Australia has countless drug and alcohol rehabilitation providers dotted around its states and territories. It’s natural to want to want the best rehab facility for you or a loved one to attend, but how do you decide where to go?
Some facilities offer unique services; some are private and others are public; some with recognisable names or reputations might be quite far from you or cost too much. There are so many factors that go into deciding what the right choice is.
We’re going to try to make it easier for you. In this guide, we’ll show you how to choose the best drug and alcohol rehab facility for you to achieve long-term sobriety.
Broad goals: what type of rehab facility best suits you?
The best way to pick a rehab facility is to begin by considering your goals. Let’s start with the broad goals:
- Do you want to get clean?
- Do you want to learn addiction recovery techniques?
- Do you want a safe place to get away from your addiction and replan your life?
- Do you want help fighting relapse and maintaining your current sobriety?
Your goals will determine what type of rehab service you need. These can broadly be broken down into three categories:
Detox programs
These are short-term and intensive programs designed to cleanse your body of addictive substances and help you manage the effects of withdrawal. These effects can be physically and psychologically traumatic, so these programs should be run by qualified medical professionals.
Detoxification and withdrawal programs are ideal if your goal is to get clean. However, you will need ongoing support if you wish to stay clean. For that, you may need to enter inpatient care.
Inpatient rehab
Inpatient residential rehab is an immersive treatment where you live in a closed facility surrounded by rehab support staff and other clients battling addiction.
The benefits of living in the facility include the lack of access to addictive substances, access to a wide variety of treatments and the ongoing guidance of qualified support staff.
Inpatient rehabilitation is ideal for those who want to learn and practice addiction-breaking techniques and take the first steps to build a new sober lifestyle.
Outpatient rehab
This type of rehab makes treatments and therapies available to those who do not live within a residential facility. Typically, you would end your time in inpatient rehab and transition into outpatient care. You can continue your treatment plan by attending the facility's individual and group counselling sessions.
Outpatient rehab and aftercare services also include transitional housing, which can help those facing housing insecurity to stay safe and sober while they find suitable housing.
Outpatient rehabilitation is ideal for providing you with long-term help practising your sobriety and preventing a relapse.
Specific goals: what do you want to get out of rehab?
Let’s consider specific questions that you need to ask yourself as you assess different rehab service providers.
What do you want rehab to do for you?
Rehab will not cure you of your addiction. The potential for relapse will be a lifelong challenge, though its difficulty will wax and wane over the years — as they say, ‘it gets easier, but it never gets easy’.
While rehab is not a cure, it can help you uncover the root of your addiction drive, identify triggers and practice new ways of thinking and living that can help you secure long-term sobriety. With diligent practice, it’s possible to live the rest of your life in sobriety.
How are you going to measure success?
As we said, do not expect a ‘cure’. Instead, you could consider measuring your success with the following metrics:
- How well you’ve come to understand your addiction (its causes, triggers, etc.)
- Short-term sobriety goals (one week sober, one month sober, week-by-week sobriety, etc.)
- Progress in mending family bonds and friendships
What kind of services can you afford?
This is a practical and important question. Many clinics offer funding solutions, and you may have private health insurance that can cover the cost of your treatment.
Outpatient rehab can be more economical than inpatient rehab. Many 12-step programs, including Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, are both free to attend. You may also find that a short-term detox and withdrawal program is a good enough start without then entering residential care.
At The Hader Clinic, we offer clear and straightforward rehab costs and can offer funding advice for those who need economical solutions.
How to find the best drug or alcohol rehab facility for you
Getting help for an addiction is a time-sensitive task, but you should still do your due diligence to find the best facility. According to the ABC’s report on drug rehab, quality can vary wildly between different providers.
Here are five factors to consider when choosing a drug and alcohol rehab facility.
1. Ensure they use evidence-based rehab therapies
For rehab to be as effective as possible, a facility should offer several evidence-based rehab treatments. As the name suggests, these are treatments and therapies backed by rigorous research and clinical experience.
The more evidence-based therapies a facility provides, the better, since individuals may respond to some therapies better than others.
The Hader Clinic offers a holistic approach to rehabilitation that only utilises evidence-based treatments.
2. Make sure they’ve got qualified and experienced staff
Running a rehabilitation facility is an extremely demanding job, but different types of facilities are subject to different regulations. To ensure you’re in the safest hands, you should ask your provider about the qualifications of their staff.
Ideally, a facility should have a team with varied areas of expertise. These could include:
- Addiction medicine specialists
- Psychiatrists
- GPs
- Registered nurses
- Nutritionists and dieticians
- Holistic therapy specialists (art, music, physiotherapy, money management, etc.)
3. Ensure they offer dual diagnosis addiction and mental health treatment
Substance use disorders are often closely tied to mental health disorders, with one often causing or being caused by the other. Because of that relationship, a good rehab facility needs to have the resources to offer dual diagnosis.
Dual diagnosis treatments aim to work on your addiction recovery needs and your mental health needs simultaneously.
4. Ask about individual therapy
Individual counselling sessions form the backbone of addiction recovery. In these sessions with a licensed therapist, you will be able to uncover and unpack the different facets of your addiction and how it has affected your life.
You want to be sure that your chosen facility not only offers regular individual counselling, but also that these sessions will be run by a qualified specialist with experience in addiction recovery.
5. Ask about group therapy, socialisation and recreation
Group therapy is also a critical treatment for those battling addiction. These sessions provide important benefits, the most critical being community. In group sessions, whether they be counselling sessions or wellness programs like exercise or art therapy, you can socialise with and get support from people experiencing the same struggles and gain new perspectives on recovery and your possible future.
However, group sessions must be run by a professional who can keep them safe, productive and meaningful to your treatment plan and sobriety journey. You should ask potential service providers if they offer group sessions, how they’re run, and the qualifications of the people who run them.
