I came across a Huffington Post article the other day that shook me to my core. The author started the article by asking, “Have you heard what’s going on with drug addiction in this country? No, not the who are dying from it every year, or the tripling of heroin overdose deaths. Not the 23.5 million Americans who currently have an illicit drug or alcohol abuse issue, or the $700 billion in annual costs related to crime, lost work productivity and health care. These are important, startling statistics that certainly deserve attention and resources.”
This statement and these numbers are heartbreaking. It’s a statement that can make many feel hopeless and wonder how we can ever get our friends and family out of the black hole that is addiction.
This hopelessness is only compounded when you take into consideration the companies that are only trying to put “heads in beds” and are taking advantage of our nation’s drug epidemic for profit. There have been countless stories of patient brokering, identity theft, kickbacks, and even insurance fraud by unethical treatment centers.
So how can someone struggling with an addiction find the help and resources they need to help them climb out of the darkness? Luckily, many treatment centers still operate ethically. So how can you be sure the treatment center you’re looking at is behaving ethically?
It’s important to first understand ethical treatment practices. Ethics are the basic concepts and fundamental principles of decent human conduct, and never has there been a more relevant field for that definition than in treatment centers, where one-on-one interaction with vulnerable individuals is a key practice. During addiction treatment, patients are taught to practice honesty in their daily lives, how can we ask this of our patients unless we are also held to this standard?
It’s important to make sure the addiction treatment center you are looking into does not have any of these common unethical practices happening.
Improper Credentials
Utah addiction treatment centers must be licensed and operated by licensed professionals. It’s important to ask what credentials a facility has before even discussing treatment options. Recovery Ways treatment center in Murray, Utah has received the Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint Commission and is part of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers.
Patient Brokering
This has become a common practice in the addiction treatment field. Patient brokering is what happens when an addiction treatment center locator steers clients to specific facilities because they either run the locator service, or are receiving a payment in return for potential patients. If you discover this practice in your search for a Utah addiction treatment center, you should report them to the state licensing board.
Improper Billing
There is a practice with some addiction treatment centers in Utah, and around the country, of improper billing. Unethical facilities have been found to double-bill the insurance company, or overcharge the patients. One way to ensure this doesn’t happen is to stay on top of the costs of treatment and compare your previous bills to make sure the costs for items are matching up.
Improper Drug Testing
In the last several years, improper drug testing has become a major concern surrounding addiction treatment centers. There have been reports of urine and/or saliva samples being taken and sent to “labs” to test for substances. However, those labs and their network of doctors have been accused of bilking insurer’s out of millions for tests that were unnecessary or never performed.
Misconduct
During treatment, patients can feel vulnerable, trusting, and can be co-dependant towards the beginning of treatment. When a staff member helps them through something, a “hero complex” might form. Patients might look to staff members for support and see them as friends. While we encourage friendships within the program, unethical employees may act unprofessionally and take advantage of these vulnerable relationships. It is important to know that any employee at a treatment center should never engage in a sexual relationship with a client. The focus should always be on the client’s mental, physical, and emotional health, not on a new, budding, unethical relationship.
Since ethics has become such a hot topic when looking into Utah addiction treatment centers, it’s important to go deeper than just the previous five points. While these should help you avoid unethical treatment centers, how do you choose between the ethical ones that are left? It is important that patients as well as loved ones make a positive connection with the treatment center.
Visit and tour the locations if time permits, or ask the intake person about the above mentioned topics and whether or not there is a history of misconduct. If they tell you one narrative and you find out otherwise, after the fact, the facility can and should be held accountable. Find out what programs they have to offer. Find out what type of aftercare they provide, and meetings they can put you in touch with.
For instance, Recovery Ways treatment centers in Murray, Utah provide multiple levels of treatment, for a variety of mental and substance related problems.
There Is A Critical Balance Between Experiential, Educational, and Therapeutic Treatment in Utah Addiction Treatment Centers
When you are looking into a treatment center, it is vital to know what programs they offer. Many Utah addiction treatment centers focus only on the educational or therapeutic areas of treatment, but it’s important to treat the full individual and all of the needs. This is why it is important to make sure the facility has a balance of experiential, educational, and therapeutic treatments. Experiential treatments include things like recreational therapy and sensory integration. Educational treatments help teach those struggling the reason behind it. What happens to our brain’s chemical makeup when we are depressed, bipolar, or how it changes with drug and alcohol use.
It’s so important to know not just why addicts turn to drugs and/or alcohol, but the actual science behind these events. Therapy sessions help you work through any traumatic events that may have happened, or emotional reasons you may have turned toward substances. Educational treatments help you understand why it is so hard to “just feel better” when you’re depressed, and why it is so hard to let go of these substances that are hurting yourself and your loved ones.
What is Sensory Integration
One of the most unique things about each of our Utah addiction treatment centers is the sensory integration rooms. Our sensory integration rooms invite the person to engage in activities that help them to feel good and to focus on strengths, interests, and personal self-care. These rooms provide an environment that nurtures the body. Sensory integration gives patients a way to self-regulate their emotions, feelings of pain, and their environment through music, sounds, imagery, and sensations.
Sensory integration is a frame of reference from the late 60s in the occupational therapy field, but it hasn’t been used very often in the mental health space. However, since the late 90s it has been used in the acute psychiatric setting, but using it in the dual-diagnosis area is unique.
It helps teach the patient to stay grounded, to stay calm, and to stay organized in any emotional range, which is an imperative skill for long-term wellness. It is very patient centered, and it can have a light-heartedness to it. When patients struggle, and they have those bad days where they are ready to pack up and leave without a second thought, we are able to bring them into the sensory integration rooms, calm them, and talk to them about what is making them feel this urge to flee treatment. We have seen sensory integration work over and over again for patients who need help getting through the days that their struggle seems to be overwhelming them, and put them back on the right path to sobriety.
How Family Affects Addiction Treatment
Many people are afraid of committing to a treatment center because they worry about leaving their family or being alone without familiarity around. At Recovery Ways we believe the family should play a large role in the treatment process.
Why do we believe this? Addiction is commonly referred to as a “family disease” because it doesn’t just affect the addict. With the help of our professional therapists a foundation of trust can be re-established and the building blocks for healthy relationships in the future.
We help family members understand their loved one’s addiction and its effects. We provide resources like our Family and Friends Resource Night where we help the community learn how they can help their loved ones struggling with addiction.
Each of our treatment plans are custom designed for each individual upon admission. During the admissions process family members will receive information about relapse warning signs and prevention. It’s important to us that we work with the patient, the family, and other support groups to make sure the aftercare aspect of treatment is a positive, supportive, strong, loving environment.
Aftercare and Transitioning Back Into The Community
We know that addiction treatment isn’t successful if you aren’t prepared to go back into the community and daily life. We offer many resources and tools to help patients transition back into everyday life outside of treatment.
Here at Recovery Ways we have aftercare programs as well as an alumni program for those who have completed treatment. A key piece of our programs is the development of community-based support. We know that a strong support system is necessary to maintain freedom from addiction.
We know that it’s important for the addict to be prepared for what happens once they leave the treatment center, so we work with each individual to help plan his or her new lifestyle and activities while they are still in treatment. These aftercare supports include: self-monitoring, attending group meetings like 12 steps, AA, refuge, or smart recovery, reporting with your therapist and ongoing support as needed. We will be with each individual every step of the way of their sober life. We know triggers happen fifteen years after leaving, just like they do one week after leaving. Your continued sobriety is our top priority, no matter when you were a patient.
Often, recovering addicts find that once they are on their own, they are lonely or bored, which can lead to a relapse. We make sure you have plenty of options, and one of these is our Alumni Program that provides continued support from our staff and your family.
The mission of Recovery Ways Alumni Services Department is to provide lifetime support and services, creating a bridge to lifelong recovery for individuals and families suffering from the devastating disease of addiction. Our vision is to assist Alumni in creating lifelong connections to Recovery Ways and to each other, building fellowship and pride among Recovery Ways Alumni and serving as an ever-present reminder that our Alumni are “Never Alone.”
If you or a loved one are looking for a Utah addiction treatment center, we hope you think of Recovery Ways. You can talk with an admissions counselor about your options by calling 1-888-986-7848.
