What happens at a drug treatment facility?

Question

Someone I know just entered a New York State run drug rehabilitation facility. What happens while he is there? Will I be able to visit? When will he leave? If anyone is willing to share a personal experience I would greatly appreciate it.

Answer 1

In most cases the first few days they will not be allowed to communicate with the outside world. This is to establish a new reality where the focus is on them and their disease. It is a very selfish time for the addicted person, but in many cases the first time in a long time that they have put anything above their addiction. The fiacility is or should be run by people that have been addicted. It always works better when dealing with addiction, if the councilors are former users to. There will be lots of group counciling and there will be some one on ones. The person will be required to keep a journal and to take notes. At least two times a day there will be classes to educate the addicts about what really happens to your body when you use substances. It is both educational and a way to keep your mind busy as you make the transition from a user to a person in submission. It will take maintainance the rest of their lives to maintain sobriety. The relationship that you have will be different in all respects because the priorities will have to change for the person to maintain a sober state.
While they are in treatment they will be required to work in the kitchen and to clean bathrooms and to do chores around the facility. This is to get everyone on the same level. It doesn't matter if you are a King or a pauper, all are treated equally. If it is a good facility, you will come out with a new outlook on life. If not, it is a swinging door approach to the disease. They will tell you that the only thing you need to change is everything. I have learned from my experience, that it is playgrounds, playmates, and playthings, that have to change. By the time you graduate from treatment, you may not want to leave. It could be the most secure place you have been in years. Everybody is in the same boat, and it is really a little scary to think about getting out and facing reality with a clear head. It is very important that when they do get out they align themselves with a church environment and people that are likeminded. There are many 12 step groups and they are essential for the new soberrie. The void that is no longer filled with substance and getting the substance, must be filled with God. We are all born with a God shaped void and we go through life trying to fill that void with everything else but truth. The problem is that TRUTH is the only thing that will fit. We tried drugs, sex, and, rock and roll, and now we are in a treatment facility. We now have to try TRUTH for a while until we get addicted to that reality. It ain't easy but good friends can help by being at the door and encouraging the addict to do what they have just learned is necessary to do to maintain TRUTH in their lives. If the person you are concerned about has one drink, he will be doing the other drugs before the day is over. They all lead to each other, especially for the person that has learned to be their own Doctor, and that is any ADDICT. The biggest word they will learn in treatment is SURRENDER. Without the act of surrender you might just as well go continue to do it your way, and expect the same results. If you do it the same and you expect something different, the disease turns into insanity.

Answer 2

In a new book, author Anne Fletcher reveals the good and the bad state of care in drug rehab facilities.

Last summer, the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University released a report detailing the devastating state of addiction treatment. The bottom line: counselors with little education and less oversight are using outdated and sometimes harmful techniques; there are no national standards for credentialing or training counselors and most treatment centers, even those with extensive financial resources, do not always use best practices. In her book Inside Rehab Fletcher investigates the erratic quality of care in some of these facilities and how some centesr are working to improve treatments. (Disclosure: I was interviewed and cited in the book on the subject of rehabilitation for teens)....Drug treatment Louisiana

Answer 3

If you have never been to a residential treatment facility, you may have some ... If you enter rehab knowing that you are going to drink or use drugs again, you are . What happens when you have to leave the relative safety of the facility and go.Addiction Treatment can Brighten Your Horizons. Get out from under the cloud of drug addiction. It won't happen by itself. It will take courage, commitment.Most rehabilitation clinics have varying policies. They also treat rehabilitation differently, depending on the drug as well as the severity of the patient's addiction.............teen drug treatment texas

Answer 4

Policies vary from facility to facility. Your best bet is to call the facility and ask about visitation, phone calls, etc. You will also probably need to make sure that the person you know who is a patient there has signed a "release of information" that allows the facility to talk to you about the person. Federal laws, like HIPPA, protect peoples' privacy, so unless you are on a person's list of approved releases, then the facility won't tell you much.

As far as "What happens while he is there?", that also depends on the facility. In the facility I work at, patients are first detoxed then they enter a residential inpatient program that uses group therapy as its mainstay. If you are curious what therapies the facility uses, again, your best bet is to call them and ask to talk to someone about their program.

Answer 5

most rehab facilites restrict visitations to only certain people at certain times, maybe by appointment only.
while in rehab, your friend is being shown different ways of thinking through daily situations, learning coping skills, and maybe some self-analysis exercises to help him learn about himself and why he does what he does even when he knows he shouldn't.

the things he learns in there may not "click" in his head immediately, but rehab centers are at least a place where habitual users can go to at least have a "time out" from their compulsive habits in the hope that they will have a moment of clarity.

the length of stay is usually determined by staff of the facility.

Answer 6

Call the clinic and ask them, not us. They probably have there own standards they meet and the patients have to meet them. Not all clinics have the same goals or the way they reach them, what is of concern to them. Call them.