When choosing between all of the drug and alcohol rehabs available today there are so many points to ponder. Another thing to consider is whether of not the facility gives refunds if after a few days if you decide it is not the place for you. This is a small point and it may have a big outcome or influence on your addiction treatment. When you closely examine the situation, it is another one of those things in life where the obvious right choice, is not necessarily right.

I’m sure when you read the point about refunds you said to yourself, oh yes I should ask about that, and make sure they give a refund if I don’t like it. These would seem to be the logical and prudent choice when choosing a drug rehab. However in rehabs, and a lot of other things in your life, having reversibility may not be the best thing for you and your mental health. First of all let’s remember that changing patterns involved in a medium to long term addiction is not easy. If it was, why would we need rehabs in the first place? Changing these patterns requires all your focus and sometimes a lot of hard work. Little distractions from your focus, might in some peoples cases, make the difference between success and failure at rehab. If the facility you choose gives a refund or a pro-rated refund, it might at a difficult time, give you reason to quit. You might tell yourself, “I’m not quite ready yet, so I should leave and save the rest of my money, and I’ll go back to rehab when I’m sure I can make it.” Or if there is one or two things you don’t like about the rehab or it’s program you will start looking for other places that are “better”. You know the grass is always greener, or in this case, the rehab is always greener on the other side. There will always be something you don’t like about a rehab, I don’t care if it’s the very best on in the world.

In the book, The Paradox of Choice, by Barry Shwartz, he states that people are happier, have less stress, and feel less “buyer’s remorse” if they make nonreversible decisions (1). Let’s see, doesn’t less stress, less remorse and more happy sound like the perfect recipe for relapse prevention? Please don’t mistake what I’m saying. Do your homework. Go look at the rehab, check with former clients, ask tough questions. But, once you pick your best choice you can afford, COMMIT to it. Don’t be afraid of a nonrefundable policy. Decide up front to stay the appropriate time at the rehab for you particular drug or alcohol addiction. Don’t do the “I’ll go and see in 30 days how I’m doing?” thing. Then inevitably you will leave too soon and end up maybe having to go back to rehab again. Please make your next rehab experience, your very last rehab experience.

1. The Paradox of Choice, Schwartz,B , HarpersCollins 2005, p 228

How quickly can someone “recoup” the cost of drug rehab when compared to the actual cost of drug addiction? Actually in a rather short period of time the cost of treatment will actually pay for itself. First look at the actual cost of drugs or alcohol. Someone who is actively using to the point of their life being out of control will easily spend between $1000 to $2000 per month on their drug of choice. Some will spend much, much more. If you take the middle ground of $1500 per month as a conservative figure, the average person will spend at least $ 18,000 per year on drugs. Now add in the cost of missed days of work. Some sick days are included in most jobs but these are quickly used up. Missing just 2 days per month,( again a low number for a moderate to severe addiction) will result in missing ONE months work in a year, with the result in the loss of one months salary. If you lose your job, due to drug or alcohol abuse, it is extremely unlikely that your next position will be at the same salary, so you continue to lose money.

Most people whose life is starting to spin out of control, sooner or later end up in trouble with the law. An “average” D.U.I. ususally costs between $3000 to $5000 in fines and legal fees. As all these various cost usually start to to lead to debt, credit cards get maxed out and borrowing from other sources starts to excalate rapidly. Interest and late payment fees start to rack up.

Therefore most addictions easily cost 30,000 to 50,000 per year and up. This doesn’t even consider all the emotional costs. So the cost of an effective stay in rehab could be recouped in as little as 6 months to a year. Plus you get all the added benefits of a sober effective life, and quality relationships with friend and family. Compared to the finacial cost of addiction to the person and their family, rehab is a bargain.

Many times I have heard clients exclaim that most of the drug and alcohol rehabs are just too expensive. “Isn’t there a free rehab that I can go to?” ” The addiction has used up all my funds, there is nothing left to pay for help.” I have heard these statements and others like it many, many times over by people seeking help with their addiction. While it is hard not to be empathetic to the plight of everyone in this situation, a better question might be, does drug and alcohol treatment give good value for the money and therefore are the fees charged fair?

While there are some free programs out there, ( the Salvation Army being one), the vast majority of addiction treatment centers involve some cost. Good, well trained, dedicated staff are entitled to a fair wage for their effort. Healthy food must be provided as well as a clean safe place to stay. Good rehabs are away from the immediate temptation of drugs and alcohol and so are often located on a larger piece of land away from the hustle and distraction of the city. Books and materials must be provided if the program is too be of any substance. All of the requirements for safe rehabs cost money, and usually quite a bit of money. But too be fair, to really assess the value of rehab, one must first look at the cost of an addiction. It is interesting to note that people will go to extraordinary lengths to support their drug of choice. It we can find the same drive and value in treating the addicition, the money will be found. Over the next few days let’s look at the high cost of addiction vs. the cost of treatment. Then rehab becomes an easy decision.

Many times people know they really need to go a drug or alcohol rehab program, but they can’t quite make the decision to go. Many times it might be denile or some misguided belief that it’s not really their problem. There are however a significant number of people who on some level know and accept they need a drug rehab program, but still won’t go. There is a logical explanation for this and a logical solution as well. Choosing one of the many rehabs available means a journey into the unknown. It also represents change.

I have said many times that one of the main reasons people return to drugs and alcohol is stress. Well the unknown and change are very very stressful. This is especially true for someone with addictions. The stess of thinking about going to a rehab facility may cause enough stress to drive a person towards their drug of choice. This makes the thought of stopping using even a more frightening possibility which leads to even more stress. This sets up a loop which actually drives someone thinking about treatment away from rehab.

The best way to handle stress is to plan for it. It you are thinking about entering a drug or alcohol rehab, know that it will initially increase the stress in you life. You may want to find a counselor and see them several times in the week before you head off. They can work with you in some stress reduction exercises. Planning you detox carefully and safely will also decrease the stress. Knowing that you will be cared for safely and humanely will also go a long way to decreasing the stress. Taking care of your finances and ensuring you kids are well taken care are also important. The key is to think ahead about the stresses you have in your life and deal with them. Less stress means you won’t crave your drug of choice so much. This means a greater chance of success in rehab and after.

There are drug and alcohol rehab facilities that offer a combination of the various type of treatments. There may be a large 12 step component as well as some cognitive behavioral therapy. There may be a large component of substitution therapy, such as a outdoors survival type of rehab again with either a 12 step or therapy component. The easy answer might be that going to one of the rehabs offering several types of programs might be the right choice, because they offer something for everyone.

Again the the answer to that is yes and no. By offering something for everyone there is a far greater chance of finding something that someone undergoing drug and alcohol addiction treatment can connect with. This no doubt is a good thing. However this will come at a price. Nobody can be good at everything. The more programs offered, probably will come at a price of some quality for the dilution of the program. Plus then the factor of choice comes in. People struggling to rid themselves of their addictive experience are not presenting to rehab programs with the best set of decision making skills. Sometimes during drug and alcohol rehab no choice is a good thing, especially at the beginning. I think ultimately you have to trust the feeling deep down in you stomach. Many times more than not it helps you make the right choice, in rehabs and in life.

Another segment in the types of rehabs for drug and alcohol involve switching the emphasis of the addiction into some other more positive activity. All rehab treatment programs do this to a lesser extent, but some of the centers it is a much larger focus. Examples of this are equestrian programs where the disipline of learning the new skill helps refocus the energy of the client to aid them in overcomming their addiction. There obviously many types of skills that can be the focus at different centers. Art, drama and music are themes at different programs.

The advantages of this type of program are it’s appeal to someone who may not be able to sit through a lot of groups or discussions. People who are kinesthetic again may find this much more in tune with them. Sometimes the increase in self esteem though completeing and mastering new skills allows an opening in a door that a skillful counselor can use to make significant changes in behavior.

The downside of these types of drug and alcohol rehabs are you obviously have some interest in the activity. Also, it maybe difficult to find the the time and resources to continue the new skills at the same level as during the treatment phase at the rehab.

Drug rehabs following the cognitive behavioral model are starting to appear more and more frequently. The basis for this type of addiction treatment involves dealing with a client’s patterns of thinking. A lot of these drug or alcohol rehabs do not necessarily follow the “disease model” of addiction. Here distorted patterns of thinking and decision making are at the root of the problem behavior.

This type of rehab might be more attractive then to someone who is totally struggling with the concept of being “powerlessness” against drug or alcohol. It also would be more advantageous to those who feel confident with the right type of knowledge people can change themselves. There is most likely a more forward focus and less emphaisis on the past history of the drug addiction.

Some of the drawbacks of these rehabs are that this is probably a more indiviualistic type of treatment and less emphasis on group discussion. As well more work and preparation for sessions is necessary. As more therapists are needed because of the individualized nature of this type of rehab, it is probably more costly as well.

This is another interesting group of rehabs. They are ran by a group within the Church of Scientology. Their program involves two main parts. The first is a sauna and vitamen detoxification for a period up to a month. They also have a teaching component to their rehab involving a series of workbooks utilizing the teaching and ideas of the church founder, L. Ron Hubbard.

I have met several clients who have been through the program and they were enthusiatic and said it helped them. I read their book explaining the de-toxification process but unfortunately couldn’t track down the studies and references so I won’t comment on it other than to say it was an interesting read. Their program takes between 3 and 5 months. I have also met some people with some strong views against the program. If you are considering one of their rehabs, you might want to look at the site Narconon Exposed , and form your own opinion.