Twelve Questions to Consider When Selecting
Treatment Programs
If
you or someone you care for is dependent on alcohol or drugs and needs
treatment, it is important to know that no single treatment approach is
appropriate for all individuals. Finding the right treatment program
involves careful consideration of such things as the setting, length of
care, philosophical approach and your or your loved one's needs.
Here are 12 questions to consider when selecting a treatment program:
- Does
the program accept your insurance? If not, will they work with you on a
payment plan or find other means of support for you?
- Is the program run by state-accredited, licensed and/or trained
professionals?
- Is the facility clean, organized and well-run?
- Does
the program encompass the full range of needs of the individual
(medical: including infectious diseases; psychological: including
co-occurring mental illness; social; vocational; legal; etc.)?
- Does the treatment 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/or guidance encouraged,
provided and maintained?
- Is there ongoing assessment of an individual's treatment plan to
ensure it meets changing needs?
- Does
the program employ strategies to engage and keep individuals in
longer-term treatment, increasing the likelihood of success?
- Does the program offer counseling
(individual or group) and other behavioral therapies to enhance the
individual's ability to function in the family/community?
- Does the program offer medication as part of the treatment
regimen, 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 ensure they
understand addiction and the recovery process to help them support the
recovering individual?
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