How to choose
Most marketing in this industry is indistinguishable. Every website promises individualized care in a beautiful setting. The things that actually differ are harder to see, and mostly answered by asking.
What separates a good facility from a bad one
One survey of 379 people who had been through residential treatment found that the amenities did not predict whether they would recommend the place. Whether the facility delivered the amount of counseling it promised was among the strongest predictors. Pools and private rooms are not the signal. Kept promises are.
Source: Sanghani RM, Moler AK (2015). Improving consumer satisfaction with addiction treatment: an analysis of alumni preferences. Journal of Addiction, 2015, article 509864. doi:10.1155/2015/509864. A self-selected online survey, funded by a company that owns treatment centers, so read it as a hint and not a proof.
Twelve questions worth asking
- Who will actually be providing the treatment day to day, and what are their credentials?
- How many hours of individual therapy per week — not group, individual?
- What is the staff-to-patient ratio overnight?
- Is there a doctor on site, or on call?
- Are you licensed by the state, and accredited by CARF or the Joint Commission?
- What happens medically in the first 72 hours?
- What is the plan for afterwards, and who arranges it?
- Do you treat mental health conditions alongside addiction, and who does that?
- What proportion of people complete the program?
- Can I speak to the clinical director?
- What are the rules on contact with family?
- What would make you say this is not the right place?
That last question is the most revealing one on the list. A facility that has never turned anyone away is selling beds.
We'll email you this list of twelve, as something you can read down the phone while you call. Still Standing, which runs Bridge to Rehab, keeps a record of the request.
What we show you, and what we can't
On every facility page we publish what the federal and state record holds — services, levels of care, who they accept, accreditation where we have it — each line sourced and dated. Inspection findings, ownership and license history are being added. Availability, price and outcomes are not published by anyone, and we say so rather than pretend otherwise.
The right program, at the lowest cost you qualify for, set up for you. Free.
Your request goes to Still Standing, the nonprofit that runs Bridge to Rehab. Never shared with a facility unless you ask us to.