The following points of information on rehab therapy are prepared under the supervision of Consultant Addiction Psychiatrist Dr Bruce Trathen MBBS MRCPsych, and Senior Addictions Therapist David Goodlad FRSPH MA Dip. MBACP (Snr. Accred) UKRC NCAC CADC.

Accessing reliable and accurate information on rehab therapy can be confusing and time consuming. Triage Advisors are here to help you make fully informed and accurate decisions. Call 0800 246 5293.

What is a rehab therapy?

 Rehab therapy aims to help people overcome an addiction and rehabilitate them back into society. Residential rehab therapy is the most intensive and effective form of support for people suffering with an addiction. Rehab therapy will provide you with a medicated detox to help you comfortably withdraw from drug(s) and/or alcohol. You can subsequently expect to take part in a structured therapeutic programme to combat the psychological side of the addiction. The whole process takes place within a safe, professional and secure environment.

 Rehab therapy can also be accessed on an out-patient or day-care basis. This means that you will still benefit from the structured day programme a rehab therapy clinic will offer. However, you will return home each evening for the length of the programme. This is only suited to individuals where the addiction is less severe in nature.

 Rehab therapy is an effective means of addressing all manner of substance addictions, including alcohol, cocaine, cannabis and heroin. If you or your loved one is prepared to access rehab therapy for any of these addictions, it is important to act quickly. Call us now to find out how we can help. Our aim at Triage Healthcare is to provide you with confidential and reliable advice regarding all areas of addiction. Our helpline is staffed by an experienced team of psychology and healthcare graduates that have chosen this work as a vocation. Each advisor has a personal interest in working with addiction on a daily basis to help those in need.  Call 0845 888 4444for free, confidential advice.

 When should someone seek therapy?

 You should give rehab therapy serious consideration if you believe that you or a loved one has an addiction. If you use alcohol or drugs to cope with life or if it has become ingrained into your daily routine then you will benefit from the professional support that rehab therapy offers. It is designed to address the psychological dependence that is present in all addictions. Rehab therapy will include access to one-to-one therapy, which may typically comprise of cognitive behavioural therapy, motivational interviewing and relapse prevention, amongst others. You can also expect to take part in daily group therapy sessions. Treatment can also have a more holistic approach, in which access to therapies such as acupuncture, reflexology, and art therapy will form an important part of your recovery.

 There are a number of signs which can indicate whether your loved one has an addiction and needs residential rehab therapy. There may be noticeable behavioural or mood changes, such as agitation, secrecy and deception. Their behaviour may become very unpredictable. Their sleep may be disturbed and they may appear continuously unwell. You may also find drug paraphernalia amongst their possessions, such as cigarette papers, needles and small weighing scales. Their social habits may change as well; you may notice your loved one keeping strange hours or unusual company.

Withdrawal symptoms are also a good indicator of a substance dependence (Trathen et al., 2008). Alcohol withdrawal symptoms include sweating, increased heart rate, tremors, difficulty sleeping, feeling nauseous and vomiting, hallucinations, agitation, anxiety and seizures. Opiate withdrawal symptoms include a depressive mood, diarrhoea, vomiting, chills, insomnia, agitation and muscle ache. Amphetamine and cocaine withdrawal symptoms include a depressive mood, tiredness, increased or decreased time spent sleeping, bad dreams and increased appetite.

Types of private residential rehab therapy

Whilst it would clearly be preferable to receive treatment without having to pay for it, it is important to remember that there is an imbalance between availability of addiction treatment in the NHS and the demand in the community. Therefore, there can often be long waiting lists involved when trying to access the NHS options. Often, this can be a disheartening process.

Funding treatment for private residential rehab therapy will allow you or your loved one to access help immediately. Triage Healthcare work with clinics that offer private residential rehab therapy throughout the UK. Call us now for further information on 0800 246 5293. We will do our utmost to find a private residential rehab therapy to suit your budget and needs.

It is also possible for you or your loved one to access private residential rehab therapy overseas. This option can be particularly appealing to those individuals who have already accessed help in the UK with limited success. By travelling overseas to access treatment, the person is completely removed from their problematic surroundings. Overseas private residential rehab therapy can also represent better value for money in some cases.

There is also the possibility of home-based treatment. You or your loved one may hope to access treatment on an out-patient basis or within the community. Although better than no help at all, staying at home leaves individuals open to much more temptation than if they were accessing residential rehab therapy. Individuals will also remain in an environment where they have become accustomed to using drugs or drinking alcohol. These factors make the abstinence process very difficult during the first most vulnerable months. Private residential rehab therapy should usually be the first choice.

Moreover, the National Treatment Outcomes Research Study (NTORS) suggests that a residential rehab therapy is likely to provide you or your loved one with a higher chance of successful rehabilitation (Gossop et al., 1996) in some instances. NTORS demonstrated that although residential rehab and community-based treatments had comparable outcomes, a rehabilitation clinic tended to successfully treat individuals with much more serious patterns of addiction. This indicates that residential rehab may have an overall higher level of effectiveness.

How long could private residential rehab therapy take?

How long private residential rehab therapy can take depends upon the individual addiction. The longer that a programme can be accessed for, the better. However, as a minimum, four weeks is recommended for an alcohol addiction and six weeks for a drug addiction.

This is supported by research from NTORS (Gossop et al., 1996) that demonstrates those individuals who remained in a rehabilitation centre for at least four weeks had four times better drug abstinence rates than those who had shorter durations or left treatment early.

How much does private residential rehab therapy cost?

The cost of private residential rehab therapy will depend on a number of factors. These include location, the standard of accommodation, and the level of medical and psychiatric care that may be required or desired. Be assured that at no point will you or your loved one need to compromise on the quality of psychological and therapeutic support when accessing a best-value residential rehab therapy programme.

Where to find a drug or alcohol rehab therapy in the UK

Triage Healthcare has an in-depth knowledge of the full range of residential rehab therapy services and programme options throughout the UK and abroad, and will advise you independently of any particular centre.

Triage Healthcare Ltd is a specialist healthcare company dedicated to the treatment of addictive illness. We were formed in 2005 by Consultant Addiction Psychiatrist Dr Bruce Trathen MBBS MRCPsych, and Addictions Therapist David Goodlad FRSH MA Dip. MBACP (Snr. Accred) UKRC NCAC CADC.

References

Gossop, M., Marsden, J., Stewart, D., Edwards, C., Lehmann, P., Wilson, A., & Segar, G.(1996). NTORS The National Treatment Outcome Research Study: Summary of the project, the clients, and preliminary findings: First Bulletin. Department of Health: London.

Trathen et al (2008). Guidelines for the best practice treatment of Substance Misuse. Triage Healthcare: Canterbury, UK.