Studies have shown that from 4 to 7 dollars are saved for every dollar spent on treatment. It costs approximately $3,600 per month to leave a drug abuser untreated in the community, and incarceration costs approximately $3,300 per month. In contrast, methadone maintenance therapy costs about $290 per month.
Questions to Ask
No single treatment plan is appropriate for all people faced with an addiction. Therefore, you must ask these questions before deciding which rehab center is right for you.
- Does the drug rehab accept your insurance? If not, will they work with you on a payment plan or find other means of support for you?
- Is the rehab run by state-accredited, licensed, and trained professionals?
- Is the drug rehab clean, organized, and well-run?
- Does the drug rehab program encompass the full range of needs of the individual: medical, psychological, social, vocational, legal, etc?
- Does the drug rehab program also address sexual orientation and physical disabilities as well as provide age, gender, and culturally appropriate treatment services?
- Is long-term aftercare support and guidance provided after leaving the drug rehab?
- Is there ongoing assessment of an individual's treatment plan to ensure it meets changing priorities?
- Does the drug rehab employ strategies to engage and keep individuals in longer-term treatment, increasing the likelihood of success?
- Does the rehab center offer counseling and other behavioral therapies to allow the individual to function in the family and community?
- Does the drug rehab program offer medication as part of the treatment, if appropriate?
- Is there ongoing monitoring of possible relapse to help guide patients back to abstinence?
- Are services or referrals offered to family members to help them understand and give support to the recovering individual?
Types of Rehabilitation
There are different types of treatment available for the recovering drug-addicted person. They include the following:
Outpatient Care- This form of care uses a broad assortment of techniques such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, problem-solving groups, and 12-step programs. Individuals will possibly stay for several months. It works best with those who moderately abuse drugs or alcohol and has a low success rate with heavily addicted individuals.
Inpatient Short-Term Rehabilitation- Individuals are treated by medical professionals and trained counselors for approximately 30 days. The primary focus is on medical stabilization, abstinence, and lifestyle changes.
Inpatient Long-Term Rehabilitation- Health care is provided around the clock, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and treatment can run anywhere from several months to a year or more. Drug addiction recovery in a residential community consists of counselors and others who are attending the same program.
Attending a long term drug rehab center helps drug addicted individuals by removing them from their environment for a period of time with less distractions. This provides the person a safe place that is far removed from drug connections and places. It is extremely difficult to help a person with a heavy drug or alcohol addiction without removing them from their environment associated with that addiction. There is no "quick fix" for addictions. The skills one learns in an intensive rehab center program must be integrated into everyday life, and this takes time and commitment.
By Greg Hitchcock