In our world, the need for addiction and mental health recovery programs keeps growing. And that’s especially true in Florida.
Drug use is prevalent throughout the state. Many drug cartels, from all over the world, use Florida as their gateway to the U.S. Not to mention, nightclubs in Miami and other major cities are often full of club drugs.
Florida’s opioid crisis has been particularly devastating. At one time, Florida’s doctors prescribed these highly addictive painkillers at the highest rate in the country. In fact, so-called “pain clinics,” unscrupulous places where opioids have been readily available, popped up all over the state. And opioid overdoses continue here to this day.
The statistics are stark. In 2021, 37.5 out of every 100,000 Florida residents died of a drug overdose. Furthermore, in February 2023, 32.3% of adults living in this state showed symptoms of depression, anxiety, or both. Those rates exceeded the national averages. Especially frightening, Florida’s 2021 overdose death rate was more than twice what it was in 2011.
Given the mental health and substance abuse struggles that so many Florida residents face, the state’s treatment centers are more important now than ever before.
Even so, not all treatment centers are the same. Therefore, if you’re seeking such a facility, it’s vital to find the right one.
From the outset, you should know what your treatment goals are. That is, what would you consider to be a successful outcome for your life? With that vision in mind, you can seek a center that specializes in the assistance you need. You’ll also want a place that’s known for effective, attentive, and individualized care.
To be more precise, let’s examine the criteria that will help you choose an excellent recovery center.
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Types of Recovery Centers in Florida
To begin with, recovery centers come in different varieties. And here are some of the most common options:
Residential Treatment Centers
As the name tells us, people stay around the clock at these facilities, for a period that usually ranges from one month to one year.
Thus, these centers take patients away from their daily stressors and triggers, supplying them instead with a calm and supportive atmosphere. Naturally, it also helps that there are professional caregivers on hand day and night.
Outpatient Treatment Centers
Of course, due to their daily routines and responsibilities, many patients are simply unable to stay at a residential center for any length of time. Another option, then, is an outpatient care facility.
At such a center, you’d receive the same types of treatments that you would at a residential complex, but you’d go home each night. In addition, you might be able to work out a schedule that’s especially convenient for you.
Note, too, that outpatient centers can be ideal for those with less severe addiction issues. It can be a more economical option as well.
Sober Living Homes
Many patients spend some time residing in a sober living home after completing their addiction treatments. Sober homes provide a transitional step between recovery programs and regular daily life.
While sober homes usually don’t offer a full range of treatment services, they often host 12-step programs and other group sessions. Beyond that, living with other people who truly understand addiction — individuals who support one another — can be therapeutic in itself.
Specialized Centers
Also be aware that specialized treatment centers exist — those catering to women, military veterans, teenagers, and other groups. If such an arrangement sounds interesting to you, you could look for that type of facility.
Services and Treatments
In any rehab program, different types of treatments are available. And, if a center provides customized care, it will tailor its services to each patient’s unique circumstances.
Detoxification
In many cases, recovery treatments begin with a detoxification process. That’s when all of the alcohol or drugs within a person’s system are cleaned out.
Detox can be intense and painful. When not done under the supervision of professionals, it can also be dangerous. Indeed, withdrawal symptoms can last for days, weeks, or even months, depending on the strength of someone’s addiction. They include nausea, insomnia, anxiety, and powerful cravings.
Fortunately, prescription medications can ease all of those symptoms and others besides.
Individual and Group Therapy
During your substance use treatment, you might undergo individual counseling, group counseling, or both. When it’s just you and your counselor together, you can really delve into your personal history as well as the causes and consequences of your substance abuse. Equipped with that knowledge, you could better implement healthy and meaningful changes in your life.
Group counseling, for its part, will give you a whole different perspective.
A small group, probably consisting of 10 people or fewer, will talk about their experiences with addiction and how it’s affected their lives. And a trained counselor – perhaps two of them – will lead these sessions.
Group therapy often helps people realize they’re not alone in their struggles, that there are others who want to support them and cheer them on.
Medication-Assisted Treatments
Medication-assisted treatments (MATs) are fairly common in recovery centers, especially when it comes to opioid care. Even so, medication rarely if ever represents the full extent of a patient’s addiction treatment. Rather, it’s one tool among others.
In particular, MATs are used to block chemical cravings within the brain, cravings for particular substances. When those cravings lessen, it’s much easier to focus on daily life and on other types of treatment.
Holistic Therapies
Holistic therapies are virtually never the main form of treatment for addiction patients. But they can improve and round out a person’s recovery experience. And these activities can strengthen people’s all-important mind-body connection.
Beyond that, these pastimes just make people feel good. And, when patients have satisfying hobbies to look forward to each week, they’ll probably be less likely to seek out substances.
Alternative therapies often include art lessons, mindfulness practice, yoga sessions, and other fitness classes.
Dual Diagnosis Treatment
In many cases, people who have a substance addiction have a separate mental health issue as well. It’s a situation known as a dual diagnosis. Fortunately, many care facilities are equipped to treat more than one health condition at the same time.
If you’re in this situation, your recovery professionals will help you understand how your two conditions affect and intensify each other. And your course of treatment will be carefully designed to address both issues.
Considering the Environment
It’s important to find a recovery environment that appeals to you. It should make you feel both peaceful and focused. And its amenities should help you engage with and learn from others.
The Role of Environment
A treatment facility’s environment is no small matter. After all, you don’t want any extra obstacles or distractions along your path to sobriety. Therefore, everything about your treatment center should help you focus on getting better, not take your attention away from the steps you need to take.
To that end, you’ll want to find a place that’s safe, clean, and uncluttered. You ought to find the furnishings tasteful and comfortable. The holistic activities should be well-planned, stimulating, and enjoyable. And it helps if you like the food!
Most important of all, the staff members should be respectful, knowledgeable, and calm. They should also be available to you whenever you need them.
Typical Amenities in Florida Recovery Centers
For sure, amenities can vary widely from facility to facility. But, if you know what you’re looking for, it’s much easier to find a good match.
For example, you might want a sparer and more spartan experience. On the other hand, you may prefer a rich cornucopia of amenities and an array of activities to challenge your brain and your body.
Here are just some examples of the amenities a treatment center could have:
- Swimming pool
- Fitness room
- Private beach
- Sunroom
- Reading room
- Hot tub and sauna
- Gourmet meals
- Career counseling center
The Benefits of Florida’s Climate and Natural Surroundings
Given Florida’s warm and sunny climate, recovery center amenities are often extra special in this state.
Would you enjoy long strolls through pristine tropical wetlands? Do touch football games on the sand sound like fun? Would midday dips in the ocean appeal to you? How would you like a spectacular sunset view every night?
Well, those are just a few of the perks that the Sunshine State bestows. And getting in touch with nature might soothe your soul and give you some extra encouragement as you make your way toward sobriety.
Financing and Insurance
Sadly, one major reason why some people avoid addiction treatment is that they can’t afford it. Or, at least, they believe they can’t afford it.
However, in many cases, financing options are available. Not to mention, the financial toll that an addiction can take on a person — due to a lost job, a serious car accident, or another calamity — could far surpass that of a treatment program.
Understanding the Costs of Treatment
Recovery facilities vary widely in cost, depending on their locations, their amenities, and other factors.
On one end, there are highly affordable nonprofit health clinics; they can be virtually free for some patients. On the other end are ultra-luxurious centers with stunningly beautiful locations. They can cost tens of thousands of dollars per month.
Typically, though, an addiction recovery center will charge between $2,000 and $25,000 monthly. And the types of services you receive will affect how much you’ll pay.
Utilizing Insurance for Treatment
If you have a private health insurance plan — whether it’s subsidized by the government, provided by your employer, or paid for out of your own pocket — it’s likely to cover some portion of your recovery treatment.
That’s because the medical community has finally accepted addiction for what it is: a health disorder that needs treatment just like any other health disorder.
Alternative Financing Options
Maybe you lack medical insurance, however. Or perhaps the cost of rehab treatment would be too high even if your insurance policy covered some of it. What should you do then?
Some people finance their recovery care in risky — even painful — ways: with credit cards, by selling off precious possessions, or by taking out loans.
A better idea would be to try to arrange a payment plan with the recovery center itself. Many such facilities let their patients make small monthly payments over a certain period of time.
Alternatively, your employers might assist you if you tell them about your situation. For instance, they might give you an advance or a paid leave of absence. Or perhaps they’d help you obtain a better health insurance policy.
Recovery Centers: Helping Florida’s Residents, One Day at a Time
Every single day in Florida, addiction recovery centers allow people to gain power over substances. Then, after their treatment, they can restart their careers, rebuild their relationships, and reimagine their futures. Yes, these centers have saved countless people from horrific fates.
If you’re currently struggling with substance use disorder — or if you suspect that a loved one is — there’s no time to wait. Contact a recovery center as soon as you can. These disorders progress with time. Thus, the earlier your rehab begins, the better your outcomes are likely to be.
Finally, if you live in the Boynton Beach area, we at Recreate Life Counseling are here to help. With an empathetic staff of experts, a wide variety of treatment options, and holistic therapies like yoga and Reiki healing, we tend to the mind, the body, and the spirit. And we give all of our patients the tools they need to renew their lives. Please get in touch with us at any time.
