Posts Tagged ‘drug rehab centers’

Drug Rehab Centers – What Every Addict Should Know

July 15th, 2011

You are probably confused by all of the drug rehab facility options available on the internet, television commercials and the phone book. If you attempting to locate such a facility, it can be overwhelming. The truth is that the you need to get a referral from a professional who can recommend a drug treatment center that.

It must be properly accredited and follow a traditional approach to therapy. Read on to learn more about the factors that should be considered as you begin your quest to get clean and sober.

Get Referrals From Mental Health Practitioners

Do not become discouraged by the overwhelming number of options available for substance abuse treatment. You can avoid a lot of confusion by ignoring the slick internet and telephone ads as well as the television ads.

Instead, visit with your mental health or medical adviser to get a recommendation that is motivated by something other than financial gain. But, do not stop there. You need to make sure that your candidates are properly accredited as well.

Select Properly Accredited Dug Rehab Centers

Drug rehab facilities typically need to be accredited to be considered as a serious contender for drug treatment. There are two major accrediting agencies. The first, and most common, is the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Case Organizations (JCAHCO). The second agency is the Commission on Accreditation Of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF).

An accreditation by either one of these agencies makes the drug rehab facility a viable candidate for consideration. Dual accreditation is even better. But, as important as accreditation is to your selection, you also need to examine the drug abuse facility’s approach to group therapy and aftercare.

Find A Drug Treatment Center With A 12 Step Program

Drug treatment in the United States typically falls into three phases, which are: drug detox, therapy and aftercare. Drug detox involves medically assisting the addict in getting the drugs out of his system. This phase is pretty standardized in the U.S.

The approaches to therapy in the inpatient and aftercare portion of the drug treatment program typically follow some sort of 12 step model. The most common approach uses the traditional 12 step model. However, some facilities offer an alternative twelve step model for certain circumstances. Unless you have a really good reason to do otherwise, I would opt for the traditional 12 step model as it is the most successful under a variety of circumstances.

Do Not Wait:  Get Help Now!

Now that you have learned more about how to evaluate a drug rehab facility, you are in a position to make an informed decision. Remember to get the referral of a professional for an accredited drug rehab facility.

Evaluate the facility’s approach to treatment, focusing on its approach to therapy and aftercare. Try to find a facility that adheres to the traditional 12 step model. Now that you understand how to properly find a drug treatment center, you need to get up and take action. No one else can get you clean. You have to do it yourself. Stop making excuses and get help now.

Detox Centers Are Just The Beginning Of Drug And Alcoholism Treatment

July 11th, 2011

If you are among the many people who have experienced the signs of drug or alcohol addiction problems or maybe some of your friends or a family member have experienced it, then detox centers might be the first alternative it’s wise to go for. What is a detox center? Well, detox centers provide a safe place for you to detoxify your body and fight your alcohol or drug addiction plus problems that eventually will follow. Detox centers are often the first step in the drug or alcoholism treatment process and vary from drug rehab centers in many important ways. While Detox centers are meant for a short term stay, the drug rehab centers are commonly designed for a longer term stay and will also provide counseling and other tools designed to address the underlying issues behind an alcohol or drug addiction problem.

Most alcohol or drug rehab centers either have detox centers attached to them or provide some form of medical detox services. This is pretty important due to the nature of physically withdrawing from many drugs or alcohol. Unexpectedly stopping the use of some drugs can lead to withdrawal symptoms both mild and more serious such as delirium, tremors and other painful and potentially very dangerous effects.

Detox centers will give you a variety of medical intervention techniques to assist you with the effects of drug withdrawal. Depending on your addiction, you may be given sedatives, methadone or other prescription medications. These medications will help you to safely withdraw from your more dangerous drug of choice. You will then be slowly but safely tapered off from the replacement prescription drug.

At times the lines between detox centers and residential drug rehab facilities are not clear. Technically, it is the task of detox centers to simply help people withdraw from the drugs before referring them on to outpatient care to finish fighting the drug addiction problem. However, many modern detox centers also provide counseling, group therapy and other proper techniques that are common to residential drug rehab programs.

Detox centers are the preferred choice of insurance companies all over because of the shorter length of time of the stay. If an insurance company is paying for someone’s drug or alcoholism treatment, in part or even entirely, be assured that the detox center will be its primary destination of choice.

If you choose to take advantage of any of the myriad detox centers, you will need follow up treatment. Detox centers will help you to fight the physical withdrawal symptoms and clean the drugs out of your system. However, lifestyle changes and working through the problems that originally caused your drug addiction problem are necessary to maintain a drug free life. Follow up treatment can come from several sources, such as

  • residential alcohol or drug rehab,
  • outpatient alcohol or drug rehab,
  • sober living homes
  • twelve step drug and alcohol treatment programs.

Many former drug addicts say that they were most successful in step-down programs which provide progressively less structure as you gain more days of sobriety.

In fighting drug or alcohol addiction, a detox center is normally the first necessary step of a successful treatment program. They are however, not designed to enable a full-time recovery. Nevertheless, the health advantages of detox centers are obvious. Safely removing alcohol or drugs from the inner system of the patient is also the first step of cleaning up his or her lifestyle, therefore detox centers play a vital role in starting a successful treatment.