Starting Outpatient Addiction Treatment

It’s difficult to make the decision to seek treatment, but the hardest part about starting addiction treatment is actually following through once the decision to seek treatment has been made. What will people think? How can I afford it? It will take too much time. I don’t know these people. On and on, the doubts flow and fear rises. If the person has never been through treatment, the fear of the unknown can become an obstacle. It’s easy to put addiction treatment off — when work slows down, after my birthday, when the kids are out of school, when I save a little more money, etc.

There’s never a good time, but there’s no time like the present. There’s a few things that a person should know that will help alleviate doubt and fear. First, just make the phone call. It won’t hurt to set up a free consultation. At NewDay, we don’t pressure anyone. The consultation should be without pressure. The consultation mainly gives a person knowledge of what level of care is indicated based on signs and symptoms and history of alcohol/drug use, how payment will be made, if there are other facilities that would be a better fit because of insurance or lack of insurance, and to answer any questions. If the person wants to go further, then an assessment is performed to confirm what was discussed during the free consultation.

Payment for treatment can become an obstacle if the person allows it to be — but we bend over backwards to make the financial part work painlessly. Most major insurance will pay the majority of the treatment cost, and the rest can be worked out in affordable payment plans. The payments will be far less than the cost of active addiction – comparatively, the cost of addiction treatment is minimal. A good exercise is to think back six months and add up all the costs of drinking alcohol, or smoking crack cocaine, or buying opioids — include expenses like legal costs, bars, lost time at work, and any other costs associated with addiction. Most people with an alcohol/drug problem are amazed at how much money is wasted on their addiction.

If it’s determined that outpatient treatment is sufficient and a payment method has been established, several things happen next. The new client will see our Medical Director to get lab work done and get medically cleared to attend groups. Sometimes withdrawal might be a concern, but there’s medicine to help with withdrawal that is administered on an outpatient basis. The person will receive an orientation, and during the first individual session a treatment plan is developed. All admission forms are signed and then treatment begins. It’s always easier than anyone first expects. We know that people have doubt and fear when they first consider starting outpatient addiction treatment, so we strive to make it comfortable, informative, friendly and accessible. It just takes a call.