California Rehab Centers: How To Choose The Right One

The first thing you need to understand is that each drug and alcohol recovery inpatient program is going to be different. All of them have different philosophies about how they deal with their clients and their approach to treatment. If you are looking for a program for a loved one and are harboring the least bit of anger or resentment about past events, it can be tempting to look for a center that promises to offer a “strict” approach to treating its clients. You want your loved one to receive appropriate help and support to get well. Here are some questions to ask to help you find the right program:f you have come to the point where you know you or a loved one has a problem with substance abuse that requires professional help, you already know how addiction can take over someone’s life. It can render you virtually unrecognizable to your family members, leaving a trail of broken promises, anger and shame behind. How do you know you have found the right treatment center? You need to ask questions before making your final choice to ensure that it feels like it would be a good fit.

 Does the inpatient addiction treatment center offer a number of programs?

Ideally, the treatment center you are considering can develop an individual treatment for each client. Some options would include the following:

  • Attending 12 step program meetings (Alcoholics Anonymous/Narcotics Anonymous)
  • Group therapy sessions
  • Individual treatment sessions with an addictions counselor
  • One-on-one psychotherapy sessions
  • Classes on nutrition
  • Exercise classes
  • Outdoor activities
  • Gym workout sessions
  • Study

 How much does the treatment cost?

Cost is a factor when you are looking at getting help for yourself or someone you care about. You may be able to find drug rehab centers that accepts Blue Cross Blue Shield or that will work with your insurance provider. Addiction is an illness and if coverage is available, don’t hesitate to use it to get help for yourself, your spouse or a dependent. The insurer will process the claim in a professional manner. Don’t let shame or guilt be a factor when it comes to getting help for a treatable condition.

Does the treatment center offer help for the family?

Families of addicts can benefit from programs, group therapy and educational seminars. Ask whether these options are available before making a choice.

  • Is aftercare offered once the inpatient program has been completed?

Transitioning to “real” life after spending time in a treatment program can be challenging for a client. Aftercare is an important part of the treatment process. For a number of people, being able to stay at a sober living house gives them the opportunity to be more independent while still having some support from a house manager.

Finding the answers to questions like these will help you find the right inpatient treatment program for yourself or someone you love.

How We Differ From Other Rehabs

Above It All Treatment Center sees addictions as the result of several areas of the person in dysfunction. The whole-person approach treats the key areas, including therapeutic methods, bio-nutritional program, spiritual reconnection, family therapy, career development and more. As a result, clients become more healthy, strong, balanced, “centered” and happy. Their level of aliveness is significantly increased, as well as their feelings of connection to themselves and to others. They have more skills and confidence in creating the lives they want, complete with good relationships, a satisfying job or career, and enjoyment of the moment. The disease model implies that there is something wrong with a person that cannot be healed. While there may be predispositions to addiction (physically, emotionally, and socially), Above It All Treatment Center is able to identify and treat these areas specifically, using the most state-of-the-art methods available today. For example, research has shown that there are indeed alcoholic bio-chemistries that make some people predisposed. But, rather than a “disease”, these are considered to be conditions that can be treated and/or managed and their impact dramatically reduced. In addition, emotional issues, childhood traumas and other significant personal and interpersonal problems are profoundly addressed by our professional staff.

A vast majority of those that are chemically-dependent have self-esteem issues and feel powerless in the face of beating their addiction. Above It All Treatment Center focuses on building self-esteem and helping people begin to feel their own self-worth again. This in turn builds their confidence and their ability to create the lives they want. With a sense of powerfulness and self-worth, people are in a better place to say “no” to unhealthy, addictive behaviors and to say “yes” to the healthy choices that make life worth living. In addition, people gain skill at recognizing the addictive “part” of themselves and at diffusing its power.

Whenever someone makes a conscious change in their life, it begins with choice. Even those who use the “one day at a time” approach find that one day they simply decide, “I will never drink or use again!” Above It All Treatment Center engages individuals to make this choice for themselves and in this way take their lives back into their own hands. This declaration is made in a meaningful setting and stays with the person long after they have left Above It All Treatment Center.

Above It All Treatment Center believes that shame and blame do not, in fact, bring about the desired result of modifying behavior in others. Quite the contrary, it often brings up resentment, belligerence, and lowers self-esteem in the face of life’s ups and downs. Above It All Treatment Center uses a positive approach that engages each person’s will and strengthens each individual’s sense of self-worth. Skills are given to help people choose and become more aware so that addictive behaviors are not repeated in the future.

What To Expect At Drug Rehab

The process may differ somewhat at other drug rehab, but Above It All Treatment Center uses this approach:

1. Physical Assessment: When you start drug rehab, a physician will each spend some time with you to assess your addiction and develop a detox plan. The detox plan will be based on the types of drugs you were using, so it is critical that you are honest with the physician about every drug you have taken recently.

2. Psychological Assessment: A psychiatrist, preferably one who specializes in addiction, will assess you for issues such as anxiety, depression, bipolar, or other emotional or psychological issues. The first assessment is not considered a “final” one, because the fact you are still under the influence of drugs may color the picture significantly. For example, some people may feel depressed at this point, but once they are completely free of drugs, the depression lifts.

3. Detox: This part of drug rehab is often the one people fear most. However, Above It All Treatment Center Clinicians are very experienced in developing a treatment plan for detoxification that will be as comfortable as possible. They will often use medications to ease symptoms of withdrawal, such as Suboxone or Valium.

4. Therapy: The evidence shows that group peer therapy is still the most effective form of treatment for drug addiction. Although individual therapy is also important, there is no compelling evidence that more individual and less group therapy is effective. In fact, the opposite is true. By connecting with others who have your same impulses and compulsions, you develop strategies to remain free of drugs and alcohol.

5. Physical Fitness: Most drug rehabs today understand that they must address not just the physical addiction to drugs, but the health of the body, mind, and spirit. Physical exercise is an important part of the healing process. For one thing, exercise triggers endorphin’s; the body’s natural chemicals that make you feel good. It is critical that you develop ways to feel good without drugs or alcohol, and exercise is a healthy way to do that.

6. Nutritional Counseling: Diet can impact how you feel in recovery. Too many processed carbs make you feel sluggish. Too much sugar can mean mood swings. Nutrition is critical to maintaining an even keel in early recovery.

7. Alternative Approaches: Above It All Treatment Center offers alternative therapies as well while you are in treatment. Acupuncture has been shown to be a highly effective pain management treatment, and is very popular among recovering addicts who have chronic pain. Meditation, massage and yoga are some other modalities used in quality rehabs.

8. Aftercare Planning: What do you do when you leave the safety of the rehab? How do you avoid triggers – people places and things that might lead you back to drugs or alcohol? How do you develop a support network at home? What do you do if the impulse to use drugs becomes overwhelming? These questions should be addressed as part of your aftercare planning. The plan should include specific strategies and even people to contact when you return home.

9. Discharge: You have completed treatment and you are at least 30 days free of drugs and alcohol. Discharge day can be exhilarating, joyous, and terrifying. Follow your aftercare plan and the advice of your rehab therapist and avoid triggers to have the best chance of long-term recovery.

 

Women Seeking Rehab and What To Expect

Women have a different outlook on life than men and therefore respond to different therapeutic processes and experience a different set of challenges during the treatment process.  Our thorough screening and assessment of the woman who comes to our treatment programs will allow our team of clinical experts to place her in the right program and provide her with a personalized curriculum of recovery activities to give her the best possible chance at achieving long-term abstinence.

Recovering from addiction requires a complete transformation needs and goals. Thousands of people come to southern California every year hoping to fulfill their needs and goals. Why not you? There’s no better place to take 30,60 or 90 days and heal your mind, body and spirit from the trauma of alcohol or drug abuse. Serenity is everywhere you look in southern California. We’ll help you find it within you. Of mind, body and spirit. This is more easily accomplished in a calm environment that encourages serenity. Getting sober is difficult, but ultimately it is one of the most rewarding experiences of your life.  At Above It All Treatment Center, we understand being in rehab isn’t something you’re likely to be happy about…yet. The work you’ll do here is not easy, but it’s worth it. Our world-class staff truly cares about you as an individual and that’s why we personalize our program to your needs and goals. Thousands of people come to California every year hoping to fulfill their needs and goals. Why not you? There’s no better place to take 30,60 or 90 days and heal your mind, body and spirit from the trauma of alcohol or drug abuse. Serenity is everywhere you look in California. We’ll help you find it within you.

If drugs have hijacked your life or the life of someone you love, we can help. We have over 100 years of combined experience treating drug addictions of all kinds. We are here for you 24/7.  Give us a call at Above It All Treatment Center so we can get started working for you.

What are You Looking For in Drug Rehab?

Taking the first step to recovery is a step forward to a positive future. Above It All Treatment Center provides that service. Addiction is a disease that can be cured and the importance of that is the patient will be educated to the addiction itself. Education is a plus and is well used and practiced. Above It All Treatment Center wants each patient to be aware of his or her addiction. The professional staff at Above It All Treatment Center wants their patients knowing everything so that their patients will be able to absorb and process what drug treatments they are receiving. This is why Above It All Treatment Center is known for being the most effective luxury drug rehab center when compared to other drug treatment centers.

Conquering and dividing a drug addiction is impossible without attending treatment. Above It All Treatment Center has committed drug treatment professionals waiting to help. It is vital that the patient is committed in wanting to make this happen. By enrolling in a luxury drug rehab, the patient just took the first step in changing its future on a positive step. Above It All Treatment Center has much success of previous patients that have conquered this once leaving drug treatment.

There is an abundance of Drug Rehab facilities promising recovery. Commercials for Drug Rehab facilities run endlessly on daytime TV and their messages are all essentially the same….”I was a drug addict, now I’m not…learn how I did it”.  They sell you their books and make promises of a new life. They make Recovery Seems So Simple! Despite the promises, recovery from addiction is never simple!

Drug addiction is most often the symptom of an underlying psychological or neurological disorder. Recovery from drug addiction is a complex combination of assessments, accurate diagnosis, neurologic imaging and testing, individualized therapy, highly trained doctor teams, monitoring and measuring the effect of therapy and on-going support.

Another part of drug rehabs in California is to treat the emotional and psychological stress that may have come as a result of the drug abuse or what may have caused the addiction in the beginning. A patient may feel more at ease when talking one on one with a therapist of the same sex. For example women may feel that other women understand their needs more than a male therapist would. Consequently they may open up and reveal the deep things inside that may have contributed to their addiction. It may be childhood physical or sexual abuse by a trusted adult that sent them over the edge. The same can apply to a man of course.

Outpatient, residential, extended care, men’s or women’s, Christian, faith based, outdoor wilderness, dual diagnosis, mental health, behavioral health, detox and long term care are available to you in California.

California is known for the widespread epidemic of meth (ice, crystal, glass, crank, methamphetamine, and tweak.) Treatment and detox for meth is becoming more and more popular in recent years. If you or someone you know needs help finding rehab or detox for meth, be sure to fill out our rapid response form on any page of this site. We are dedicated to the fight against meth. Meth is a dangerous drug that brutally kills people and ruins lives.

Call Above It All Treatment Center today at 1-888-971-2816 to find out how we can help you with a personalized treatment plan to start you on the road to a drug free life.

Expectations and the Alcoholic Addict

“Resentment is the “number one” offender.  It destroys more alcoholics than anything else.  From it stem all forms of spiritual disease, for we have been not only mentally and physically ill, we have been spiritually sick.”   The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 64

From where do resentments come?  What makes them such an integral part of our spiritual sickness?  How might we overcome them and why should we?

If we consider situations that disappointed and/or angered us, and subsequently take a look past our immediate emotional reaction, many times there is an unfulfilled expectation lurking in our respective backgrounds.  Perhaps we aren’t even aware of said expectation.  For some reason, in some way, someone or something didn’t behave as we thought they should.  Something in our exchanges with others, or lack thereof, has left us angry and/or sad where we may have been, instead, hoping for the best possible outcome and/or response.. Expectations can easily become resentments and resentments for the alcoholic and/or addict can be not just damaging but actually fatal.

Why is that?  An expectation is a preconceived notion as to what’s going to and/or said to happen or, conversely, what did not occur; be it a phrase from someone who jittered bugged into our  life and jittered bug right on back out, with no warning. This scenario might leave us particularly perturbed and since that feeling can be overwhelming, there are many reasons it becomes the answer to what keeps us mired in our spiritual sickness, which some of us think we can compel and dispel on our own.  More often than not, given we cannot control people, places, and things, our remembering this key issue becomes paramount so we can be relieved of forming new expectations and/or resentments.

Instead of connecting with our Higher Power, we have, in essence, given that expectation/resentment all the power and we immediately neglect our relationship with that Higher Power of our understanding.  Our resentments become our guiding force, our God, in which we bow and cater to throughout our day.  With that, there are times when, say sitting through a long meeting at work, everyone might head out for a beer afterwards in order to process and unwind.  Alas, we cannot join them in a relaxing-post work beverage.  If we are seething with resentment and replaying over and over again the very moment from which our sense of betrayal stems, we open ourselves up to being eaten alive.  Lo and behold, in the very next frame in the moving picture of our live, a “forget this” may come our way and without the ability to not only actively recall our past, we throw our caution to the wind and pick up a drink.  What else might give us that ease and comfort, quelling, albeit temporarily, that feeling of resentment which might now be residing inside of us.

All in all, our expectations becoming resentments becoming something to “drink over” can lead us straight to the grave.  They are not to be taken lightly.

Packing for California Drug Rehabilitation

Well, you did it! You’ve made the decision to enter drug addiction rehab treatment. Now you’re going away for at least four weeks. What should you pack? Knowing what to bring (or not bring) will help you make the most of your stay, and focus on what’s important – sobriety!

Pack clothing suited to the weather in the area of your treatment center. If you’re headed across country, or to an area you haven’t visited before, it’s a good idea to check the weather forecasts and pack accordingly. Although rehab is serious business, many California drug rehab center programs offer outdoor activities such as hiking, swimming or yoga. Make sure you pack shoes and clothes which will allow you to participate in these activities.

Allowed personal items vary by program, so you’ll want to check with your facility before bringing items other than clothing. Some things you might want to inquire about include any prescribed medication, a favorite pillow or cozy blanket, hair care appliances, an alarm clock, photos of of family and friends and books.

Some prohibited items have to do with privacy concerns  – such as cameras and cell phones. Any products containing alcohol such as mouthwash, perfume or hairspray will not be allowed. Many rehabs have strict no jewelry, cash or electronics policies. Some centers do not allow candy, food or energy drinks and you should also plan to leave all sexually-explicit materials behind as well.

When you arrive at drug addiction detox, your self and your belongings will be searched to make sure that you haven’t accidentally (or purposely) brought any contraband items along. If banned items are found, those that are illegal will be taken away, and those that are not will be returned to you upon your departure.

Getting along with  the bare necessities and simplifying one’s life during your stay at alcohol drug rehab, helps you  to focus on the task at hand. After successful treatment, you  can go back to your life – and all of your stuff!

The Need for the Newcomer

As you begin to attending AA/NA meetings, you may hear the statement “The newcomer is the most important person in the room.”

Perhaps you wonder how that could possibly be the case?  When was the last time you were welcome with open arms anywhere?

Upon your arrival to this Los Angeles drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, the staff will welcome you and will treat you accordingly.  Maybe it’s the first time in a long, long time we are being welcome anywhere.  It can be a foreign feeling, perhaps one that even elicits a suspicion of sorts.  It’s as if it’s in the staff doing that for us, it opens the door to others who may approach us with phone numbers, offering rides to meetings, sit down & extend themselves accordingly.  We may not feel so put off by those people and may even, depending, take them up on their generous offers.

Here’s why the response to their offerings may shed some light on the first idea.  When someone new presents themselves to us, we may need to forgo some of our upcoming plans.  In order for us to keep what we have so freely been given, we must extend ourselves to others.  As we do that, we are given the chance to reinforce our sober time.  We need the newcomer in order to survive.  With said newcomer, we get to go through the steps again ourselves while we are guiding them.  With that connection, they have the ability to inadvertently ground us in the reality of what happens when we are on a run or are coming into the program for the first time. They reinforce for us how that unmanageability exists and/or returns ever-so-shortly and what the state of their internal life is like, which, more often that not, reeks of misery & discomfort.

The connection we forge while working together is like no other and the gratitude that emerges from that very sharing with one another solidifies our spiritual connection.   Without the newcomer, we may not be able to treat our spiritual malady.  If we can’t do that, we may default to the physical craving.  After introducing the first drug or drink into the body, we may then be caught by the mental obsession keeping us bound to the prison of our minds and the substance(s).  In that, it leads us right back to that spiritual malady.  Subsequently the unmanageability that returns internally gets reflected externally and we reach for whatever’s going to, we hope, wipe away the pain and shame from our actions..  Working with one another acknowledges our need for the connections of our human spirit, whether we like it or not.  That newcomer’s desperation is our fuel by which we light the lamps of the roadway of sobriety, guiding us toward serenity.