Acute Psychiatric patients sometimes have nowhere to go. The psychiatric hospitals these days are limited in what they can do and while they have improved over the years, they remain an expensive option for most people. Psychiatric Hospitals do take insurance, which is good and can help bare the financial cost of longterm psychiatric care. If the psychiatric patient also has a substance abuse issue, then there are many drug rehabs in Orange County that can often handle acute psychiatric patients if they are med compliant. Therein lies the dilemna. An acute psychiatric patient, for example someone with severe bipolar disorder, psychosis, or dellusions/hallucinations, if they are med compliant are easy to treat, but if they are not med compliant in drug rehab then they are better suited for psychiatric hospitalization. Sometimes it is better for them to be stabalized and get used to their meds before entering a drug rehab facility. Other times, they may need long term psychiatric hospitalization. Most drug rehabs in Orange County will be able to assess whether a client needs psychiatric hospitalization and help with the refferal.
Orange County, California is inundated with addiction treatment facilities but there are a few that stand out. The important thing to ask any potential drug rehab in Orange County you might be talking to about treatment is what is actually included in the cost of treatment. Many drug rehabs in Orange County will bill clients for little things, things that should be included in the cost of treatment. Some Orange County drug rehabs have become like hotels, charging for every little thing they can. There are some really good quality drug rehabs in Orange County that do there best to include everything possible in the initial cost of addiction treatment. So ask what is inlcuded in the cost of treatment and what the ancillary charges will be duing treatment.
Some ancillary charges that are common across all drug rehabs are the following:
Therapy/Psychology Sessions (Therapists and Psychologists are often too expensive for drug rehabs to employ full-time and so this is a common ancillary charge at most drug rehabs)
Extra Spending Cash - For things like toiletries, personal things, hair cuts, nails, etc... This is called Money On The Books or MOB and residential drug treatment facilities will often ask that people put an initial sum of money on the client's books to cover extra personal things the client might need, typically a couple thousand dollars.
Medication - No treatment I know of pays for a client's medication so this will almost always be an additional expense and is usually taken out of the client's MOB account.
Psychological Testing - Psychological Testing is a diagnostic tool used to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of clients in drug rehab. A FULL BATTERY of psychological testing is expensive, ranging anywhere from $3000 to $5000. Having a client take a single MMPI psychological test upon admission is NOT a FULL psychological battery. So often this will be an extra charge.
Here are some things that should never be ancillary charges at a drug rehab:
Food - If food is not included in the cost of residential drug treatment then something is probably wrong and you can expect many other expenses along the way.
Gym Membership - Drug treatment programs are actually required by State regulations to offer some form of exercise.
Addiction Counseling - Addiction Counseling by a qualified addiction treatment specialist should never be an extra charge in treatment. This is NOT COUNSELING DONE BY A THERAPIST OR PSYCHOLOGIST.
Probation approved drug rehabs in Orange County, California are not as abundant as one might think, given that Orange County has one of the largest stockpile of drug rehabs in the United States. Getting a drug rehab probation approved is difficult and takes a long time. Many drug rehabs will fore go the process because of the difficulty in getting a drug rehab probation approved. This is unfortunate since California is experiencing a budget crisis and is seeking to reduce the costs incurred by the penal system. One easy solution to reducing the prison population and saving Orange County, California and California in general millions of dollars is to allow more drug rehabs in California to become probation approved. By increasing the expediency of the probation approval process, drug rehabs in Orange County and California in general, more drug rehabs in California could carry the burden of non-violent drug and alcohol offenders, which makes up most of the prison and jail population in California. If California wanted to go even further, they could offer incentives to drug rehabs in California to become probation approved.
NTS is a probation approved drug and alcohol facility. This means that we can take addicts and alcoholics who otherwise might have sent to jail or prison and treat them in-lieu of imprisonment. It may seem scary for those people who are thinking about entering a drug and alcohol rehab to know that there are convicted criminals in the drug rehab they are thinking about entering in to, but it's not. The people we get who are sent to us in-lieu of jail or prison time are just like everyone else in our treatment facility who didn't "get caught," so to speak. In fact, people who are sent to us by the judicial system for drug and alcohol treatment are easier to deal with and treat, because we do have the firm hand of justice behind us to rely on should we need it. But, when compared to other clients in our drug and alcohol treatment facility, you could not tell one alcoholic or addict with a criminal record from one without a criminal record if you were to line them up next to each other. Some of our greatest successes are people who come to NTS with the dark cloud of the justice system hovering over their heads. The only difference between the alcoholic/addict with a criminal charge and those without is that the person with a criminal drug or alcohol charge got caught. In conducting hundreds of clinical interviews with both criminal and non-criminal clients, I have found that there is no difference in criminal behavior.
The police and the judicial system in general has the power to severely impact the horros of addiction and alcoholism at their fingertips. I have always said that police and judges are our best drug and alcohol interventionists. The judicial system has the power to force addicts and alcoholics in to drug and alcohol treatment and help them turn their lives around. I fear that the judicial system is unaware of the tremendous power they have to make a dent in the formidible war on drugs. If we were to only make a slight shift from putting these non-violent drug and alcohol offenders in jail, to putting them in drug rehab instead, they would save hundreds and thousands of lives, and millions of dollars. It is a win-win situation. But, to accomplish this California would first have to make sure that it had enough quality drug rehabs on their probation approved list. California might even have to fund part of their treatment, but the overall cost of treatment compared to the overall cost of keeping a person in prison or jail is far less and could actually make California money in the longrun. Just think of the possibilities...
Los Angeles drug rehab is alive and well. Despite the downturn in the economy many addiction treatment facilities in Orange County are doing well. No matter what, it seems that people continue to use drugs despite economic tragedy, of course that's no surprise... In fact drug use is rising and more people are turning to the temporary comfort of their favorite drugs to help them through these difficult times. Add to the situation the rise in prescription medication abuse and we have the perfect ingredients for a drug epidemic like we've never seen before. Orange County, California drug treatment is unique because of its long history of residential drug rehabs. While many other areas, like Malibu, are just getting into the extended care residential addiction treatment game, the treatment facilities in Orange County have been around for a long time and have already ironed out the kinks, so to speak.
Since drug and alcohol treatment facilities began near the beaches of Southern California, Newport Beach addiction treatment centers have worked creatively to incorporate Southern California beach activities into their treatment. Summer comes along in Southern California and millions of people flock to the beaches of Southern California to vacation, while others flock to Southern California for addiction treatment. There's no reason why the two different reasons for coming to Southern California have to be completed separate. At NTS we have tried to be as creative as possible in developing therapeutic activities that involve the local Southern California beach atmosphere. As summer roles around we at NTS begin to plan beach days and beach activities that encourage clients to take advantage of their sunny surroundings and enjoy Southern California and particularly Newport Beach, California. We plan beach barbecues and volleyball days. For the first time in NTS history we will be planning an entire staff/client beach day which will involved competitive team building exercises. After years of watching the success of the television show Survivor, we have decided to plan a day of competitive Survivor like activities to encourage fun, rapport, and to give the clients and staff a chance to practice Rule #62. If you don't know what Rule #62 is then look it up on Google. Addiction treatment does not have to be an entirely laborious experience. In fact, we believe that addiction treatment is just the beginning of a lifetime of fun without drugs and alcohol. One of our primary clinical objectives at NTS is to teach our clients how to have fun in sobriety. If clients cannot learn how to have fun in recovery then what's the point of getting sober... "We are not a glum lot."
Rule #62: Don't take yourself so *#!damn seriously.
Orange County California is saturated with drug rehabs and to sift through the plethora of choices you may have we are here to help. When you are searching for drug rehabs in Orange County, California on the internet you will automatically be directed to many sites that claim to be unbiased directory search sites, but they're not. You may click on "Find a Drug Rehab" and then type in your state and what comes up is either a list of treatment facilities that sponsors the web site, or a list of treatment facilities that aren't even in your state. That doesn't mean that there are not drug rehabs in your state, it just means you have found a rehab website that is pretending to be an unbiased directory of drug rehabs, but is really just a front for particular drug rehabs. One large rehab company in particular has perfected this marketing strategy and while they do have more drug rehabs under their umbrella than anyone else, they will only direct you to their own treatment facilities. So be careful when searching the web for drug rehabs. Avoid the directory sites and look for the websites of actual drug treatment facilities. You may also call NTS and we can recommend some drug rehabs in your area that might be a good fit for you or your loved one. That is of course only if NTS is not the perfect rehab for you. :) Just kidding. Seriously, we have the inside track on all the best rehabs in the Country and can help you or your loved one find the right one that fits your needs. We are happy to help in any way we can. Sincerely, Brendan Bickley, Clinical Director, NTS
There are many drug rehabs and sober living houses in Orange County, California, but sober living is NOT the same as extended care treatment. When I was fresh out of my primary 30 day drug rehab, I thought that all I needed was a sober living environment, or a Sober Living. If you want some indication of what a Sober Living House is like, watch Dr. Drew's new show Sober House. Had I entered a sober living house instead of extended care treatment, I don't know if I would have made it. Sober Living houses are notorious for relapses and unmotivated clients. One of the primary reasons for this is that most of the people in a Sober House, or Sober Living, have gone against clinical advise and opted for the easier softer way, so to speak. Sober Living Houses often do not have the operational or clinical staff to effectively monitor clients no matter what they may tell you. It's just not financially feasible that they could have the number of staff to effectively monitor clients. That's why sober living houses are so cheap, because they don't have the staff overhead of an extended care facility. Over the years of working in treatment, convincing a client and their family that a client needs more treatment in an extended care facility and is not ready to move into a sober living house is one of the hardest things to do. Both clients and family want to believe that the addiction is cured and they don't need to pay the extra money for extended care treatment. The sober living house is always more attractive to someone who is looking for the cheaper route, but the cheaper route is almost never the best route when it comes to clinical care. When a treatment program is cheaper, it generally means that they have fewer staff with less impressive credentials. This is not always true, there are some really great, cost effective treatment programs, but it takes lots of insight, research and knowledge to be able to see through the bright blanket of marketing a treatment center so cleverly weaves. So when you're looking for a sober living house for a loved one make sure you do your research. The best sober living houses will be ones that are attached to primary and extended care treatment centers and not stand alone sober living houses.
It has long been rumored (and verified by some, although psychologists have proven in studies that there is no direct correlation between a full moon and specific behaviors) that the police increase the number of police officers during full moons because historically it means more debauchery. Well, drug and alcohol treatment facilities do the same thing. The staff members at drug and alcohol rehab facilities all throughout Orange County, California are highly aware of when there is a full moon, especially if it happens to be on a weekend! For example, there is a full moon scheduled for tomorrow, January 10, 2009 and we have already taken precautions and are prepared for some erratic behavior. Myth has it that the full moon brings out the worst in people: more relapses, more suicide ideation, more traffic accidents, and more aggression. The influence of the moon and behavior has been called "The Lunar Effect" or "The Transylvania Effect." The belief that the full moon causes mental disorders and strange behavior was widespread throughout Europe in the middle ages. Even the word "lunacy" meaning "insanity" comes from the Latin word for "moon." Whether or not the effect of a full moon really creates as much havoc as some people presume is debatable, but I for one am always aware of when there is a full moon.
For the best reviews of Drug Rehabs in California and in the United States there's not a Zagat guide, or a Rate My Treatment Center website that a person can go to. In fact, many directory websites that list drug rehabs in the United States are owned by private companies like CRC Health Group that simply list all of the treatment facilities they own and do not provide a consumer with the full list of drug rehabs that are available. The consumer must be aware of these directory sites that direct people to their own drug rehabs and not all drug rehabs. One of the only truly objective websites for a list of drug rehabs in the United States is the National Institute of Drug Abuse's website directory, but even the NIDA site is often out of date. The best way to find the appropriate treatment facility for you or your loved one is to ask others who have been to treatment before or who have had loved ones in treatment before. When looking for a drug rehab make sure you call many places and if possible visit the treatment facility before sending your loved one to it.
Since the holidays are here it's time to consider what happens in drug and alcohol treatment during the holidays and more importantly what happens to alcoholics and addicts during this prime relapse time period during the year. I got sober after the holidays so when this time rolled around I had some significant sober time under my belt. I have empathy for those who have to enter drug and alcohol treatment before or during the holidays because there is more family pressure and guilt than would normally be the case at any other time during the year. We at NTS suggest that people in treatment during the holidays stay in treatment during the holidays, but there are those exceptions.
For people in our Phase I we do not allow people to go home for Thanksgiving and highly suggest that people do not go home during Christmas. By default, anyone who enters treatment has a dysfunctional family system. For a person new in treatment to return to that dysfunctional system is a dangerous thing. I did not return home till I had over 9 months of sobriety and even then I did so cautiously and with healthy trepidation.
For those clients who do go home for a brief period of time during the holidays, we suggest that they attend a twelve step meeting every day they are home and check-in with their NTS counselor every day they are away. We do our best to help clients understand that it's only one holiday out of the rest of their lives and it's o.k. to stay away from family during the holidays for one season. It's not the end of the world. We also encourage the family to leave their loved ones in drug and alcohol treatment during the holidays if it is clinically recommended.
The holidays can be difficult for even "normal" people, but even more so the alcoholic and addict. It is important that people in drug and alcohol treatment know that it's o.k. to stay in rehab during holiday festivities while they build their sober foundation. Believe me, the next holiday season will be that much better if they do.
With home prices dropping in Orange County, will treatment facilities suffer? Probably not. In fact drug rehabs in Orange County, California will probably thrive. Most drug and alcohol treatment programs in Orange County, whether they be sober living houses or full residential drug treatment facilities, only lease properties in Orange County and do not purchase the houses their clients live in. So, if the property value decreases, the residential treatment facilities are not effected. Furthermore, residential drug and alcohol treatment programs in Orange County pay property owners more than the they would get from merely renting out their properties. So, in tough economic times such as these, it would benefit rental/lease property owners to lease or rent to residential drug and alcohol treatment centers in Orange County. Even Orange County sober living houses, such as Pacific Shores or Jana's House, which are not full treatment, will be able to survive these tough economic times. Sober Living residential homes in Orange County California are tough to find because there are difficult to manage and often do not charge enough money to cover operational and staff expenses, but there are a few that have survived over the years and will become more profitable as property prices decrease. Sober living houses in Orange County may also become more abundant, because as property and rental prices decrease, sober living houses will be able to increase their profit margin, as little as it may be, allowing them to higher the staff needed to operate a sober living home. FYI-Sober Living homes are loosely monitored houses for people who have been through treatment and need to continue living in a sober environment. Sober Living homes do not offer treatment, only a sober environment, occasional drug and alcohol testing, and rules the people have to abide by to continue their stay. The cost of living in a Sober Living home is significantly cheaper than living at a treatment facility so it is attractive to people who cannot afford treatment, but remember that you get what you pay for. Most Sober Living homes are poorly staffed and monitored because they do not charge clients enough to adequately staff them. Furthermore, Sober Living homes attract people who have failed in full treatment centers, are not ready to live on their own after a treatment facility stay (i.e., shaky in their sobriety), and are attracted to the freedom of a Sober Living home. What usually happens is Sober Living homes have frequent relapses and incidents of mass relapses. Having said this, there are some very good sober living homes in Orange County. Two of the best sober living homes in Orange County are Pacific Shores and Jana's House. If you need information regarding either of these two sober living homes please feel free to contact us at 1-866-247-6520.
Orange County drug rehab in California has become big business. One of the reasons Orange County is home to so many addiction treatment facilities is because of the location and the strong recovery community. "Location, location, location" applies to drug rehabs in the same way it applies to real estate and business. It is easier to convince a loved one to go to a drug rehab on the Orange County coast than it is to convince them to go to the middle of desert-hot Arizona or the barren wilderness of Utah. I went to treatment in Orange County and I stayed here and so did most of the people who work in drug rehabs in Orange County. There are many drug rehabs in Orange County to choose from and not all are the same. If you need help in deciding which drug rehab to go to, then feel free to give us a call and we can help you find the right place even if it's not NTS. Our main goal at NTS drug rehab is to help people get sober no matter what facility they choose.
