Important - Regulator Inspections
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 - Decide On A Provider
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.
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.
Now is also the time to finalise any other arrangements re payment, like paying via insurance policy.
Step 6 - Arranging Payment
As mentioned, paying a deposit secures your room in the clinic, prior to arrival.
Because the total booking value is high, even a small percentage deposit could work out anywhere from £2,000 - £4,000 for the higher end providers.
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.
Paying For The Rest Of Treatment
Treatment providers will expect payment for the remainder of the balance of treatment, upon arrival the clinic.
To avoid excess charges later, it's best to settle this on time.
Step 7 - Admission
Now it's time for the practical stuff of admitting. Double check you have a note of your confirmed date and time your due to admit to the clinic.
You'll usually be asked to bring certain essentials with you:
Check your booking confirmation for advice about mobile phone usage, internet access, visits, leisure facilities, and any special arrangements for covid-19.
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!
The Top Questions To Ask
Thanks so much for reading the ultimate guide on finding rehab treatment in Slough.
Abbeycare have provided this guide free of charge, to help you make the right decision when considering addiction rehab treatment options.
Help for addiction is available at Abbeycare's UK clinics.
We've helped hundreds (thousands probably) move beyond addiction, and start a new life.
All that experience has helped us assist those with even the most complicated detox and rehab needs.
We can even arrange to assist with transport to the clinic (some extra charges do apply).
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.
Detox is available, with comfort and safety, with the help of our medical team.
Our addiction specialist therapists can help you overcome the underlying issues of addiction.
Our clinic team - many of them in recovery personally - are ready to get you started.
Are you ready?
Ready to get started? All calls are confidential. Ring direct on 01603 513 091.
