Working With A Family Doctor

If your child is getting help for his or her drug addiction--perhaps at a facility, like Gateway Rehabilitation Hospital--he or she has already taken the very first step to overcome a very serious problem. Your child has admitted that drug use is not for recreational purposes and, instead, drugs have become the focus of your child's life. Perhaps your child has come to you for help and you have already tried private counseling and an outpatient program. If neither of those were effective enough to help the addition, the next step that can be taken is an inpatient rehabilitation program. Of course, it is important for your child to be willing to enter this type of intensive care. If you are all focused on getting the help your child needs, this information might be helpful.

From Outpatient to Inpatient - If your son or daughter has already been an outpatient at a rehabilitation facility and you have been pleased with the staff and the outpatient program, it may be very good to continue the inpatient at the same facility. Not only will all medical records already be in place, but your child will already feel comfortable with the setting, the therapists, the psychiatrists and the actual facility. An assessment has already been made, too, so that part can usually be skipped. However, if you are looking for a totally new rehabilitation facility, your family doctor or a counselor will be happy to give you recommendations.

What To Expect - Inpatient rehabilitation programs are usually quite intense. What that means is that you probably won't be able to visit any time you want to. Instead, there will be structured visiting hours. In fact, at the beginning, you may not be allowed to visit at all. It's important to have approved names on the visitation list so that the staff will know who is allowed to interact with your child. Your child will probably go to several classes and workshops during the day. There will be group sessions and there will be sessions where your child will meet with a counselor or a psychiatrist alone.

Counseling will include finding the reason for self-medicating. In addition, patients are encouraged to have a life plan which they can tackle upon release from the program. Random drug tests will be taken, too. Depending on the severity of your child's addiction, he or she may be there from one week to several weeks. One thing that is for sure is that your child will not be released until the doctor and the counselor feel sure that he or she is prepared to turn down the offer of drugs. It is also probable that your child may continue in the outpatient portion of the program. Also, it may be recommended that he or she attend a Narcotics Anonymous program for an extended period of time, and maybe for a life time.

Additionally, Consider giving your child a journal where progress can be recorded. It will be very special for your child to see how strong and courageous he or she truly is. By assisting your child in getting help and being supportive at every turn, your child may find their way to a positive recovery.