If you or a loved one needs freedom from addiction, you’re probably wondering how to select a residential treatment facility. In this blog, we’ll discuss some key elements to consider when selecting the right residential treatment facility.
When looking for treatment for most medical conditions, cost is a factor. Going to a world-renowned surgeon for more expensive treatment can impact patient survival and the success of a difficult procedure. Addiction does not work that way. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the relapse rate for addicts is somewhere between 40 and 60%. That is a national statistic and applies equally to luxurious and costly residential treatment centers and affordable programs.
The question then becomes, if expensive treatment doesn’t improve outcomes, what does? The answer to this question is complex, but there are five key elements that should be considered when selecting a residential treatment facility.
Treating the whole person also includes teaching patients about nutrition. Nutrition impacts mood, energy, and wellness (read our previous blog on this topic). Choose a treatment facility, that teaches patients about the power of nutrition.
The community should flow from leadership down so that counselors, directors, and patients interact together and forge powerful connections. Breakthrough Recovery Outreach is committed to teaching addicts and alcoholics how to interact within society through back-to-school drives and other socially-responsible activities. It also stresses the importance of internal community by hosting social activities that promote fun in sobriety. Plus, patients who live in off-site apartments learn to work together, support one another, and live together in harmony. There is no substitute for community and choosing a residential treatment facility that emphasizes the power of WE, provides invaluable lessons that patients can carry with them as they return to their families, society, and work.
A personal note: My first stint in rehab was at a very expensive facility located in Florida. I remember packing my suitcase with my favorite swimwear, bathing suit cover-ups, and cute outfits to wear to dinner. I packed my bags as though I were going on a fancy vacation. I got up every morning and couldn’t wait to get to the pool. I got a phenomenal tan. I also left before the 28 days were up and was high before the end of the day.
A decade later, I went to Breakthrough Recovery Outreach. I had hardly any clothes because addiction had stolen everything from me. Breakthrough wasn’t fancy, I didn’t get a tan, and it was hardly what I’d call a vacation. I’ll tell you what it was, though. It was life-changing, hopeful, caring, hard-working, sobriety-focused, and personal. Instead of leaving after 26 days, I stayed for 18 months. My view included a sponsor, the inside of the rooms of NA and AA, and the look on Chris Jacobs’ face when I reached a milestone. I worked through my inner demons with a community of women that I came to love. I got and held a real job. I dared to dream for a future and began making reparations with my family. I came to know God. That was almost 14 years ago.
Breakthrough Recovery Outreach did not promise me a vacation and I didn’t expect one. They promised to do everything they could to help me save my life and they did just that. Let me tell you – My everyday view now is 14 million times more glorious than the view of the sun shining off the beautifully-cleaned, very expensive pool that my broken soul stared at during my stay at a luxury rehab facility.