Get clean and stay clean! This is the message that people receive when going through treatment at most rehabilitation facilities. While this is a good message and it is the basis of rehabilitation, it’s important not to stop the treatment there. There are so many issues at the root of addiction that you cannot simply treat the addiction and walk away.

How to Approach Rehabilitation

Accountability

It’s completely normal to hear a rehabilitation facility take credit for helping someone break free of an addiction. It is, however, practically unheard of for a rehabilitation facility to take the blame when it doesn’t go so well. This is a problem that must be addressed. If you can take credit for the successes but not take blame for the failures, then what level accountability are you being held to?

Find the Root of the Problem

Treatment should not be all about the addiction. True treatment addresses every portion of a clients’ life and helps them heal and recover all parts of their life. Treating should involve getting to the root of the problem and helping to get a person in the right shape physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially. By doing this, the addiction is being treated as well as the root causes of the addiction. Utah Substance Abuse Treatment

Don't Stop Until the Problem's Treated

If you were to go to a doctor for a runny nose and he simply wiped your nose with a tissue and sent you along on your way, this would not be considered a successful doctor’s visit. The same applies to rehabilitation and treatment; you simply cannot treat the symptom and leave the disease. When this happens, you’re essentially dooming that person to a relapse. Addiction can be overcome but it starts with the right approach. Treating an addiction is not as simple as saying “Don’t do drugs anymore.” It has to start with a Whole Life Approach, helping to get their entire life running the right way. The addiction is only a small portion of a bigger issue and must be addressed as such.

Michelle Amerman