Chicago drug rehab is doubly important because of the crime that accompanies the sale and use of illegal drugs. Street gangs have a lot at stake in protecting their turf because, of course, there is a lot of money to be made. And this means that violent crime is up in Chicago, even as it may be falling elsewhere in the surrounding region. In short, drug abuse is not a victimless crime.

As a result, a tremendous volume of time and money is being spent on apprehending criminals and bringing them to justice in Chicago. But a side effect of this is that un-apprehended drug users are reluctant to step forward seek help for their addictions. So they keep buying drugs, pushing the wheel around for another destructive cycle.

Instead of focusing just on the criminal justice side of the drug problem, the “supply side” if you will, there should be a renewed effort shut down the “demand side.” There are plenty of Chicago drug rehab facilities that are ready to provide assistance to the other victims of the crime: those individuals that are addicts of the drugs sold by the criminals.

It won’t be easy, of course. It never is. Chicago drug rehab centers have to help recovering addicts from back-sliding once they’ve kicked their habit. Drugs are so easy to buy that the temptation is great to start using again. Patients in Chicago drug rehab centers have to work through all their issues, including why they started using drugs in the first place. They need help in figuring out new ways to break old habits. They need to be able to resist peer pressure to “fit in” with other addicts.

This is why aftercare is so important. Chicago drug rehab counselors and therapists must be available to help them when they most need it and when they are at their weakest point. This is the only way for a drug addict to truly recover in the long term.

Chicago is a terrific city. It really is America’s Second City. There are lots of resources to help you, or a loved one, get the upper hand over drug dependency. If you need help, choose the Chicago drug rehab facility that will help you address all the sources of your problem, through all the stages it progresses through. See and experience Chicago fully — without being lost in a haze of drugs.

The first and most important step is knowing how to make an informed decision about choosing the best residential drug rehab facility. In other words, before you can get answers, you need to ask the right questions:

What is the success rate of the residential drug rehab facility?

When making an informed decision, get real. Base your decision on talks with actual graduates of the program. The more of them you can talk to the better. What you’re looking for is real-world experience.

What sorts of methods does the residential drug rehab facility use?

Do they take a holistic approach? In other words are they dealing with the entire range of emotional, physical and even spiritual factors of your loved one? That’s important — the more avenues of therapy the better. Realize that drug addiction happens because lots of different things have gone wrong.  A drug addict’s life is a jumble of bad decisions, bad habits, bad health and an unwillingness or inability to face down their problems.  For your loved one to succeed at drug rehab, the program has to attack all the sources of their problem.

What additional sorts of services does the residential drug rehab facility provide?

For example, will they help you stage an intervention if necessary? Can you look to them for legal assistance?

Who is on staff at the residential drug rehab facility?

What you want are professionals with lots of experience specifically in the area of substance abuse and all the related problems that come with it.  You want people with a track record, not just an advanced degree. Take some time and get to know them — and ask the hard questions, e.g., “what is your reason for working in this discipline?” You are looking for dedicated people — not people taking up space.

Is there a planned program of follow-up as part of the residential drug rehab program?

You want to know that there is a caring attitude about making sure the patient — your loved one — will succeed once they leave the facility.  A good program will have a structured approach to staying in touch and staying relevant in the life of the patient after they graduate.

Where is the residential drug rehab facility located?

You’re looking for two things here: security and convenience. Sometimes it’s difficult to get both, but it is important. First of all, a residential drug rehab center should be secure. You don’t want your loved one simply to stroll away on a whim. Fact is, the temptation is there. So you want to know that the facility has a plan to keep them in the program. Second, you want a facility that is convenient to where you live. You will most likely be relied upon to provide in-person visits to your loved one. So you want a facility that is nearby your home to make it easy to visit when necessary and appropriate.

How long does the residential drug rehab program take to show results?

It is customary for programs to last a month or so. However, if the facility has a longer program that will probably offer your loved one a better chance at success. Even better: if the facility has the wherewithal to let your loved one work through the program at their own pace, without an eye on the calendar.

What is the cost of the residential drug rehab program?

Don’t simply cross a facility off the list because it is too expensive. Look at the price in conjunction with the services offered. In that way you can better judge the value to you of the facility.  Of course it is true that the more the facility offers, the more it will cost. But you loved one will have a much better chance of succeeding if get the best and most complete program of treatment.

Summary
Picking a residential drug rehab facility is not easy, if for no other reason than you will probably be doing it for the first (and only) time in your life. But if you break it down into a series of smaller tasks and write down the right questions to answer, you will have a much better chance of making an informed decision.

Fact is, drug rehab is not cheap. Each month in drug rehab can cost you tens of thousands of dollars. Not many people have that kind of money saved up. Nor can everyone qualify for government aid. And too many others have no health insurance. Not only that: what one person considers affordable may not be so easy to deal with for another person.

So, thinking and shopping carefully is of the utmost importance. That said, it would be a good idea to look at the whole range of affordable drug rehab choices before you make an informed decision. In other words, don’t pick the first option presented to you. There may be more affordable choices if you spend some time looking.

General Non Profit Rehabs

One of your best options for affordable drug rehab is to look at non-profit facilities. Their fees will often be lower than the corresponding for-profit drug rehab facilities. The reason for this is that the non-profits are subsidized by public money (like the Federal or state government) or by non-governmental organizations (NGO).

There are dozens — if not hundreds — of non-profit drug rehab facilities that were founded expressly to help lower income and uninsured individuals. These non-profits can give you significant therapy benefits in very clean and well-organized environments. Most of them will not be free of charge. However, these affordable drug rehab facilities will (almost) never turn away a patient who is truly in need of treatment — whether or not they can pay full price.

What are your other options?

In addition to the not-for-profit facilities, there are the for-profit facilities that have beds reserved for patients needing subsidized care. This is not the same thing as free treatment. However, the fees are based on a sliding scale according to your income, size of family and overall ability to pay. If you can get affordable drug rehab at a private facility such as this, you can expect excellent care.

Faith-based organizations

Some NGOs such as the Salvation Army don’t provide the celebrity-type surroundings but can still offer effective treatment and, most importantly, a safe haven. The amenities can be quite limited, but for someone with nowhere else to go, these facilities can provide the prospect of recovery. The programs are typically long-term and free to the participant willing to engage in a faith-based program.

Sober Living Housing

Another option for affordable drug rehab is the so-called sober living option. Not as intensive as true drug rehab, these facilities provide an inexpensive but supportive environment in which the participant can recover. Most of these facilities will have a work-requirement as well as the expectation that the participant attend AA meetings, or the equivalent, while living in sober housing.

Summary

Unfortunately, you’ll have to do some research and expend some effort to find the complete range of affordable drug rehab options open to you in your area. However, the good news is that they are out there for you — and your loved ones.

In holistic drug rehab, your mind and soul are treated equally with your body. This involves proper nutrition, spiritual counseling and even learning simple meditation techniques. By attacking all the possible causes of addiction, success is achieved more quickly, effectively and the results last longer. In many cases, addicts begin to feel real relief within a few days of beginning holistic drug rehab.

Make no mistake: these sorts of approaches need to be grounded in objective science in order to be successful. Any holistic drug rehab program should include physician and nursing care on a 24/7 basis. In addition, there should be an abundance of accessibility to professional psychologists.

But holistic drug rehab also often includes subsidiary treatment protocols including massage therapy, and treatment by acupuncture physicians and herbalists. Many holistic drug rehab programs focus on pain management without relying on prescription drugs which are often addicting themselves.

When these approaches are applied in an organized way, the net benefit can be very cleansing and effective. Holistic drug rehab is a way to help addicts attain an inner peace that they may not ever have felt before.

Summary

Too many drug rehab facilities try a “one size fits all” approach, applying their own ideologies on their patients. These drug rehab facilities impose a framework rather than simply applying a broad spectrum of treatment in battle against addiction. In contrast to this, holistic drug rehab looks at the entire range of symptoms and then applies treatment where necessary.

But that’s easier said than done. And, if you are the parent of that teen, what should you do if your doctor recommends inpatient teen drug rehab?

The good news is that there is an upside to this kind of recommendation. Most kids — nearly 75% — who need teen drug rehab never receive it. So look at the recommendation not as something to be dreaded. Look at it as an opportunity, a “wake-up call,” that you can address to help your child.

So feel good that your son or daughter has an opportunity to get the teen drug rehab that they need. And by helping them sooner rather than later, their brain and their psyche (which is still forming and maturing) will improve greatly. This will improve their quality of life far into adulthood.

So how can you make an informed decision about teen drug rehab that works and is affordable?

First of all, get multiple referrals or recommendations for teen drug rehab from your doctor. Then scan the websites of these facilities. Even the most basic info is useful at this stage:

• Where are they located?Location is most critical because you are not going to simply drop off your child and go away. It is imperative that you play an important role in your teen’s drug rehab. You must plan to visit your child on a regular basis. Not only that: many teen drug rehab facilities will not accept your teen in the first place unless you commit to participating actively in their recovery. Later on, your child will be OK’d to spend weekends in your home — as recovery warrants it. So find a facility that is close to home.
• How much do they charge?Take an active role in finding out all the costs involved, whether or not you have insurance coverage for teen drug rehab or not. Knowing all the costs helps you make informed comparisons between one facility and another. Also, it will help you better understand what is likely to be covered by insurance and/or Medicaid. Also, be aware that some programs facilitate your getting aid that will cover the difference between what is covered by insurance and what is not. So ask about what is available in the way of financial assistance.
• What kind of accreditation does the facility have? Look for a facility to be accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) or equivalent body. You should not consider a teen drug rehab facility that is not accredited. Also inquire about licensing. Ask if the facility is licensed by the state, e.g., the Dept. of Health.
• What is their treatment philosophy?Does the facility treat people of all ages together? Or are teens kept separate? Research indicates that teen drug rehab has a higher rate of success if the adolescent patients are strictly separated from adult patients.What about the 12-step model: does the facility subscribe to that? If so, be aware that there is a spiritual component to this kind of treatment. Are you sure your child is receptive to that? If not, it could have a negative impact on their recovery. Find out if there is an alternative offered.Will there be allowances made for the educational needs your teen will have? Just because your child is in teen drug rehab doesn’t mean their education should be sacrificed.What about their emotional needs? Is there psychological therapy offered? How often would your child meet with a therapist? What kind of goals would this therapy have?What kind of parental participation is encouraged? Is there a regular “Family Day?” Does the teen drug rehab facility provide support and encouragement for the entire family?
• How long will treatment last?Find out how long the average residential treatment stay might last. Obviously this will depend on the facility — and your child. Is it measured in weeks or months? You’ll also want to find out how many teens are typically being treated at any one time. Regarding group therapy, how big are the groups? What sorts of rules does the teen drug rehab facility have — specifically, what rules (if broken) are grounds for being dismissed from the facility?You may also want to ask about the availability of aftercare, i.e., what kind of support does the facility offer after your child leaves the inpatient program? This is perhaps most crucial of all in determining your teen’s long-term success. It is customary for there to be at least 12 months of active involvement by your teen in the form of outpatient therapy, both one-on-one and in a group setting. Again, this is another reason to pick a teen drug rehab facility near your home.
• What is involved in the admission process? This is when your teen will be evaluated for the severity of their condition and for the most appropriate level of treatment necessary. Sometimes this involves your child undergoing psychological and/or medical testing. In addition, some basic decisions will be made about your child’s level of treatment, e.g., outpatient, partial hospitalization, etc. Stay involved — find out what steps are followed in this phase. This includes finding out what all the costs are (e.g., charges for urine screening, etc.) and determining what your insurance carrier will cover.
• Who is on staff?What qualifies the staff at the teen drug rehab facility to work there? What education level, background experience level, etc. Does the facility have medical personnel on hand in case of personal injury? How many staff are there in relation to the patients? Is the rate of turnover high or low?Do you feel comfortable with the demographic make-up of the staff on hand? Are they sensitive to cultural diversity?

Other important considerations

If this hasn’t been made clear up to this point, you need to visit the teen drug rehab facilities that are on your short list before you make your decision.

All the photographs in the world, all the websites, might help you narrow your choices down, but in the end you need to be on site to make a final decision. And look at the facility the way your child might look at it too.

Some things to look for:

• Is the facility well maintained?
• Are there places for residents to go and remain active when the weather is bad?
• How do the meals look?
• How do the interactions between adults and teens seem? Observe the activities during an entire day, if you can.
• Are classrooms well stocked?

Perhaps most important of all: Contact the parents of teens who have graduated from the facility. Invest some time in speaking with them about how it went. There are some difficult questions you need to ask, but it is worth it. For example: did their child suffer a relapse after leaving the teen drug rehab facility?

Summary

If you have to pick a teen drug rehab facility for your child, it will not be an easy choice for many reasons. You will need to spend some time doing it and educating yourself about drug abuse. But it is worth it because it will help your teen make a faster — and longer lasting — recovery.

Correlation vs. causation

The problem in analyzing this question is not in simply showing that significant numbers of users first use marijuana then heroin. The difficulty in making the case lies in whether or not correlation implies causation. In other words, is it a coincidence or does the use of one lead to the use of the other?

Recently, a study was conducted to answer that very question: do adolescents who smoke pot increase their odds of landing in drug rehab — for heroin addiction?

On first look, the study (from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden), suggests that marijuana could be a gateway drug. And the study seems to indicate that the causation is there: in other words, marijuana changes your brain’s chemistry enough to make the user susceptible to harder drugs. So perhaps there is a case to be made for making gateway drug rehab available to pot smokers.

What the study found

The experiment went like this: twelve rats were split into two equal groups. Each group were aged 4-7 weeks old (the equivalent of rat-adolescence). Six of the rats ingested enough tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana, to simulate the equivalence of one joint every three days. The other six rats were left alone.

Flash forward: all 12 rats were given catheters by which they could self-administer doses of heroin. Both groups took the heroin and plateaued out their dosages — and at the same time. But the pot-ingesting rats plateaued out at a higher level of heroin consumption than the rats that did not ingest the THC.

What this means

It was the conclusion of the scientists that the THC rats were de-sensitized to the effects of the heroin and so they needed more of it before they reached their plateau. This is the classic definition of a gateway drug’s effects. And, by ingesting more heroin, the rats were at risk of becoming seriously addicted — thereby increasing the necessity of gateway drug rehab.

In other words, the study seems to suggest that the THC-rats were at a higher risk of addiction because of the pot they ingested.

However, on closer examination, this does not necessarily imply that marijuana use among adolescents leads to heroin addiction. What it does suggest, however, is that changes in brain chemistry may make the teen more susceptible to addiction if they try heroin. In other words, once they begin using heroin, they need more to get high and stay high.

And it isn’t just heroin — any opiate would do. If the adolescent or teen was a regular pot smoker and then used, say, OxyContin, his or her tolerance might be raised to a level high enough that the teen might take too much — and become addicted. This, of course, increases the possibility that they would need gateway drug rehab.

Conclusion

So does marijuana lead to harder drugs? Probably not. The study does suggest that a person’s tolerance to opiates goes up after regular use of marijuana. The study, however, does not suggest that a marijuana user would naturally crave heroin or OxyContin simply as a consequence of smoking pot. Other factors may be in play: A user’s judgement might become impaired over time and, as a result of peer pressure, the individual may begin using stronger drugs in order to “fit in.” But the study does not find that marijuana leads to heroin.

Regardless of how it happens, it is important to understand that gateway drug rehab may be in order in these cases. The user’s family and close friends must be aware of this and stand ready to help the user recover.

Here are 7 tips to help you succeed with long term drug rehab:

1. Your Counselor is Your Friend
   By engaging in outpatient counseling treatment, you increase your chances that your recovery will be permanent. Listen to your therapist or counselor: they are there to help you stay focused on long term drug rehab success.
2. Take Your Time
   Long term drug rehab means that your recovery doesn’t happen overnight. You will have plenty of thoughts about alcohol and drugs. You simply must recognize and accept that you have to take each day — each hour — as it comes. There are no shortcuts. Think of long term drug rehab as a process that is time-consuming but rewarding.
3. Stay Busy
   Many former addicts find that it is all too easy to slip back into old habits. So fight that urge and stay physically active. Get yourself out of the old way of doing things. Find new activities and interests. Seek out new acquaintances who are positive and successful. Stay busy and avoid getting bored. Try not to be alone a lot of the time.
4. Progress is Measured One Step at a Time
   It’s true that success is defined as steady progress toward a worthy goal. Long term drug rehab works the same way. You may find that if you can stay focused on recovery one day — or half day — at a time, you can be successful. Sometimes it might even be one-quarter of a day, or even one hour, at a time. Be aware of your frustration level and fight it one minute at a time if necessary. Staying sober is hard but you can make it one inch at a time if necessary.
5. Develop New Habits
   Long term drug rehab involves examining at all your behaviors, including the ones that make it easy to abuse drugs. What this means is that one set of habits reinforces another. When you remove one habit (drugs) you find that others are displaced as well (associating with certain friends, for example). What will you do now if you are no longer hanging with the same old crowd, doing drugs? If you can find new friends, new activities to engage in, you will find that your long term drug rehab will be more successful.
6. Build Yourself a Support System
   You might think that you cannot tell your family or close friends about your long term drug rehab challenges. But the opposite is true: you must rely on them to give you the emotional support you need to successfully recover.
7. Be Persistent
   You’ll have plenty of temptation to give up and throw in the towel. But don’t give in and don’t give up. It really works when you are faced with long term drug rehab. Don’t beat yourself up for making the mistake. Simply move on and keep going. No matter how frustrated you get, you don’t want to ever give up or give in. The difference between winning and losing is sometimes simply being the last one standing.

Hopefully, these suggestions will help you get through long term drug rehab successfully. Surround yourself with positive role models and stay with it. You will find that you will be successful in the long run.

Drug addiction affects people in every walk of life. And you will certainly find people from all social classes who are subject to substance abuse. For example, adult males over the age of 30 are the prime users of heroin and cocaine. Prescription drug abuse among adults is also at an all time high, with dependency on each specific prescription reaching levels never seen previously.

But the problem is not limited to drugs. Alcohol addiction is the most common abuse problem among adults with an estimated 20 million people showing some sort of drinking-related dependency. For these people, perhaps alcohol consumption is a social lubricant. Whatever the reason, it leads to drinking too much to the point where it affects their family and/or professional lives.

The costs of this kind of substance abuse are high. In 1998, the average costs to society for adult drug rehab were in excess of $150 billion. Today, adult drug rehab and its associated costs have doubled — well in excess of $300 billion and counting. Penal facilities report that most inmates who reside there have a problem with drugs and alcohol. And statistics show that over a million hospital visits a day are due to substance abuse.

If you are part of this scene, it might be time to consider adult drug rehab.

The solution

Adult drug rehab is a fast-growing segment of the medical profession because of this ever-growing escalation of substance abuse.

According to a national survey, 2 million adults receive some sort of adult drug rehab from a public or private facility. This is a small fraction of those adults who have a problem. For the rest, it is crucial that each and every one of us makes the effort to reach those friends and family members who need help. We need to help them by find an adult drug rehab program that will help them get over their problem.

Treatment Options for Adult Drug Rehab

Luckily there are many options available for treatment of adult drug abuse and addiction. It is no longer necessary for an individual to hit rock bottom before taking action. But the only person who can make it happen is drug abuser him- or herself. And the fact is, most people who need adult drug rehab are the very ones who don’t view their own problem realistically. This makes it doubly important that their family and friends show them the way to recovery.

Different rehab facilities offer different programs. The best approach is to find the program that fits the individual. Some adult drug rehab facilities use a variety of therapeutic approaches to get a better understanding of what will be effective. Many adult drug rehab facilities use some variation of the 12-step program. This approach has been shown to have positive results for some time now.

Other adult drug rehab centers offer alternative methods. Medication therapy can help lessen the effects of drug addiction and help rehabilitate the patient. In other cases, cognitive and behavioral therapy programs can be quite effective.

Summary

Everyday living can be very hard and full of stress. Adult drug rehab can offer a way for individuals who need help in getting their lives back on track.

Here are some of the benefits of private drug rehab:

You won’t have to wait to get in

When you finally get to a point where you decide you simply must make a change in your life, the last thing you want is to have to put off taking action. For the most part, professionals in the field will agree: you must move when the impulse hits you. If you find any delays or obstacles in your way, this will only reduce your desire to take action. And that can have a very bad effect on your health and well-being.

Public facilities typically suffer from over-demand and under-supply. In other words, too many people wanting a space in a facility that has too few beds. This translates into long waiting lists that may delay your entry into the facility by days, weeks or even months. Of course, private drug rehab facilities can have similar lists; but in general you have more latitude. For the most part you’ll find that you can get into a private drug rehab facility immediately.

You get better one-on-one care

Because public facilities must offer care to the population at large, this means that they must be prepared to accept everyone — including those that cannot pay. This means that the public facilities will cut costs wherever possible. So if you need one-on-one therapy with a psychologist, for example, you will find that your options are very narrow. The same goes for personalized attention from any kind of trained counselor. This is where the costs really mount up. As a result, the public facility will try to cut it where possible.

What you want and need is individualized therapy. It is the one thing that gives you valuable insight into the real (and lasting) causes of your substance abuse. Private drug rehab offers you this as well as ways to make it more likely that you will avoid future problems. At a private drug rehab facility, you will be more likely to work closely with a trained professional who can help you develop a recovery plan that is tailored to your individual needs. They can help you avoid future relapses. This is what helps insure that you are ultimately successful in staying sober in the future.

You have more comfort

Clearly, it is the quality of therapy you receive in a private drug rehab facility that is the most crucial aspect of your recover. But don’t discount the impact on your health and recovery of uncomfortable surroundings and/or a lack of privacy. And if you also find that you have no access to collateral programming, this can also make for a less effective (and possibly unsuccessful) experience.

Drug rehab is hard enough. If you add on the stress of a physically uncomfortable environment, you can expect to lose the focus that is necessary to make your recovery happen in a successful way. You don’t need to worry about your privacy and physical surroundings.

Summary: Public drug rehab is better than no rehab at all

If you simply cannot afford private drug rehab, then you will need to go to whatever sort of public rehab is available in your area. After all, something is better than nothing. In the end, you have to do what you can afford to do. But if there is any way you can afford private drug rehab, then take the opportunity when it presents itself. This is not one of those things that you want to cut corners on. Even if you have to cut corners in some other area of your life, you should consider private drug rehab an investment in your future — and a happy, successful life.