Going to rehab should be an informed decision, not a blind date.
Hannah Shead suggests ways to achieve a good match
I can still recall the first time that a client told
me he wanted to go to rehab. I was working
in a community drug service and my client
was using heroin chaotically. He had lost
his job and his family and was on the cusp
of becoming homeless. Yes, rehab seemed
the perfect solution. I told my colleague,
who promptly advised me which rehab to
send him to.
So, off my client went. He did extremely
well and it turns out that the rehab, Sefton
Park, was a good match for his needs.
However, when I look back I shudder that
this successful match of need to placement
was more a matter of luck than clinical
judgement.
This was 17 years ago, and things have
come a long way. Many drug and alcohol
teams have ‘approved providers lists’ and
have a system for placing clients according
to their treatment needs.
It should be remembered however, that
going to rehab is quite literally a life-
changing decision and the importance of
choosing the right provider cannot be
overstated.
So, what sort of questions might you
want to ask your client – or be asking
yourself, if you are the potential resident?
SINGLE SEX OR MIXED?
Some women I talk to are very vocal about
their need to be in an all-female
environment, as the issues underlying their
addiction are not ones that they would
wish to work through in mixed groups.
Some people recognise the potential
distraction of the opposite sex and identify
single sex rehabs as providing the best
opportunity to focus on recovery.
Equally, there will be those that want
the opportunity to work on their
relationships with both men and women,
and welcome the diversity that a mixed
rehab can offer.
There is no right or wrong – only what is
right for the individual.
TREATMENT PHILOSOPHY
This is an important part of the decision-
making process. People all too often think
that rehab is either 12-step or not, but there
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is a huge scope of choice within the different
12-step programmes on offer so this is not
always a helpful distinction to make.
Treatment centres throughout the UK
offer a rich variety of programmes, with a
wide range of interventions such as CBT,
person centred counselling, family work,
education and training, couples therapy,
outdoor pursuits and volunteering, to
name but a few.
HOME OR AWAY?
For some people, rehab will offer the
opportunity to make a fresh start
elsewhere, however, for others it is
important to stay close to their home
environment and community.
LENGTH OF PROGRAMME
There are different lengths of programme
on offer, according to need.
MAKING THE CHOICE
I am pleased to know that my service is a
member of Choices, a group of independent
rehabs that have come together to share
best practice and make the options easier to
understand. Representatives of our 16
rehabs meet every two months to explore
ways that we can work together to improve
the resident’s experience.
One of the greatest perks of being a
Choices member has been the opportunity
to visit the other centres. The experience of
walking into a rehab and quite simply
getting a ‘feel’ for it is unrivalled and we
would encourage anyone considering going
into rehab to go and visit at least one
possible unit. You can also use resources
such as the DDN listing, Public Heath
England’s Rehab Online (www.rehab-
online.org.uk) and the Choices website
(www.addictionrehabuk.org) to compare
the different centres.
We invite you to look beyond our
leaflets and referral paperwork and visit us.
Come and meet our current residents – you
can be sure that they will tell it as it is! Stay
for lunch; check out our hospitality, our
food and drinks.
Come and get to know how we tick.
Don’t just let us assess you or your client –
come and assess us!
Hannah Shead is chief executive of
Trevi House
Choices website is at
www.addictionrehabuk.org
October 2017
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