Recognizing the need for drug or alcohol treatment is a critical first step: finding the right recovery center is the vital second step. Whether you’re searching for yourself or for a loved one, the questions to ask a rehab center’s admission team should be detailed so you develop a sense of confidence and trust that it’s the best place for treatment. Here’s how we can help.
The Importance of Professional Help
In 2023, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released information from its annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which stated that:
- Among people aged 12 or older, 48.7 million had a substance use disorder (SUD) or alcohol use disorder (AUD) in the previous year.
- Approximately one in five people were categorized with a severe disorder, another one in five with a moderate disorder, and more than half of those millions of individuals had a mild disorder.
- Additionally, 1 in 12 people over 18 had an AUD or SUD, as well as some form of mental health disorder, such as anxiety, bipolar disorder, or depression.
Data also indicated 1 in 20 adults had suicidal thoughts in the previous year.
The World Health Organization reports that “rehabilitation is an essential health service for anyone with an acute or chronic health condition, impairment or injury that limits functioning.” However, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “only 13 percent of people with drug use disorders receive any treatment,” and barely eight percent received treatment for AUD.
So it’s essential to follow through on your research into addiction treatment facilities. The sooner you can feel comfortable with your selection, the more quickly healing can begin.
Questions to Ask Yourself
First, identify some of the primary factors that might influence your recovery journey. These might include, but aren’t limited to:
- I know I have a problem, but haven’t hit rock bottom. Do I still need treatment?
- Can I take time off work to enter a facility and stay for 30-90 days or longer?
- Would this process be easier if I stayed closer to family?
- Is it necessary for my addiction recovery to remain private?
- Do I want to be away from daily distractions and focus on my healing?
- Is it important or court-sanctioned to have distance from negative influences?
- Will proximity to supportive friends and other networks help keep me on track?
- What facilities provide an environment I’d like, with activities, surroundings, and programs that align with my values?
- How affordable are treatment options, and how can I pay?
- Is the length of rehabilitation effective for my successful recovery?
While it might seem a bit overwhelming at first to consider all of these variables, you deserve to find an addiction rehabilitation facility that ushers you into a healing space you can trust.
Top 20 Questions to Ask a Rehab Center
It’s important to verify just how a treatment center can meet your needs, both immediate and over time. For example, while detoxification is often medically necessary, this is only the beginning of your recovery journey, and a facility should also have a detailed philosophy of care after addressing any acute health concerns. This ensures you or a loved one develops a thorough understanding of why addiction happened and a grasp on new techniques to help change behavior for lifelong recovery.
You have the right to “interview” each facility to get a full understanding of operations, so creating a list of questions is key. Here are some primary considerations:
- What type of licensing and accreditation does the program have?
- Is treatment evidence-based, and what does it entail?
- What is a continuum of care, and how does it help me?
- Is the approach customized to my specific needs?
- Does your facility specialize in certain types of detoxification, such as methadone or suboxone protocols?
- What type of initial health assessments do you offer?
- If I wanted to start right away, is that an option?
- What does “whole-person care” mean?
- What’s the difference between residential and outpatient treatment?
- Do you address co-occurring disorders such as mental health issues?
- Does the program offer different types of therapy and if so, what are they?
- How is treatment success measured?
- What’s expected of me as a patient?
- Is there some type of family therapy included in the process?
- What amenities does the center have that help with my recovery?
- Are you a Veteran-Ready facility?
- Do you have extended treatment services or sober living programs?
- What type of recovery tools are available to me after treatment?
- Can you please outline the full costs regarding each program, and provide more insurance information?
- What’s included in your continuing care relapse prevention program, and how will it help me?
While you can often find many of these answers on a center’s website, nothing is better than talking directly with someone about your concerns and feeling satisfied that all your questions are answered.
Call Willingway Today
At our Georgia and Florida addiction rehabilitation locations, our board-certified medical professionals offer a comprehensive program approach—refined over the past 50 years with thousands of people just like you—that combines evidence-based methods and whole-person care. Our ability to accept medically complicated cases in our homelike atmosphere is just a fraction of what we can offer on your recovery journey. There’s no need to wait for answers: our 24-hour admissions process makes it easy to express your needs and learn right away how we can help.