30 Mar Not All Treatment is Equal
Obviously, for people looking for treatment for substance abuse and considering multiple treatment facilities, price is often a factor.
But there’s also the “cost” of treatment versus the “price” of treatment.
In the addiction treatment business there are a wide variety of treatment facilities. Some more expensive, some less expensive. And there are significant differences in these programs, the experience and quality of staff, the facilities and also in the outcomes.
Quality is a significant factor in terms of price for all things. Something that’s a better quality usually always costs a bit more. It’s the same in healthcare and in addiction treatment.
At Lanna Rehab we are very focused on seeing you not only succeed in treatment, but in staying clean once you leave. That’s critical. The success rates of many rehabs vary dramatically.
Some of these places are “affordable” but they’re not very good. They’re a factory version of treatment, where “one size fits all” in terms of a treatment model, no matter what your history is, the substance involved, or your psychological profile. They have many beds to fill because in their version of treatment the profit is based on volume. They lack individual care and every person is treated the same, when in fact, no two people are the same. The larger a center, the more of an “institution” it can be, the less individual care you can expect.
The most important part of any treatment facility is the individual treatment you will receive. The staff must be highly qualified and experienced to provide the best possible the care.
Of course, when considering a rehab, you do need to consider the other aspects of the facility itself – your private room, the food, nutrition, the physical program options and things like massage and various activities, communal areas and the overall environment. Rehab is hard work… so don’t overlook the other factors that will play an important part in your recovery.
Some treatment centers will not do the levels of assessments we do. They will not offer the number of one-on-one treatment sessions we do at Lanna because those sessions require a licensed professional and cost more — but they’re also extremely important at getting to the root causes of your addiction so it can be effectively treated. Often, you’ll only get one or two one-on-one sessions per week in these places and, in some cases, the sessions are only 25 minutes long!
Also, at Lanna, we include a full medical checkup at a qualified hospital and your detox medication is included in your costs. Most places don’t include this, but we feel your health and safety going into treatment is critical and should not be overlooked.
In these other places even the group sessions have too many people, so most people don’t get to contribute and be a part of it, and people can “hide” in the crowd. They effectively get nothing out of these sessions.
These programs will not have all the treatment options we have to draw on (CBT, 12-step, DBT, mindfulness, ACT) so that we can truly customize your treatment program around your needs.
Additionally, in many places the staff doesn’t have nearly the experience our staff has.
Lastly, there is the quality of the food, the comfort of our facility, the many things you have to do here when you’re not in treatment. It all adds up.
But the primary difference is this – you need quality treatment. That quality translates directly to outcomes. Let’s face it, if going through treatment at a less expensive facility only means you’ll end up going through treatment again, it’s actually more expensive.
So although cost is important, it’s not the most important consideration. You treatment and outcome are…and they are determined by a lot more than price.
