What Should You Consider when Searching for a Treatment Center.

Below you will find a few of the many ways in which US Treatment Finders measures, categorizes, and selects the treatment centers we work with.  Whether you work with us or you plan on finding a place on your own, the information on this page will be extremely helpful in finding the best treatment for you or your loved one.

WHO IS OUT THERE

Not all good treatment centers are searchable on the internet.  Many of the best centers in America do not have a marketing presence on the internet. That is why we start the process by compiling a list of treatment centers using each state’s licensing body as a reference.  By referencing the state licensing board for treatment centers, we are able to get an accurate picture of exactly what treatment centers exist in each geographical area.

HOW LONG THEY HAVE BEEN IN BUSINESS

In order for us to get an accurate picture of each center and their ability to be effective we have to consider the amount of time they have been treating clients.  This isn’t to say that a new center is bad.  We work hard to find places that have been around long enough to measure their program alumni long-term sobriety.  Without at least two years in business, it’s impossible to say whether someone having gone through their program will actually stay sober.

WHAT TYPES OF THERAPIES ARE USED

By closely following both the latest top university research and the treatment community’s and U.S. government’s evidence-based studies, we truly have our finger on the pulse of “best practices” in chemical dependency treatment.  There are effective and ineffective ways to approach treating addiction and our experience gives us clarity about both.

We evaluate whether a center is using the most effective approaches or not.  If a center does not use evidence-based therapies then we do not recommend clients to them.

DETOX PROTOCOLS

The detox process is where the majority of failures occur.  These failures can range from  relapse to  death.  Due to the absolute critical nature of the subject we spend a significant amount of time ensuring that all of the centers that we refer to use the best-known, safest practices for detoxing their clients.

INTAKE AND ASSESSMENT

A program that will take literally anyone is not a good program.  We have learned through years of experience that there are two ways that treatment centers can be categorized.  There are those that will take anyone who has the money to pay them and there are those that will be as selective about you as you are about them.  We only refer to centers that take the time to learn about each client before they admit them.  This initial assessment process is essential for the center to know for sure if they can help your loved one.

If a center will take a client without an initial assessment it should be considered a red flag. These types of centers are more interested in your money then they are in helping you or your loved one. This section might be worded a bit too strongly. How about something like this?

A program that will take anyone is not necessarily a good program. Through years of experience, we have learned that there are two types of treatment centers. There are those centers that will accept anyone, either because the individual has the money to pay for treatment or because the center is under the misguided belief that they can help everyone; and there are those centers that conduct an in-depth assessment to determine if they are the right center for you.

California Drug Rehab Clinics only refers to centers that take the time to learn about each client and determine if they are a good fit for the client before admitting them. We believe that this initial assessment process is essential for the center to know if they can help you or your loved one.

MEDICATION POLICY

Medication as a tool in treating chemical dependency is a controversial subject.  We at US Treatment Finders believe that good medication protocols during detox are highly effective in ensuring treatment success.  However, our experience has shown us that diagnosing a patient with a psychiatric illness during the initial stages of sobriety and treating them with medications is  often ineffective in maintaining long-term sobriety.

We have seen how giving a client psychotropic medication during the treatment process can inhibit the brain’s ability to achieve homeostasis on its own. We have also  seen that most good centers teach their clients  how to  face life on life’s terms without running from their feelings using drugs (illegal or otherwise).

Prescribing psychotropic medication unless absolutely necessary and after other psycho-therapeutic methods have been tried sends a message to the client that contradicts this valuable education.

LENGTH OF STAY

Probably the most significant factor in ensuring long-term sobriety is the amount of time the client spends in treatment.  Programs that are under 90 days have significantly lower rates of long-term sobriety then programs with longer durations.  There are many reasons for this.  One of the main reasons that longer programs are more effective has to do with something call PAWS.  PAWS stands for post acute withdrawal syndrome.

This is the time period in which the brain is working hard to achieve a chemical balance.  This re-balancing process can take anywhere from 90 days to 18 months.  Without the brain being balanced first it is hard for the client to begin to use the tools that they have learned to stay sober.  Most of the time the first 90 days is spent stabilizing the brain and then after this the client will begin to practice being a healthy thinking and feeling adult.

Without adequate time to allow the brain to heal, the chance of long term sobriety greatly decreases.  That is why we only work with centers that keep clients for longer durations.