A: Rather than chasing the first high, twenty years later, becoming clean and sober provides something else to do. Change is next to impossible during the time that your time is occupied with “getting-by” and making it through until the next drink or hit or toke. When your priorities start with getting that feeling back or getting rid of the feelings that you have, little room is left for other activities.

Becoming bored, miserable, discouraged or afraid with the lifestyle of the alcohol and addict, many people decide that it’s time to clean up and sober up.

Q: How long does it take to clean up and sober up?

A: The change from alcoholic/ addict to clean and sober comes “one day at a time”. Don’t rush it. Enjoy the process like the experience of early spring to summer- each day presents new growth and new changes of weather. The rain nourishes the flowers and color enters a once gray world.

Q: What is the difference between abstinence and recovery?

A: Abstinence is NOT doing something. Recovery is doing MANY things.

Practice this exercise: Don’t think of white winged horses. What did you think about? Now, instead of thinking of white winged horsed, think about what is really in front of you right now. This is the difference between abstinence and recovery.

Q: Recovery is often described as a superior status for people with drug and alcohol problems. How is it different and what does it mean?

A: People with drug and alcohol problems often get stuck in a rut that they only make deeper. That rut is full of frustration, loneliness but is creating with ease: behaviors that are known and seem safe and require no thought are recited over and over. Addiction and alcoholism is easy and requires no thought.

Recovery requires waking up to reality, as unpleasant as it may be. Recovery requires new ideas, new behaviors and the honesty, humility and willingness to learn them. Recovery is not easy.

Q: What is so special about recovery anyway?

A: Remember the coldest winter you’ve encountered. The cold gray weather keeps you indoors and you can’t do anything except keep warm. One day you notice a warm spell. The next day the snow starts to melt. Eventually green sprigs of grass appear followed by buds on the trees. Eventually the world is a colorful garden full of flowers, birds and warmth!

Recovery connects and reconnects you with people who care for you and you care for them. Recovery allows you to awaken fresh with hope for a new day, each day. Recovery gives you new adventures which you enjoy.

Recovery restores your love of life and appreciation for things outside of yourself.

Recovery allows you to want what you have.

Q: How do people gain recovery?

A: Recovery can start today. There are many routes to recovery which include talking with your therapist or doctor, calling a mutual support organization such as AA, NA central office or SMART Recovery, or calling a trusted rehab program. Avoid internet searches and instead rely upon people who have gotten recovery or professionals who have directed people successfully to recovery.

Twin Town Treatment Centers is immediately accessible to all Los Angeles and Orange County residents, is accredited by The Joint Commission, and is certified by the California DHCS. All network HMO/PPO/EPO insurance plans and Medi-Cal contract with Twin Town Treatment Centers to provide drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Our phone is answered by real people. We can see people on the same day you call. (866) 594-8844

A: Much has been said about the downside of drug and alcohol use when they no longer provide pleasure or relieve discomfort. People go to varying lengths of despair and degradation before it occurs to them that it’s time to clean up. The pain, boredom and shame encountered from an addiction needs to be accompanied by hope that becoming clean and sober will improve life. With this direction toward something better, addicts and alcoholics have nowhere to turn.

Q: Giving up your primary method of accessing pleasure, avoiding discomfort and pain, and coping with life’s difficulties must be terrifying. What helps people overcome that fear?

A: When someone who has been through addiction and alcoholism, who is now in recovery shares their personal story, it provides a real-life example for someone caught in the downward spiral of addiction. Addiction treatment programs often employ people who have been there who now have experience, strength and hope to give to those in need.

Q: Does drug treatment promise sobriety and recovery?

A: No. Recovery requires willingness and some level of commitment. Changing levels of “readiness” and motivation are typical of people with drug and alcohol problems. It is easier to avoid and deny than to make real change, especially when you have practiced the same solution year after year, even when it no longer works.

Quitting is easy. Staying quit requires a program of recovery.

Q: What can drug treatment provide toward gaining recovery?

A: Mutual support groups offer an essential route to recovery, which includes social support, recovery practices, and a sense of purpose and direction. Participants must be willing and motivated to attend since no one is going to call if you don’t show up.

Recovery from addiction and alcoholism is a life-long process that is taken one day at a time.

Q: Why can’t alcoholics and addicts choose to use less and simply moderate their drinking and drug use?

A: When the brain has been changed by the overuse of drugs and alcohol, there comes a point where the capacity for choice is lost. A single drink or drug creates such craving for the next, moderating use is impossible. Neuropsychologists and brain researchers have discovered the physiology explaining how compulsion to use overrides decision-making and personal control.

Q: Other than stopping the negative consequences of addiction and alcoholism, what benefits do recovery bring?

A: A new life begins with the initiation of sobriety. Though difficult, recovery brings back the capacity to choose, the capacity to change and the capacity to take actions which will result in longer term rewards.

Postponing gratification is difficult during addiction.

Recovery brings back a sense of color and variation, where addiction becomes somewhat black and white.

Recovery restores priorities for connecting with people, participating in enjoyable activities, and for gaining self-esteem by practicing estimable acts.

Twin Town Treatment Centers is immediately accessible to all Los Angeles and Orange County residents, is accredited by The Joint Commission, and is certified by the California DHCS. All network HMO/PPO/EPO insurance plans and Medi-Cal contract with Twin Town Treatment Centers to provide drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Our phone is answered by real people. We can see people on the same day you call. (866) 594-8844

Q: Is there a right way and a wrong way to seek help for an alcohol or drug problem?

 

A: It is best to avoid mistakes and problems down the road when deciding upon a course of action to find substance abuse treatment. Treatment should be there to resolve problems causing and caused by alcohol and drug misuse, not to care for the treatment provider’s needs.

 

Q: What should I avoid when seeking help for substance abuse?

 

A: Unfortunately, there exist many unnecessarily expensive and burdensome programs and services which are designed to create a profit for the provider. Some services confuse luxury accommodations, prestigious locations and charismatic personalities with quality, effective treatment. There are also unproven and ineffective services being sold as solutions for drug and alcohol problems. Finally, some solutions cause further problems once the initial substance use of choice has been arrested.

 

Q: Who can I trust to give me advise on finding a program which provides effective, affordable and trustworthy treatment for alcohol and drug abuse?

 

A: Healthcare professionals and counselors you have learned to trust are some of the best resource people who can recommend treatment providers. People you may know who themselves or who have a loved one find their way through drug and alcohol abuse and addiction are some of the best resources. Since they have been there, they can help guide your search and support you through the process during and after treatment.

 

Q: How do I know if the treatment program provides services which are effective:

 

A: Ask the treatment provider if they are “accredited”? Accreditation agencies such as The Joint Commission conduct audits and reviews to determine that treatment services meet the standards of quality care. Ask the provider what evidence indicates that they are providing effective services. Go online to https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/ to find a government licensed or certified program near you.

 

Q: Can I find a good treatment provider doing an internet search.

 

A: Since the internet does not provide and objective review of quality and effectiveness, be careful using the internet. Providers who make large profits from their charges can afford advertisement and publicize their treatment services, even when their services may be very distant, inaccessible, demanding or expensive. If you do use the internet, always ask where the treatment program is located, whether it is accredited and contracted with your insurance company, and how much time away from home it requires.

 

Q: How do people pay for treatment and how do I know if the charges are fair and legitimate?

 

A: Most people use their health insurance coverage to pay for much of their treatment. Your insurance policy can act as you guide to selecting an ethical and economical treatment provider since insurance plans are highly regulated and oversee the financial affairs of treatment.

 

Q: How can I find out is my insurance plan will pay a substance abuse treatment provider and at what rate?

 

A: Many treatment providers who are not contracted with your insurance will state that they “take” your insurance plan. What they may leave out is that they are not contracted and will therefore receive a much lower percentage of the charges, leaving much of the charge to your self-payment. Ask your insurance plan or the provider if the treatment program is “in-network” or “contracted” with your insurance company.

 

Twin Town Treatment Centers is immediately accessible to all Los Angeles and Orange County residents, is accredited by The Joint Commission, and is certified by the California DHCS. All network HMO/PPO/EPO insurance plans and Medi-Cal contract with Twin Town Treatment Centers to provide drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Our phone is answered by real people. We can see people on the same day you call. (866) 594-8844

Most people can’t afford the well published treatment and rehabilitation programs for drug and alcohol problems without the help of health insurance. Soon that problem may face more of us. Following are some solutions to a reemerging problem:

To get help for drug and alcohol problems, is insurance necessary?

No. Some people get sober by attending community based support groups such as Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous. Counties also offer publicly funded programs, though there are often wait lists to access help for people with low or no incomes. Non-profit and charity programs may also be available in your area for those who qualify due to the lack of financial resources. Call or find on the internet contacts for the Los Angeles County Substance Abuse and Control Department or the Orange County Department of Behavioral Health.

Are there affordable treatment options for people who need to pay for alcohol and/or drug treatment/ rehab out of their own pocket?

Yes. Usually treatment programs which contract with insurance companies, particularly HMO’s have reduced rates for people needing to pay for treatment out of pocket. Rehab programs do NOT have to be expensive to be effective. (A view of the ocean or a horseback ride are not essential features of recovery.)

Programs located close to North Hollywood, West Hollywood, Torrance, Los Alamitos, Orange and Mission Viejo provide no-interest payment planning for self-pay rates as low as $4200.00 for five (5) months of treatment. www.twintowntreatmentcenters.com

Do HMO’s and MediCal cover alcohol and drug rehab?

Yes. Currently under “parity” and the “Affordable Care Act” HMO’s and MediCal are required to provide treatment for alcohol and drug problems. Treatment programs which are contracted with HMO’s and MediCal can verify your level of coverage and let you know if and how much you have a co-payment obligation.

Most HMO’s have a behavioral health department which performs authorization and do not require a referral from your primary care physician.

How do I find an effective and accessible drug and/or alcohol treatment program/ rehab which I can afford?

Avoid internet searches without verifying the integrity of the program. Many “free treatment” postings lead to less than honorable practices. The best way to find a provider is to call the County, your insurance company or a trusted professional for a reliable and trustworthy treatment program/ rehab.

Twin Town Treatment Centers is immediately accessible to all Los Angeles and Orange County residents, is accredited by The Joint Commission, and is certified by the California DHCS. All network HMO/PPO/EPO insurance plans and Medi-Cal contract with Twin Town Treatment Centers to provide drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Our phone is answered by real people. We can see people on the same day you call. (866) 594-8844

Therapeutic alliance between the substance abuse treatment/ rehab provider and the person seeking recovery is the basis of effective treatment. Without mutual respect, collaboration and trust, therapeutic outcomes are highly improbable. Research the operative variables of effective substance abuse treatment reveals that it is the therapeutic alliance between the treatment provider and client-patient that is THE essential ingredient. Styles and theories behind therapy, content of counseling and teaching, and models of substance abuse treatment and rehab have little effect beyond the establishing a relationship between the person seeking recovery and the treatment/ rehab provider.

When substance abuse treatment/ rehab providers/ programs are not trustworthy, they are not effective.

“Treatment on an outpatient basis allows a more valid assessment of environmental, cognitive and emotional antecedents of drinking episodes and drinking urges on the part of the patient, and allows the patient to test new coping strategies while still within a supportive counseling relationship. These conditions would be expected to foster greater generalization of learning in treatment to the patient’s natural environment” (Annis, 1986, p. 183).

People receiving outpatient treatment integrate their therapeutic gains immediately into their lives and don’t lose them once an artificial inpatient environment reverts to normative living. Home recovery supports are found, expanded and utilized during outpatient treatment. The transition from active treatment into aftercare is a smooth, unbroken continuum. Recovery is much more likely to be maintained.

Twin Town’s outpatient treatment provides the “take-home” advantage. People seeking recovery at Twin Town practice effective recovery, communication and relationship skills directly at home, at work, at school and at play. They receive therapeutic support and validation from each other, a new “extended family” and counseling staff while they work through early recovery challenges and practices.

Twin Town Outcome Studies

Twin Town called ALL patients (regardless of the form of their discharge) 9 to 12 months after leaving treatment. The outcome for all answered calls resulted in the following results which is clear evidence of effective treatment (N=136 last year, 331 last three years):

• 71% are abstinent since being discharged (nine months)
• 95% recommend Twin Town to others
• 66% continue in mutual support recovery groups (12-Step Recovery, etc.)
• 45% encounter improvement at work/ with their career

 

 

N=136 yr2016, 331 yrs 2014-17

Twin Town Treatment Centers is immediately accessible to all Los Angeles and Orange County residents, is accredited by The Joint Commission, and is certified by the California DHCS. All network HMO/PPO/EPO insurance plans and Medi-Cal contract with Twin Town Treatment Centers to provide drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Our phone is answered by real people. We can see people on the same day you call. (866) 594-8844