Addiction treatment centers should be legitimate, feasible and adaptable.
If you’re helping a loved one through addiction, all steps forward are victories. Maybe your loved one has admitted his or her addiction. You can move toward receiving addiction treatment help. But where should you start?
Plenty of addiction treatment centers offer their help. But you have to make sure you choose the right help, not just any help. And so we’ve listed three considerations you ought to keep in mind.
Our Addiction Treatment Center Advice
First, a disclaimer: choose your loved one’s addiction treatment plans based on their individual addiction needs. Of course we’ll give you our guiding principles. But we don’t know what your loved one needs better than you. And that should be your first concern, whatever you do.
1. Find the Center’s Accreditation
The good news is that state and medical agencies give licenses to legitimate addiction treatment centers (think of the certificates and degrees on the wall of a general practice doctor). That way, you can evaluate the clinic by objective standards.
Here are a few accreditations you should see in any potential addiction treatment center:
- Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LADC)
- Certified Addiction Counselor (CAC)
- Certified Co-Occurring Disorders Counselor (CCDC)
Call up treatment centers and ask about their credentials. Do they have accreditation from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations? How about from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities? These questions become vital if your loved one will rely on the quality of the centers’ addiction care.
2. Weigh the Center’s Feasibility
If you find that an addiction treatment center serves its patients through its legitimate standards, you have to ask if it can serve your loved one specifically. Is it feasible?
Yes, this means cost. Many addiction treatment centers carry heavy price tags, though many of them will take insurance (including private insurance, Medicare and others). Consult with your provider and with the treatment center to see if your plan will cover your loved one’s care.
There are also cost-free addiction treatment centers, but these likely include you long lines and distant waitlists. Your loved one’s recovery is central, and so you should find treatment that is the most feasible option. Talk with the center’s staff and with your provider to dive deeper into your financial options.
3. Choose the Center’s Capabilities
Now, if you find that an addiction center practices legitimate standards and offers a feasible option for your loved one, decide whether it can do all it needs to. What services does it offer, exactly?
If you visit the center’s website, who do you see listed there? Therapists? Psychiatrists? Doctors? Family counselors?
And if you investigate its treatment options, what do you find? Group therapy? One-on-one counseling? Animal therapy? All of the above?
Any given addiction treatment center might not have all these capabilities. But if they have a few different options, that’s a good sign. The more choices your loved one has, the more adaptable their treatment plan can become. And that’s worth the cost.
So What Now?
Start your search for your loved one’s addiction treatment. Make sure that the help you choose is legitimate, feasible and adaptable.
And why not start at In The Rooms? We have a directory of addiction treatment centers, after all. Select your state and find the addiction treatment center near you. Not to mention that we host dozens of peer recovery meetings each week (just the thing an addiction treatment center would recommend for sustained recovery). Join us today and see how we can serve you and your loved ones.
