The Principals of this Website Want to Encourage Families to:
"Not Give Up"
Talk To Licensed Couselors, at: 1-877-444-1137
I have been a leader in the alcohol and drug prevention and rehab field for over 30 years and for the past seven years I have had the opportunity to answer calls from this website from those that are addicted to alcohol and other drugs and from families that have loved ones that are suffering from the same.
In that time I have learned some valuable lessons that were never taught to me in graduate school or lessons that I learned by being the executive director of drug rehab centers or other positions. I know alcohol and drug rehab from my education and years of being in the field, but I also reviewed over 150 rehab centers thoughout the United States and Europe. I would like to say that I found most rehab centers to be ethical and effective, but the opposite is the truth.
From all of my experiences, I have only found a handful of alcohol and drug treatment centers that deliver on their promises and their agreement to rehabilitate their clients.
I would have never believed this to be the truth if I hadn't had addiction in my own family and witnessed three of the "best" rehab program in the country doing nothing to make her conditions better. These programs run over $30,000 a month and our family member got worse and not better.
I am not talking about a person that had mental illness or other problems outside of addiction, but their approach, which was nearly identical in each rehab center, only made her feel less capable and more of a victim than she had before treatment.
She actually lost her conviction that she was responsible for her problem. She came to believe that she had a disease that was chronic and progressive and that she would have to go to support group meeting the rest of her life to only sustain life, and doubtfully to succeed at the level of her earlier dreams.
So what is the lesson or lessons that I have learned over the years?
First of all, there isn't a rehab program in business that will tell you that their outcomes are 3 to 5%, which is the average of 30-day programs.
Secondly, most addicts have come to believe that they are incurablly addicted and will never have any life outside of the highs that they get from their alcohol and drug use.
Thirdly, and most improtantly, there is also good news! Amongst all of the failing programs that are attempting to handle addiction without the proper orientation or skills, there are a few programs that actually work at a level equal to that of any other therapeutic modality in medicine; at around 70% success.
First of all, if you look at the two major forms of alcohol and drug treatment you will find 12-step based treatment and Therapeutic Communities (TC's) or modifications of these programs. I contend that neither of these is worth your time and money since they can't give you a track record of anything close to even 50% success.
If you call any of these centers, you are going to start your interaction with them based on a lie. None of these centers will admit that their outcomes are as bad as I am reporting. However, in all of my experience, I never saw either of these modalities get outcomes even close to 25%.
Any relationship that is based on a lie isn't going to help you or your loved one. I am not saying that some people don't find help and quit using at these centers, but do you have the time and money to invest in multiple rehabs in trying to save a life? Most of us don't.
Our family had good insurance and we sent our family member to three of these above mentioned types of programs before we realized that things were not changing and if they were, it was getting worse.
One of the teenagers in the family was in tears when they were confronted with their family member having to go to treatment again. I was concerned for their grief and said that maybe this time it will work and not to worry. Her response was "I'm not crying about that "drug addict" I am telling you that I am not going to another family week at one of these goofy programs." From the mouths of babes...
Unfortunately, you are one of the few that has read this page to this point, so I will be brief. Most people do not read more than three sentences on a webpage, but since I haven't lost you yet, let me tell you that there are programs that work.
Our family member found effective treatment. That was twenty years ago. There was only one of these types of programs availble then and they have now grown to 13 across the nation. Call our help line and we will tell you more about the treatment scene and lead you to programs that will keep you and your loved ones from multiple treatment episodes.
There are treatment programs that work!