Drug addiction affects millions of Americans a year. Some of those addicts will continue on in their addiction, taking dramatic financial and personal losses, others will succumb to their disease and leave the world, and still others will live to find the hope that is inpatient drug detox. For those lucky addicts who live to find out about help, it’s vital to make the right choice in the matter. What makes for a good detox? Taking a look around good programs before entering a detox is one of the best ways to make sure you make the right choice.
Characteristics of a good drug detox
Compassion
Compassion is a huge part of what makes for a good detox. Counselors, staff, and overall environment needs to be one of endless compassion for those who suffer from addiction. While compassionate care alone will not end addiction in patients, it’s a solid start for the clients who for so long have lived without hope and compassion.
Dual diagnosis
Individual therapy is a huge part of inpatient detoxes. While some detoxes offer individual therapy, they fail to offer dual diagnosis options. Counselors should be able to diagnose not just substance abuse issues but also co-existing mental health issues that might exist in patients. When a patient suffers from an underlying mental disorder in addition to addiction, it’s vital that they are diagnosed and get the treatment for the mental illness as well. Untreated mental disorders can spell disaster for recovery.
12-step programs
12-step programs are a vital part of the majority of detoxes, whether they’re short or long term. Introducing a patient to a 12-step program like NA or AA can literally mean the difference between life and death. Without these meetings, many addicts swear they would never be able to sustain recovery. Not only do 12-step group meetings enable addicts to share their own experiences, but they give sponsors the opportunity to work with clients and get a head start on recovery. The 12 steps save so many lives in a year. A good detox will generally have some type of 12-step program.
Aftercare plans
Great detoxes also feature a lot of aftercare. This means that before a patient is released back out into the world, they will have a lot of referrals and resources to explore. Many addicts lose housing during their addiction. Sending them back out into the streets without resources for shelter or food can spell a speedy return to the addiction that landed them in detox in the first place. A quality detox will make sure that patients are armed with recovery resources when they exit the detox program.
Other group meetings
There are so many forms of weapons that can be used against addiction. Group meetings are often arranged in detoxes that teach patients how to use things like music therapy, art therapy, and meditation as tools against drug cravings. These group meetings aren’t quite like 12-step programs because they aren’t about working the steps but about additional therapies that have helped addicts stay in recovery in the past. Thanks to new methods of therapy, addicts are never without some way to fend off a relapse.
Relapse prevention
Speaking of relapse prevention: It’s essential and it’s the goal as a client exits an inpatient facility. Without relapse prevention techniques taught during rehab programs, so many clients would quickly give up and return to addiction. Relapse prevention should be a major focus of all inpatient detox centers. The entire goal isn’t just to cease using drugs and recover for a little while. The goal is to fend off relapse and establish a recovery routine that works in the long-term.
A weekly round-up of great detoxes will lead you straight to the best of today’s programs. While all programs bring tools to addicts that will help them stay sober, not all programs have the same success rate, so make sure that you investigate each detox carefully before making a choice. So many of them forget some of the most fundamental points of recovery and often leave addicts not understanding how to maintain sobriety over the long-term.
There is hope for every addict who currently suffers from addiction. For those who are afraid to face early sobriety alone, there are terrific inpatient programs that will provide comfort during the initial withdrawal of early recovery and then show addicts how to maintain sobriety through recovery principles.
