Deciding to seek residential treatment for drug or alcohol addiction is the first step toward building a brighter future for yourself.
Deciding to seek residential treatment for drug or alcohol addiction is the first step toward building a brighter future for yourself.There are thousands of recovery centers throughout the United States, but there are some key questions you should ask yourself as you’re determining which center is the right choice for you.
1. Is the Facility Licensed and Accredited?
Licensing and accreditation ensure that a rehab facility is following strict guidelines for protecting the clients under its care. Without oversight, there is no way to know if a facility is using unqualified staff or potentially dangerous treatment techniques.
Mountain Laurel Recovery Center is a CARF Accredited Facility. CARF International is an independent, nonprofit accreditor of health and human services. Accreditations are granted for a three-year period based on quality improvement, a focus on the unique needs of each client served, and service result monitoring.
2. Does the Facility Make You Feel Comfortable?
If possible, you should tour the facility before making your final decision. You want to look for a treatment center that is clean, comfortable, and aesthetically pleasing. The recovery experience can be intense, so a home-like environment that helps you focus on your sobriety can have great benefits. Touring the facility will also give you a chance to meet some of the staff members. Look for individuals who are caring, compassionate, and committed to helping clients get sober.
Mountain Laurel’s 36-bed facility in in Westfield, Pennsylvania spans 25 serene acres, providing the perfect tranquil spot for your recovery journey. Bedrooms are accommodating, comfortable, and quiet. Clients enjoy delicious meals in a shared dining area. Additional community spaces feature areas for exercise, meditation, and therapeutic recreation.
3. Is the Care Evidence-Based?
Treatment for drug and alcohol abuse should focus on established psychological research into the roots of addiction and strategies for sustained sobriety. Evidence-based care should take into account individual needs, including:
- An history of abusing multiple substances
- Struggles with chronic pain
- Mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression, or PTSD
- Past trauma or abuse, including domestic violence
- Process addictions such as a gambling addiction or shopping addiction
- Past experience with elapse after treatment
Mountain Laurel Recovery Center’s treatment philosophy is based on the disease concept of addiction and the belief that all people have equal worth. Clients receive a detailed evaluation upon admission, taking into account all factors that may affect their recovery process to develop a personalized care plan. Intensive individual and group counseling incorporating cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) promotes the benefits of structure, education, intervention, self-disclosure, empathy, and teamwork as part of the healing process.
4. Do They Teach Life Skills?
Staying sober involves more than just avoiding alcohol and drugs. Ongoing sobriety requires a lifestyle change, so treatment should focus on helping clients develop the skills they need to succeed in reaching their recovery goals. This may include:
- Healthy communication patterns
- Building strong relationships with family and friends
- Stress management strategies
- Regulating emotions such as anger and frustration
- Creating a daily routine that promotes healthy sleep, nutrition, and exercise habits
- Plans for reaching specific goals, such as getting a job or going back to school
Mountain Laurel’s life skills training is reinforced through a wide range of holistic therapies designed to heal the mind, body, and spirit. This includes meditation, therapeutic recreation, and expressive arts therapy. Extensive family programs are also provided to help strengthen the family support system and promote a smooth transition back to independent living.
5. Is Treatment Gender-Specific?
Gender-specific treatment for drug and alcohol addiction is growing in popularity. Programs for women acknowledge how issues such as body image, eating disorders, sexual assault, domestic violence, and parenting responsibilities affect substance abuse patterns and the recovery process. Programs for men focus on issues such as managing anger, expressing uncomfortable emptions, and dealing with effects of toxic masculinity.
Mountain Laurel’s programs provide gender-specific care that offers both men and women safe spaces to discuss their substance abuse and recovery. This also helps to eliminate romantic temptations that might interfere with the intense emotional work that’s necessary in early recovery.
6. Do They Provide Ongoing Recovery Support?
Unfortunately, addiction is a complex illness. You can’t complete detox or a 30-day rehab program and expect to be “cured” with no more desire to use drugs or alcohol. Substance abuse disorders are considered chronic medical conditions, just like having high blood pressure or diabetes. You can live a full and active life, but you need to stay vigilant about protecting your sobriety.
Ongoing recovery support needs are different for each person, but may include resources such as outpatient treatment, sober living homes, and 12-Step or self-help support groups. Plans may also focus on special needs such as managing chronic pain or continuing therapy for a co-occurring mental health disorder.
Mountain Laurel Recovery Center provides a full continuum of care for men and women with substance abuse disorders, including personalized aftercare planning following residential treatment. Aftercare may include participating in the extended care sober living home program, which requires clients to attend intensive outpatient treatment, participate in 12-Step groups, meet with sponsors, and maintain a clean healthy living space.