Tips for Choosing the Right Outpatient Detox Center

A person can only use drugs and alcohol for so long before his or her life starts to fall apart. After a certain point, a choice has to be made as to whether to continue on a course of destruction or take the necessary steps to turn one’s life around.

Outpatient detox centers can benefit people just entering recovery as well as those who’ve suffered a relapse episode. In either case, choosing the right outpatient detox center can go a long way towards ensuring a person’s ongoing progress in recovery.

With so many different types of outpatient detox centers to choose from, it’s important to ensure the one you decide on can best meet your treatment needs. Effective outpatient detox centers place an importance on treating the whole person rather than just the addiction. Good programs also ensure their licensing and credentials remain up-to-date.

Outpatient Detox Centers

For people experiencing mild to moderate withdrawal symptoms, an outpatient detox center can provide the support and guidance needed to break the body’s physical dependence on the drug. According to the National Institute of Alcoholism & Alcohol Abuse, mild to moderate withdrawal symptoms may take the form of:

• Nausea
• Tremors
• Restlessness
• Drug cravings
• Excess sweating
• Heart palpitations

Compared to inpatient treatment, outpatient programs do not require a person to live at the facility for the length of the program. This arrangement can work out well for people who have family and/or work obligations to fulfill.

In general, outpatient detox interventions should work to:

• Help relieve the uncomfortable symptoms of withdrawal
• Offer treatment for any co-occurring conditions that may impede a person’s recovery efforts
• Help a person develop relapse prevention strategies

Whole Person Approach

Outpatient detox could be the right option for you.

More oftentimes than not, by the time a person enters outpatient treatment, he or she is struggling with a host of other life problems that may or may not be addiction-related. Treating the addiction without addressing the things that cause stress in a person’s life only sets him or her up for the inevitable relapse episode.

An effective outpatient detox center will be equipped to help recovering addicts deal with areas that can potentially compromise their recovery efforts. Areas commonly dealt with include:

• Physical and/or sexual abuse issues
• Psychological disorders, such as depression and anxiety conditions
• Vocational assistance
• Educational assistance

A good outpatient program will be well connected with other community agencies and can provide referrals as needed.

Program Provisions

With drug and alcohol addiction rates steadily on the rise, new treatment programs are popping up to meet the market demand. Unfortunately, not all programs strive to meet certain standards of safety and treatment effectiveness.

The right outpatient detox center will have the necessary state-issued accreditation and licensing credentials. Likewise, the treatment providers who work in the center will also be licensed and trained as addiction specialists.

Lastly, any outpatient program worth its salt will have statistics on its treatment success rates. While some programs keep track of their own statistics, programs that offer statistics provided by objective third-party agencies tend to be more reliable.