Red Flags when seeking addiction treatment

Here is a checklist for red flags when searching for addiction treatment programs to send your loved one to or even for yourself. I am going to be honest places will lie to you and tell you everything they think you need to hear so please understand this list is not going to guarantee you find an outstanding treatment program, but it should definitely help wean through some of the BS programs.

I wanted to touch on a couple on this list and explain way they made the list.

• Therapeutic community- This made the list because the idea is to tear them down so you can build them back up. That sounds horrible for one. Also, the last place my daughter was at did this and it caused a huge amount of trauma. Not to mention, I have heard from 100’s that this type of program caused significant harm to them. Prisons tend to utilize these programs. When you read about TC on paper it doesn’t sound all bad but these programs will allow an entire program/community to tear them down, call them names, and degrade them in front of everyone. How is this good for anyones mental health? I mean if they are struggling with addiction due to trauma causing additional trauma doesn’t exactly sound therapeutic.

• No in-network participation- Good luck finding a treatment facility that participates in in-network. See they all want to use out-of-network because they can get higher reimbursement. The real kicker is this requires families to pay more out of pocket if they actually collect the deductibles. Your best bet would be to call your insurance company and ask if they can provide a list of in-network facilities.