The time and energy necessary to research addiction rehabilitation centers is worth your effort. At first, this task might seem overwhelming, especially if there’s a sense of urgency to get treatment for someone you love, but here are tips that will help you achieve clarity for an effective plan of action when choosing a rehab.
Understanding Addiction
Most treatment facilities help patients by establishing a foundation that addiction is a disease. According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine:
“Addiction is a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences. People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences. Prevention efforts and treatment approaches for addiction are generally as successful as those for other chronic diseases.”
A critical step to understanding which facility will provide the most effective treatment is learning how the brain is affected by addiction. Previous theories about substance abuse and recovery often involved a lot of myths and stigmas that prevented access to quality care.
So as you learn more about how addiction affects the mind and body, you can narrow your selection of treatment centers to those that provide an evidence-based approach to a chronic disease. While addiction can’t be cured, it can be successfully managed for a lifetime with proper diagnoses, treatment, and aftercare.
The Difference Between Recovery Tools and Treatment
Recovery tools such as 12-Step programs, SMART Recovery, online support groups, and other methods for sobriety are sometimes confused with treatment. Without question, these tools offer great value for people who want encouragement, camaraderie, understanding, and continued growth in sobriety. In fact, it’s often through attending a 12-Step meeting that someone realizes they need medical help to address alcohol use disorder or substance use disorder.
Actual treatment, on the other hand, involves various steps to break the cycle of chemical dependency. Some individuals might require medically-supervised detoxification to help reset the physiological effects caused by substance use. If there are additional health concerns compounded by drugs or alcohol, those will also be addressed.
Then, it’s vital to go beneath the obvious signs of addiction to the underlying factors contributing to the behavior. Various forms of therapy assess various aspects of an individual, such as:
- Background
- Genetic predisposition
- Current environmental and social influences
- Stressors and triggers
- History of trauma
- Co-occurring disorders, such as mood and behavioral disorders or mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, and other issues
The rehab center you consider for your loved one should offer extensive care specifically for their needs. They should feel they finally have an opportunity to be heard and seen by professionals who will work with them—from the ground up, if necessary—to help them understand what led to their addiction, methods for managing their disorder, and techniques that help them create a purposeful path of wellness and recovery.
More In-Depth Information to Help You Make the Best Decision
At Twin Lakes Recovery Center, we want to provide the best education possible to people and their loved ones before, during, and after addiction treatment. We take great care to develop in-depth articles and extend access to qualitative resources so you can trust you’re receiving accurate information, not simply a sales pitch.
Please take some time to review the following articles on our site. Our goal is to make choosing an addiction rehab center a less stressful experience for your loved one, with an assurance you’ll select a facility that has not only a healing environment, but also a thorough continuum of care plan to ensure a successful path of long-lasting recovery.
- How Rehab Works: Part 1
- How Rehab Works: Part 2
- How Long Does Rehab Take?
- What Happens During Addiction Detox?
- Tips to Help You Choose an Addiction Treatment Center
- Pros and Cons of Rehab Away From Home
- Who Is the Ideal Candidate for Outpatient Treatment?
- Tips for Making Outpatient Treatment Successful
- What to Know About FMLA and Addiction Treatment
- Using Insurance to Cover the Cost of Addiction Treatment
- Is Hitting Rock Bottom the Only Reason to Get Treatment?
- Concerns of Women Entering Rehab
- Why Some Men Won’t Seek Treatment
- Helping Veterans With Addiction
- Dealing With a Parent in Recovery
- Special Treatment Needs for the BIPOC Community
- Addiction and Trauma: What’s the Connection?
- Getting Treatment During COVID-19
- What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
- Including Family in Your Rehab and Recovery
- What to Expect in a 12-Step Program
- The Importance of Discharge Planning
- Understanding and Preventing Relapse
- Admitting You Need to Go Back to Rehab
We Are Here to Help
If you have more specific questions, please talk with a member of our admission staff anytime, day or night.
