Become a member of Allies in Recovery and we’ll teach you how to intervene, communicate and guide your loved one toward treatment.Become a member of Allies in Recovery today.

Finding Treatment for Alcohol and Drug Addiction

Dominique Simon June 16, 2016
Allies in Recovery, AiR, Dominique Simon-Levine, CRAFT, treatment, plan, sobriety, drug abuse, drug use, addiction, addicted loved one

Finding treatment for alcohol and drug addiction is the most important way you can help your loved one recover. Remember that it often takes repeated treatment efforts to achieve long-time sobriety. So even if he or she has been to treatment before and is still using, treatment is still the answer.

treatment - Allies in Recovery - dominique simon-levine - intervention - drug addiction - alcohol addiction - Allies in Recovery

© Illustration by Eleanor Davis

Remain patient

It may be that the previous treatment was wrong or that your loved one was simply not willing enough to listen and try. Levels of willingness and resistance are constantly shifting.

If your loved one remains completely resistant to the idea of finding treatment, consider if there is something else that he or she may be less resistant to addressing, such as depression or anxiety, or even figuring out a life or career path.

The goal is to get them in front of a treatment professional or into a self-help program, and then let the professional or program do their job.

Levels of treatment for alcohol and drug addiction

Choosing the right treatment option must start with what your loved one will accept. For example, if they refuse to take any time off work, it will have to be outpatient program.

The converse is also true – if they are homeless or in a very bad home environment, then a period away in an inpatient program might be the best thing, if they will accept that.

There are several levels of treatment, listed here from the most intensive to the least:

  • Medical detoxification
  • Inpatient rehab
  • Partial hospitalization/intensive outpatient programs
  • Outpatient therapy
  • AA or other self-help
  • Psychiatry (for medication as well as help with common mental health issues)

Medical detoxification may be necessary. The rest depends on what your loved one will agree to and what you can help them access. Ideally, these levels of care are put end to end, so you end up with a nice long period of treatment, six months or more. We also want the different providers talking to one another and coordinating care plans and transitions whenever possible.

Two ways you can help your addicted family member:

 

  1. Fill the gaps

You have a central role in helping your loved one transition between treatment programs. We want no pit stops in between. Literally. If you’re moving your loved one from a medical detox to an inpatient program, do everything in your power to make this happen on the same day. If you can’t, you will want to stay with your loved one until the bed opens up.

This may seem protective but it’s crucial. Your loved one will be vulnerable after just a couple of days in a detoxification unit. This is a time to step in and provide comfort and support to help get them to the next level of care.

You can also help with the admissions process, by providing information, transportation, or clothes and personal care items from home. You may pay for the treatment or even keep up rent payments to hold onto an apartment while your loved one is in treatment. If there are children or pets to take care of you may take that on, or make arrangements for them.

  1. Find the best

Talk to other people who’ve been in treatment, or their family members. Find out who is the best at which specialties. Contact professionals directly and ask about their experience and specific training in substance abuse.

Once you get your loved one in front of a professional, trust that person to advise you if detoxification or more intense treatment is necessary. You cannot be expected to know that.

Understand your role in finding treatment for your loved one. Use these suggestions to steer your addicted family members towards a method of treatment they can agree to, and then let the professionals or self-help programs do their job.

A membership at Allies in Recovery brings you into contact with experts in the fields of recovery and treatment for drug and alcohol issues. Our learning platform introduces you to CRAFT and guides you through the best techniques for unblocking the situation. Together we will move your loved one towards recovery. Learn more here.

Categories: Addiction Treatment Centers, Drug Addiction Treatment, Treatment
Tagged: , , , , , , , ,
Loading
Dominique Simon
Dominique launched Allies in Recovery in 2003. Her work has been featured on HBO and NPR. She is a facilitator and a trained speaker on issues of addiction and the family. She has worked extensively developing and evaluating federally-funded substance abuse programs for organizations and clinics throughout Massachusetts and New York. With an interest in recovery and substance abuse that spans 20 years, she sees a huge need to help families develop the skills to help a loved one recover fully in a supportive, whole, and lasting way in their families and in their communities. Her mission is to have Allies in Recovery fill that gap.

Related Posts from "Drug Addiction Treatment"

Real Allies in Recovery Success Stories: Families Share How CRAFT Helped Their Loved Ones with SUD

Read real success stories from families who used the CRAFT approach to help their loved ones with Substance Use Disorder (SUD). Learn how CRAFT helped them engage their loved ones into treatment, and how it improved their relationships and reduced stress levels. Discover how you can use the CRAFT method to help your loved ones find recovery, and visit AlliesinRecovery.net for more stories and resources.

Dominique Simon March 31, 2023

How Do I Prepare for My Daughter with SUD to Come Home? And What About Her Boyfriend?

Her daughter is involved with a man who may be sabotaging her efforts to stop using substances. But she’s expressed some readiness to get help, and mom wants to support her in any way that she can. Mom’s working on ignoring the bad-news boyfriend while setting up guidelines for her return home. She needs guidance on the details…Allies in Recovery weighs in with some CRAFT-based tips.

Dominique Simon March 24, 2023

My Son is in Detox for Fentanyl – What Medication is the Best Option?

Our Alliesinrecovery.net member seeks guidance about helping her loved one find the right medication for Opioid Use Disorder. Her son has tried Suboxone and Methadone and is looking for an alternative. He has concerns about sleep and anxiety, and our member is wondering which medications may best suit his needs. Allies Director Dominique Simon-Levine gives a detailed answer, as well as some great CRAFT pointers for supporting his recovery.

Dominique Simon January 27, 2023

How Can We Help our Daughter Find Residential Treatment?

What her daughter needs—a solid residential treatment program for women—should not be so hard to find. Unfortunately, such programs often are. We sorted through some of the options in the state where this Allies in Recovery member lives, so she can focus her search on a program most likely to help her daughter continue to improve. The family can also keep doing CRAFT to help support the relationship with their daughter in recovery, and to take care of themselves in the process. Staying in touch with Allies staff can also help support them.

Dominique Simon January 20, 2023
Hands - Arms - Support

In-Person & Virtual Recovery Resources for Your Loved One

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (AA World Services, Inc.) Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other, that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. This is an informational website for anyone interested in learning more about their organization, 12-step program of recovery, and how to find local meetings. PHONE: 212.870.3400 Click here for Online AA Meetings What is AA? What to Expect in an AA Meeting  What is Anonymity in AA?  AA INTERGROUP ONLINE MEETING FINDER IN THE ROOMS In The Rooms offers over 150+ weekly live online meetings, a variety 12-Step and Non-12- Step Fellowships, and Specialty meetings. Some of our most popular meetings are AA, NA, ACA, Al-Anon, and Nar-Anon meetings, and much more. In The Rooms has 69 live online AA meetings weekly, so there’s bound to be one that fits your schedule! We have specialty AA meetings too, like AA Pride (LGBTQ). We also have an Agnostic AA meeting, if you’re seeking a meeting without a secular approach to recovery. We have 30 NA meetings on ITR weekly. Like AA, there’s also an NA Pride meeting (LGBTQ) and an Agnostic NA meeting. For support for the family, friends, and allies of those in recovery, In The Rooms has both Al-Anon and Nar-Anon meetings, which each meeting, 1-3 times a week. We also have many other 12-step fellowship groups, like Gamblers Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, and Sex Addicts Anonymous, CODA, Dual Diagnosis, and much more. If you can think of a Recovery fellowship, we probably have it.  FULL LISTING of LIVE VIRTUAL/ONLINE MEETINGS  12Step.Org We strive to provide information, tools, and resources for working a 12 Step program (or any program using 12 step principles for recovery) in as simple and effective way as possible. Online Meeting Calendar Online Video Meetings Phone Meetings Forums, Text Chats, and Email Meetings List RECOVERY DHARMA Recovery Dharma is a peer-led movement and community that is unified by our trust in the potential of each of us to recover and find freedom from the suffering of addiction. We believe that the traditional Buddhist teachings, often referred to as…

Allies in Recovery December 16, 2022

I Think I’m Ready to Ask Him to Leave – Even Though I’ve Been Doing CRAFT

An active Allies in Recovery member wrote in to our “Pose a Question” blog with an update about her partner who continues to use substances and to be emotionally volatile, despite having previously done a 30-day recovery program. While she says that participating in our Wednesday night support group with Kayla, along with other CRAFT resources on our site, has been “a huge help” with her own well-being, she still isn’t having success in engaging her loved one into treatment again. She asks: Has the time come to ask him to leave?

Dominique Simon September 16, 2022

Is Suboxone a Good Thing for Your Loved One?

An Allies in Recovery member is overwhelmed by all the conflicting information and stances on Suboxone. Her 40-year-old son has struggled for 15 years with opioids and other drugs, and his new treatment plan includes Suboxone. Is this a good thing? CRAFT Trainer and Family Recovery Advocate, Laurie MacDougall, weighs in with an array of facts and lived experience.

Laurie MacDougall June 30, 2022
Helping Hands to Summit

My Son’s Drug is Meth

She knows her son needs help, but he often disappears for long stretches of time right after he starts opening up to her. Read on for Dominique Simon-Levine’s insights as she lays out some important considerations for this situation.

Dominique Simon April 16, 2019

Drug Addict Husband – She’s Hopeless and Exhausted

She has struggled through 12 years of her husband’s addiction, having single-handedly provided for their family for all of these years, and is now at a loss. All of the patience, love and compassion she used to have seem long gone, and resentment keeps mounting. CRAFT looks at where to best focus our energies when these feelings weigh us down.

Dominique Simon March 1, 2019
Allies in Recovery, AiR, Addiction, Addiciton recovery, Dominique Simon-Levine, dsl, drugs, heroin, regret, hopelessness, wish or dip, family, Thansgiving, treatment

He’s Full of Regret And Hopelessness

Five weeks after changing the lock and having her son leave the house, she received a text from him. He expresses discontent with where his life is and feelings hopelessness. This is the equivalent of what CRAFT calls a “dip”. Here’s what to do when you’re lucky enough to be present for a “dip”.

Dominique Simon December 14, 2018
sober housing halfway house treatment allies in recovery dominique simon-levine drug intervention alcohol intervention addiction addict recovery

What Happens If Sober Housing Doesn’t Work Out?

In order to start anew with the process of sobriety, a resident who has relapsed should be sent to a more intensive level of treatment (for example: clinical stabilization services or CSS in Massachusetts), but too often nothing is available and the only option is detox. Here is some useful information for pursuing the next level of treatment.

Dominique Simon October 14, 2016

Can My Son Go off Methadone Alone?

Getting off of methadone is very hard. It has a long half life; it will feel like it is hanging on forever. If your son isn’t mentally prepared and supported for what will quite possibly be weeks of withdrawal, there is a chance he may relapse and use again to make himself feel better.

Dominique Simon June 10, 2016

Report

Harassment or bullying behavior
Contains mature or sensitive content
Contains misleading or false information
Contains abusive or derogatory content
Contains spam, fake content or potential malware

Block Member?

Please confirm you want to block this member.

You will no longer be able to:

  • See blocked member's posts
  • Mention this member in posts
  • Invite this member to groups
  • Message this member
  • Add this member as a connection

Please note: This action will also remove this member from your connections and send a report to the site admin. Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete.

Report

You have already reported this .