Red Flags when seeking addiction treatment
When my daughter needed treatment, I was desperate and sold a lie.
The website presented beautiful rehabs. The promises shiny. But what we found was shame, mismanagement, and protocols that almost broke her spirit.
If you’re a parent or family member trying to find real help for someone you love, these are the red flags I wish someone had warned me about.
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.
Addiction treatment shouldn’t feel like punishment. And it shouldn’t feel like a sales pitch either.
If something feels off, trust your gut and remember, you can always walk away.
