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What Should a Person Consider When Choosing a Drug Treatment Program?

For many, the idea of going to a treatment facility because of alcohol or drug addiction is a sign of defeat. People can convince themselves that it’s easier to continue down the spiral of addiction and self-destruction than ask for help. While taking that initial step is one of the hardest aspects of the recovery process, it’s the choice that will change your life for the better.

No matter how tough you think you are, substance use disorders make your life harder and put a serious strain on your physical and mental health. If you’re ready to take the jump and explore your treatment options, read on to discover 10 tips to help you find the right addiction treatment program for you. 

1. The Rehab Program's Location

If you’re wondering what a person should consider when choosing a drug treatment program, you might think success rate should be the first thing to look at. However, because there’s no standard way to present this information or categorically define success, it’s not particularly helpful. Most drug and alcohol rehabs self-report success, making it more of a marketing ploy than data-driven information.

The best way to choose a drug addiction treatment program is to pay careful attention to the details. However, perhaps the first point to consider is whether you start a rehabilitation program in your local area or travel to a distant location.

Benefits of Traveling

  • Traveling to inpatient rehab is more logical than to outpatient. 
  • You get a unique opportunity to hit the reset button with a complete change of scenery.
  • You avoid the risks of seeing someone you know.
  • You distance yourself from triggers and temptation.
  • You reduce the risk of quitting early.
  • You get access to treatment modalities that aren’t available locally.

You can enjoy the beauty of a remote location.

Benefits of Staying Local

  • Local rehab is more appropriate for outpatient programs.
  • You save time and money on transportation.
  • You get support from friends and family.
  • You’ll attend aftercare locally with the same treatment provider.
  • People with anxiety or other mental health issues might need to remain local to avoid stress.

2. Staff Qualifications

Drug and alcohol addiction treatment is a matter of health care, so staff qualifications are of the utmost importance. Helping individuals overcome alcohol and drug abuse disorders requires years of training, specialized knowledge and recognized postgrad certification. Always read the section on a treatment provider’s website that introduces you to the team so you can make sure the treatment plan is staffed by experts.   

3. Price-to-Quality Ratio

Rehab centers can charge an exorbitant amount of money and, provided the facilities are attractive, call themselves a luxury treatment facility. Be incredibly wary about attending a program that focuses on style over substance. If you’re paying above the average, not only should the clinic be state of the art, with a resort-like look and feel, but it should also offer a wide range of treatment modalities and have a very small intake.

Likewise, if you’re looking for a budget rehab, make sure you don’t choose a substandard facility. Alcohol and drug treatment should be affordable but offer an abundance of tools and resources to help you overcome your current situation and reshape your future.  

4. Evidence-Based Treatment

When you’re considering which rehab facility to attend, therapy and counseling should be at the forefront of your decision. The main portion of your time in treatment is spent attending group and individual counseling sessions that help you understand your motivations for alcohol and drug use. Even more importantly, these sessions help you stay in the present moment so you can develop new coping mechanisms and tools to help you stay sober. 

The 12 Steps

The 12-step modality has been practiced for nearly 100 years, with its beginnings in Alcoholics Anonymous. The creators of this method understood that for people to overcome addiction, a full transformation is required. Each step helps attendees make the necessary changes to let them regain control over their future and choose a different path than substance abuse.

Group Psychotherapy

In addition to 12-step meetings, group psychotherapy is a highly successful evidence-based treatment method. During these sessions, the group explores the reasons for their behavior with a small amount of focus on the past and a big focus on how to impact the future. Hearing about other people’s experiences is one of the most soothing and insightful aspects of attending rehab. 

Individual Counseling

Although many people think one-on-one therapy is the most effective method, it’s actually more effective when delivered in combination with group therapy. You get the opportunity to explore your own motivations and history in greater detail, with guidance that’s specific to your needs. When choosing the best rehab facility for you, make sure it offers a combination of group and individual therapy from qualified counselors. 

If you’ve experienced trauma in your life, you’re more likely to develop a substance use disorder. Therapy such as EMDR, CBT and psychotherapy can be incredibly helpful in working through and overcoming trauma.  

5. Holistic Therapies

Science’s understanding of addiction evolves every year, with new types of treatment becoming available faster than the regulators can verify them. Plus, there are some activities and daily habits that support and enhance the therapy process. Fitness, nutrition and sleep health are absolutely essential during the recovery process — and as part of maintaining long-term sobriety. Some of the most effective holistic therapies for addiction include:

  • Yoga
  • CrossFit
  • Hiking
  • Satori Chair
  • Alpha-Stim
  • Mindfulness
  • Art and music therapy

6. Length and Type of Stay

One of the main things most scientists agree on is that there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to addiction treatment. Everyone responds differently depending on their needs and backgrounds. As such, the most important thing that a person should consider when choosing a drug treatment program is how well it suits them as an individual. 

Avoid Short-Term Substance Abuse Treatment

When it comes to the length of stay, timeframe matters. It takes at least 28 days to develop a new habit, and overcoming addiction is all about reframing your lifestyle and changing your habits. Going for a detox, then attending rehab for a week or two, is unlikely to help you achieve long-term sobriety unless you’re coping with a very new and mild substance use disorder.

To achieve your goals, you need a strict routine and a deep understanding of why you need to make the necessary changes. Trying to cram all of this into a short space of time simply isn’t practical and increases the chances of relapse.

Dual Diagnosis Treatment

If you already have a diagnosis for a condition like anxiety or depression — or you’re concerned that you have symptoms — you might need dual diagnosis treatment. It’s important to address any underlying mental health problems and treat them separately, so anyone with more than one condition must choose a facility that offers this type of treatment.

Inpatient Treatment

If you’re struggling with a moderate to severe substance use disorder, the most effective type of treatment is likely to be residential. When you sleep away from home, you get the chance to totally redefine your lifestyle. Addiction rewires the centers in your brain that are responsible for motivation, pleasure, reward and excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters. 

Rebalancing all these chemicals requires more than just a few weeks substance-free. Mental health, lifestyle, nutrition, exercise and consistency all contribute to the healthy functioning of your body and mind. 

Outpatient Treatment 

If you have a mild substance use disorder, outpatient rehab might be the most appropriate treatment for you. The main difference between outpatient and residential rehab is the fact that you sleep at home for the former. In some cases, a mild SUD could be the beginning of a more severe problem, so residential treatment would also be appropriate under these circumstances. 

7. Small Intake

A factor that’s guaranteed to make your time in rehab more valuable is a small number of attendees. Lots of treatment programs accept between 50-100 people at any one time, which makes getting personalized treatment harder. Due to the fact that treating substance use disorders depends heavily on customized care, the fewer people there are in a program, the better. 

Recovery Works is an affordable residential rehab center in Canada that accepts no more than 10 individuals at one time. We offer a broad range of therapies and go the extra mile to help each person in our care find the best ways to overcome addiction.

Get Advice About Choosing a Rehab Facility

Making the decision to get sober is huge, and you should be incredibly proud that you’ve taken the first step on your recovery journey. Make sure you conduct thorough research on any treatment providers you’re considering so you find the right treatment program for your needs. 

The Recovery Works program offers everything you need to develop a lifestyle that’s conducive to long-term abstinence. Call us today at 778-430-1212 to find out more.

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Yoga

Yoga – Clients participate in Hatha yoga exercise sessions. It involves the use of postures called asanas. The asanas connect mind, body and breath to gain self-awareness and focus attention inward.

Yoga has several benefits, including:

  • Stress relief
  • Increased physical stamina and strength
  • Self-reflection and increased self-awareness
  • Heightened self-confidence and improved self-image
  • Pain relief
  • Improved sleep
  • Increased energy levels
  • Reduction in fatigue
Trauma Therapy

Trauma Therapy – This is an optional program for those who need and want up to 10-one hour EMDR trauma therapy sessions during their stay at Recovery Works.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences.

EMDR therapy shows that the mind can in fact heal from psychological trauma much as the body recovers from physical trauma.

More than 30 positive controlled outcome studies have been done on EMDR therapy.  There has been so much research on EMDR therapy that it is now recognized as an effective form of treatment for trauma and other disturbing experiences by organizations such as the American Psychiatric Association, the World Health Organization and the Canadian Department of Defense.

The net effect is that clients complete EMDR therapy feeling empowered by the very experiences that once debased them.  Their wounds have not just closed, they have transformed. As a natural outcome of the EMDR therapeutic process, the clients’ thoughts, feelings and behavior are all robust indicators of emotional health and resolution.

Step Work

Step Work – The 12-Step program are an effective tool in changing the way residents view the world and respond to it. This personality change in AA rooms is referred to as a spiritual awakening. Psychologists have long recognized that “step work” is cognitive therapy at it’s best because it’s been proven over and over that the only way to change thinking and our relationship with ourselves and others is through action. We can act our way into better thinking-not the reverse. Each client of the Recovery Works completes at least the first 5 of the 12-Steps. Some complete all 12-Steps.

Satori Chair Sessions

Our Satori wellness system consists of a zero-gravity lounge chair which gently delivers specific vibrational frequencies throughout the body, while you listen to sound and music through headphones. This combination of vibration and acoustics has the effect of guiding your brainwaves toward deep levels of relaxation while you enter a meditative state. This physically balances the body’s natural energy centers, and the deep states of relaxation and meditation result in the rejuvenation of the mind and the body.

The experience has similarities to neuro-feedback in terms of its impact on the mind and body, using a combination of guided imagery and visualization, with vibrational stimulation of the senses.

The U.S. military has used Satori Chair technology to help combat troops returning from war to more quickly rebalance their minds and bodies in order to reduce the likelihood of developing debilitating depression, anxiety and trauma.

Fitness Training

Fitness Training – We view physical fitness as one of the pillars of recovery. That’s why we train twice-weekly at Cross Fit Vic City with instructors that train elite Canadian athletes. Additionally we hike in the forest and on nearby beaches and take advantage of the wide range of recreational opportunities that Victoria has to offer.

Psycho-Education

Psycho-education – A big part of recovery is learning about the disease of addiction to alcohol and other drugs and how to recover –  stay clean and sober. The Recovery Works psycho-education program is an evidence-based therapeutic intervention. Our program includes lectures, videos, guest speakers, reading and written assignments on the disease of addiction and recovery from it.

One on One Counselling

One on One Counselling – Individual counseling is exactly what it sounds like. It is one of our therapists working one on one with a resident. They meet and agree on some goals for their work together. The great thing about Recovery Works’ one on one therapy is the individual is able to have a safe and confidential environment to talk about difficult things and get unbiased, objective feedback and suggestions from our therapists.

Family Program

Family Program – This is an optional program and an additional fee is charged for families that wish to participate (see cost of treatment).

Addiction is called “a family disease” for good reason. Family members are profoundly affected when a loved one becomes addicted to alcohol or another drug.

By the time most families reach out for help and drug treatment, the disease of addiction has typically progressed to a crisis level for the addict and family alike.

Through a variety of educational presentations and activities, Recovery Works’ Family Program provides the whole family the opportunity to begin their own journey of recovery.

Recovery is stronger when all family members understand the nature of drug and alcohol addiction and are involved in the healing process. By educating you about the disease of addiction and the different ways family members are affected—whether parent, child, spouse or partner—our programs and services help you:

  • Work through the chaos you’re experiencing
  • Set healthy boundaries
  • Rebuild trusting relationships
  • Improve communication with one another
Group Therapy

Group Therapy – Group therapy is a form of psychotherapy in which one or more therapists treat a small group of clients together as a group. At Recovery Works we employ psychodynamic group therapy where the group context and group process is used as a mechanism of change by developing, exploring and examining interpersonal relationships within the group.

Alpha Stim Sessions

Alpha Stim Sessions – The Alpha-Stim electrotherapy device treats anxiety, insomnia, and depression. It has no lasting side effects, no risk of addiction and no danger of interaction with medications. Our brains naturally have electrical currents. The Alpha-Stim cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES) device delivers a natural level of micro-current, via small clips worn on earlobes, through the brain to stimulate and modulate specific groups of nerve cells. The micro-current is tiny, just millionths of an ampere, and so gentle that most people don’t even feel it. The Alpha-Stim waveform, application and protocols result in significant anxiety relief, mood normalization and better sleep (both in quality and duration). Treatments take 20 to 40 minutes and can be completed in bed, while reading or just relaxing.