8 Factors to Consider when Choosing a Residential Drug Treatment Center

            Facing the fact that someone you love is not only suffering from drug addiction, but now must receive help to overcome the addiction, is difficult for anyone.  Where should you start?  Who do you turn to?  What questions do you need to ask about drug treatment programs?  Perhaps, you may have been at this point before, and you now feel a sense of hopelessness in finding a residential treatment center that will work this time around. Maybe, though, this is the first time you’ve had to take these steps to help someone you love.  The process can feel overwhelming.
            Ultimately, you want your loved one back.  You want that person you love free from drugs.  You want that person to live a healthy and productive life. By asking the right question on each of the following areas when choosing a residential drug treatment center, your chances of making this happen for your loved one will increase.

1. Success Rate –
   What is the success rate of the residential drug treatment center? Obviously, the higher the success rate, the more likely your loved one will succeed.  Ask to speak with graduates of the drug rehab facility or their families.  Get real opinions from real people. 
2. Methods –
   What method does the drug treatment center use? Ask yourself if they are addressing all aspects of your loved one’s addiction, including what led them to drugs in the first place. Methods that only deal with one aspect of addiction are more likely to fail.  Remember addiction results from a combination of many factors, including a lessening of morality and integrity and an increasing burden of guilt and shame.  The life of an addict includes bad habits, poor health and difficulty facing problems.  After speaking with the facility, ask yourself if they are handling not just the psychological aspects, but also the physical and mental aspects of addiction as well.  Are they providing practical skills that will help your loved one succeed once the drug rehabilitation program is completed?
3. Services –
   What services does the residential drug treatment center offer?  This is not only for your loved one, but for you as well. Will they help with legal issues?  Will they assist in an intervention?  In other words, to what length will they go to make certain your loved one gets the drug treatment they need?
4. Staff –
   Who are the staff members at the residential drug treatment center?  The best trained staff will have had experience with drug addiction.  They will not have learned about it in a book. Are they qualified for their positions?  What real-life knowledge do they have with drug addiction?  What is their reason for working in this field? 
5. Follow-up Program –
   What type of follow-up program does the residential drug treatment center offer?  This is important.  Sending a newly rehabilitated drug addict back into the world without any follow-up can be disastrous. Make sure that there is a program of this type in place.  Good programs keep in touch over the phone regularly after one leaves the program.
6. Location –
   Where is the residential drug treatment center located?  A residential drug treatment center should be protected.  Ask how easy it would be for your loved one to leave.  Many addicts when first coming off drugs want to leave.  Ensuring that this is difficult, while not seeming like a prison, increases the chances that the person will stay to finish.
7. Length –
   How long does the residential drug treatment center take?  Although the standard program is 28 days, if the residential drug treatment center offers a longer program, it is more likely your loved one will succeed. However, if the residential drug treatment center allows your loved one to work at his or her own pace, without imposing time constraints, your loved one has an even greater chance of overcoming drug addiction.  An example of a program that is not based on time but on completion can be seen at http://www.drugrehab.net
8. Price –
   How much does the residential drug treatment center cost?  Before eliminating any program because of its price, ask yourself this:  What are they offering? Look back at the points above and determine what the drug rehab is truly giving to the one you love.  Yes, the more it offers, the more likely the price will be higher. However, your loved one will have a greater chance at becoming a healthy productive member of society.  How much is that person worth to you?

            Choosing a residential drug treatment center can be difficult.  Dealing with a loved one suffering from drug addiction is devastating.  By breaking the process down into what is important and finding out the answers to the questions above, you will be able to make an informed choice as to which residential drug treatment program can best help you and your loved one.  Drug addiction can be dealt with and overcome.

About the Author:
John Frank does research in the drug treatment field and has helped several individuals and families, including his own brother, find the right program and overcome addiction.   

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