How Do I Choose The Right Alcohol & Drug Rehab Center?

Choosing the right alcohol or drug rehab center involves understanding the treatment options in your area, reaching out to treatment providers, and knowing your specific needs.

According to data from 2021, about 15 percent of Americans older than 12 needed substance abuse treatment during the past year. Only 1.5 percent of Americans got treatment of any kind.

Enrolling in a drug or alcohol addiction treatment program is an important step toward managing and recovering from a substance use disorder. Understanding the treatment options available to you can help you enroll in a quality treatment program.

Understand Your Specific Needs

Substance abuse affects each person differently due to factors such as the amount of drugs or alcohol you are taking, how your body works, and any health problems that you may have. 

Substance abuse also affects the people around you, including your family members and loved ones.

One area you may focus on is how serious your mental health and dependency are. If you cannot function without drugs or alcohol, or have been through treatment before, you may benefit from inpatient treatment. If you can balance recovery with your daily life, you can look for outpatient programs.

How serious your condition is can change the options available to you. 

Different addiction treatment centers offer slightly different types of treatment, schedules, and available staff. If a treatment center cannot assess and adjust to your specific needs, your chances of receiving effective treatment may decrease.

Understand Your Treatment Options

Treatment facilities vary in the levels of care they offer. Some treatment centers specialize in inpatient treatment, while others specialize in outpatient treatment. Some may focus on opioid addiction, while others may offer polysubstance abuse treatment programs.

Evidence-Based

Although addiction is a diverse mental health condition, there are several evidence-based treatment plans that fit a wide variety of needs. The following treatment options are evidence-based and improve your chances of a successful rehab:

• a medical detox program
• inpatient or outpatient treatment plans
• aftercare services
• mental health care
• cognitive behavioral therapy and other counseling options
• dual diagnosis treatment for co-occurring disorders
• medication-assisted treatment

Not everyone will need every evidence-based treatment option, but finding a treatment center that offers these options and more can put you on the path to recovery.

Staff Members

Addiction affects your body, mind, and well-being. Specialists from different fields can work together to treat all aspects of addiction during a treatment program. Accredited treatment centers may employ the following staff:

• psychiatrists
• licensed addiction therapists
• nurses and nurse practitioners
• nutritionists
• case management specialists
• behavioral health specialists

Accreditations

An addiction treatment center with accreditations has met standards by oversight organizations to offer effective alcohol, drug addiction, or mental health treatment.

Accreditations show you that a treatment facility is not unhelpful or a scam. If the treatment facilities you are looking at are accredited, it is more likely that they offer safe, evidence-based treatment.

Accreditations you can look for include national accreditations such as The Joint Commission, Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), and local and state accreditations.

How To Find The Right Rehab Center

Knowing your own treatment needs and what to look for is the first step in finding treatment. Local, national, and even online resources can help you find an effective treatment center near you.

Ask A Professional

You can reach out to your local doctors, healthcare providers, and addiction specialists to get referrals to effective drug and alcohol rehab programs in your area.

Local medical professionals can be knowledgeable about healthcare services near you, and can help you with questions about the cost of treatment, health insurance plans you can use, travel time, and long-term recovery options.

Research Online

Researching online can expose you to ineffective treatment centers, which may prioritize comfort over evidence-based treatment.

You may see advertisements of “100% success rates,” which may not be an indicator of effective treatment. The recovery process is ongoing after you leave the rehab facility, and relapses are common during the recovery process. Evidence-based treatment centers may recognize this.

However, researching online can still be effective if you use the proper resources. The SAMHSA Treatment Locator, NAATP Industry Directory, and resources from your state’s addiction recovery board can help you find accredited treatment centers near you.

Contact Your Treatment Center

When you find a treatment center that fits your specific needs, you can contact them on the phone. You may first verify the person you are speaking to on the phone to avoid a possible scam.

After verifying, you can ask questions about accreditation, payment assistance, relapse prevention, family support, and other options that may be important to you. You may also ask to see the facility in person before enrolling in treatment.

At Ark Behavioral Health, we offer accredited, evidence-based treatment plans for substance abuse and mental health disorders. To start, we’ll assess your condition and then develop an individualized treatment plan based on your own needs.

Contact us to learn more today.