Addiction to drugs or alcohol can ruin lives and, in most cases, drug rehab centers are the last hope as the good ones do have an impressive rate of success. However, the keyword here is ‘good’ because not every drug rehab is as effective as you might think. In case you or someone close to you is experiencing an addiction problem, here are three things to look for in a rehab center before trusting it.
Dual diagnosis
The primary reason why some San Diego drug rehab centers are better at treating their patients more successfully than others is that they treat both the addiction and the associated mental illness such as depression and anxiety that accompany addiction in a large number of cases. Sometimes, the psychological issues themselves are what steered the person towards addiction in the first place, while in others, they are a by-product of long-term use. This means that a good rehab center should have a sufficient number of counseling hours included in the package, and the overall treatment should address both the physical and the psychological well-being of their patients.
Empowering programs
There are various ways in which a program leader in a drug rehab center may approach group therapy, but you should look for a place that empowers individuals, rather than putting them down.
What this means is that although it may sound shocking, a lot of drug rehab centers use shaming to achieve their goals and that never really works, given that the patients are, in most cases, suffering from anxiety, depression, and guilt already. It just makes them feel worse about themselves, preaching a sense of hopelessness.
Instead, find a program that’s empowering. The group leader should try to bring out the best in each patient in the group by appealing to their better side, instead of putting them down as broken or damaged.
Qualified staff
Would you study in a business school if the faculty did not have the necessary qualifications? Nobody should and the same goes for drug rehabilitation centers as well.
Do a bit of research on your own to find out if the rehab center really is known for caring, qualified and supportive staff because that’s essential.
Aside from qualifications, reputation and experience matter a lot too, so a rehab center with reputed, qualified, and well-experienced people are naturally more successful in what they do.
In addition to these three, check to see what kind of aftercare they have in place for people once they leave the facility. This is really important because it’s easy to feel like a fish out of water once you get out of the caring and supportive environment inside a rehab.
To stop you from falling back into old habits, a good institution should have a well-planned aftercare system in place. Post-rehab, a lot depends on family members, or those that are the closest to those in recovery, so be as supportive as you can, without being overly obliging.
