Residential treatment for addiction: What to look for

What makes a great residential treatment center for addiction? Make sure residential addiction treatment includes detox facilities, 24 hour care, and qualified professionals…to name a few. More here on what to look for in residential treatment for addiction.

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Thinking about residential treatment for addiction?

Finding the right residential treatment for addiction can seem like a monumental task. There are so many options and choosing incorrectly could mean a bad experience …and often eave you still fighting an addiction. That makes it important to understand what makes a truly great residential treatment for addiction experience.  If you’re asking, “Does inpatient drug rehab work?”, the answer is: it depends on the individual being treated.  Residential treatment for addiction does work for people who are ready to address the underlying emotional and psychological issues that compel addictive behaviors.

The most important things to look for in any residential addiction facility are:

  • 24 hour care
  • Aftercare
  • Boundaries
  • Compulsory activities
  • Detox
  • Family Programs
  • Holistic care
  • Group therapy
  • Qualified professionals
  • Twelve (12) step work

24 hour care is important for both detox and throughout addiction treatment in a residential center. Beating an addiction can be hard on your health and it is important to have doctors or nurses around at all times just to make sure each patient is in good health.

Aftercare and family care overlap to some extent but they are both important. A good treatment center will either provide patients with aftercare or refer them to a good aftercare program. Just like family programs, this provides a support network for people leaving treatment and it helps to ease people back into their everyday life and deal with problems as they arise.  Aftercare programs also help people in addiction recovery plan ways to prevent drug relapse.

Boundaries are another important part of recovery and without them it can become nearly impossible to beat an addiction. A good residential treatment center will have rules governing things like visiting hours, client behaviors and appropriate activities. This keeps things orderly and insures clients develop good habits before they leave.

Compulsory activities dovetail with boundaries to really enhance addiction treatment. When looking for a treatment center, many addicts will choose a facility that has the least number of required activities. This is counterproductive and in no way helps beat an addiction. The point of residential treatment for addiction is to provide treatment and if that treatment is optional, it is unlikely an addict will take full advantage. That means a good treatment facility will have mandatory therapies and will not simply allow someone who has detoxed to sit in their room.

Detox is important because that is the first step on any addicts’ journey. Whether they are coming off of drugs, alcohol or any other substance, detox is necessary to clear their system. The important things to look for when you are speaking to a treatment centers about their detox program are care and understanding of how the detox process should work. For instance, a good treatment center providing residential treatment for addiction will be able to tell you if they can handle your detox or if you may need to detox in a hospital. They will also have private detox rooms and round the clock care to insure you detox safely.

Group work or group therapy is one of the best ways to start working on beating an addiction. It helps addicts open up and share their experience and provides examples and role models in the form of other group therapy members. Group therapy also shows and addict they are not alone which can be a huge boost for someone who is fighting an addiction.

Family programs are often overlooked but they are a huge help when it comes to recovery. By including an entire family in addiction treatment, a good residential treatment for addiction facility can help repair broken bonds of trust and insure that when a person leaves treatment , they have a built in support network.

Holistic care is about taking care of the whole body and the whole problem. It is no good if someone prescribes you medication for depression but does not help you deal with the reason you are depressed. Holistic care will look at the reasons behind an addiction and treat the root cause. It will also include things like nutrition and other health related factors to make sure each patient is in the best mental and physical health when they leave.  For example, many people have found yoga and addiction recovery to be very compatible.

Qualified professionals may sound like a silly thing to include in this list but many residential addiction treatment centers cover a huge range of disorders. It is important to make the place you choose has someone on staff who is an expert in your addiction.

Twelve (12) step programs often get cast in a bad light. People believe they are all about religion. While some 12 step programs do push religion, a good treatment center will not push anyone to change their religious beliefs. The confusion comes from the step that requires addicts to accept a higher power. This does not need to be god though, the goal of this step is simply to get an addict to admit that their life is out of control and they need help to fix it. The higher power can be anything.

By choosing a treatment center that offers these things, addicts can give themselves the best chance of recovery.

About the author
Brad Girtz is a blogger working at Life Works Community, a residential treatment centre. He writes content about mental health, addiction and many other conditions treated at Life Works. Brad enjoys sharing news and information about the latest innovations and ideas in the field of addiction and mental health.
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