TREATMENT PLACEMENT

The day you realize someone you care about needs treatment is heartbreaking and overwhelming. I’ve been placing people in treatment, in all levels of care, since I entered the field. It’s important that you get referrals from someone who has been working in the rehab industry, so you can receive the most up-to-date information on not only which treatment centers are still ethical and safe, but which programs are the best fit for your loved one. Searching Google for treatment is not a safe option. 

A program is only as good as the clinical team who will be working with your loved one. Just because a program has had a great reputation for decades or is top on an internet search, it unfortunately doesn't legitimize the program. It could just mean that they have a great publicist, who was able to get them media coverage and/or they have a huge advertising budget to get their program to come up on the first page of your internet search. 

Treatment program websites can be very deceiving, especially the unethical programs. For example; an ethical residential treatment program will never make claims that your entire length-of-stay will be covered by insurance, owing no money to them 

out-of-pocket. Why? Because it’s not true, unless you are looking at a county-funded program. You will always pay out-of-pocket once the insurance carrier decides that your loved one has stabilized and they are no longer covering their care. 

Whether you choose my services or work with someone else to develop a treatment plan, avoid relying on the internet for guidance. 

It's important to have someone to help you navigate this challenging and emotional process, support you while your loved one is in treatment and create a discharge plan for you and your loved one when they are still in treatment and when they come home. 

Relapse can happen at any point after treatment, especially during the first year.

As we have seen repeatedly in the news, opioids can kill. The rates of accidental overdoses from drugs laced with fentanyl have gone up exponentially in the past few years. There is no way to tell if a drug has been sprayed, cut or pressed with fentanyl because it is odorless. We do know that a few grains of fentanyl can kill you. You can no longer assume that your loved one has not ingested fentanyl because they might not know they have used it either. Carrying Narcan nasal spray with you, having it in multiple rooms in the home your loved one is going back to and learning how to administer it could save their life.