8 Questions to Ask a Drug Rehab Center Before You Establish Your Treatment Path

Entering drug rehab is a brave and difficult decision to make. Choosing which drug rehab center to go to can be just as challenging. Perhaps you feel overwhelmed by a variety of options, or perhaps your options seem limited and you worry that none of them will be a good fit. Or maybe you just don’t know how to tell whether any of your possible choices offer the best hope for recovery.

First, take a deep breath and remember: this decision is not irreversible. If the treatment center you choose turns out not to be a good fit, or if the treatment path you take proves less effective than you hoped, there is always time to change directions and take a different path. However, this is also not a decision to take lightly. The sooner you or your loved one can begin an effective treatment program, the sooner recovery can become a reality.

So begin by making a list of all of the treatment centers you are considering. Then, start contacting them one by one to find out more about their facilities, staff, and recovery programs. Especially if you are feeling lost or nervous—but even if you are not—preparing a list of questions to ask each drug rehab center ahead of time can help you focus during these calls and get the information you need to make a good decision. Below, we’ve outlined some of the most important questions you’ll want to ask, to help make this process easier for you.

8 Questions to Ask Every Drug Rehab Center

We recommend that you ask each drug rehab center these eight questions to determine their suitability:

1. How many one-on-one sessions with a therapist do you offer each week?

Individual counseling is a critical component of the recovery process. As such, these sessions should take place regularly—ideally, more than once per week.

2. How often do you host family therapy sessions?

Support systems also play a vital role in recovery. As such, family therapy sessions should likewise be available regularly—ideally, at least once a week.

3. How many clients do you currently have in your center?

A treatment center with no clients may be a bad sign; likewise, a center with a huge number of clients may be overcrowded or may lack the staffing necessary to provide each client with a truly personalized treatment experience.

4. What are your living accommodations like?

Be sure to find out specifics regarding private quarters, including the number of roommates per room and what amenities are private versus communal.

5. How flexible is your programming?

Some rehab centers require stays of a certain duration or only offer a very specific set of treatment options. However, each person’s recovery journey is unique, and there is no one “right” path to recovery or duration of treatment that works for everyone. As such, it’s best to look for a treatment center that offers a variety of options and can adapt their programming to fit your or your loved one’s individual necessities.

6. Do you offer any recovery support outside of treatment (i.e. jobs, housing, education)?

Recovery doesn’t begin or end just with therapy; finding stability and fulfillment in everyday life is key to sustainable sobriety. As such, the best rehab centers will be those that offer aftercare programming that helps clients craft a lifestyle that will continue to foster recovery even after the initial treatment period ends.

7. Do you offer an alumni program?

Alumni programs are a particularly helpful element of aftercare programming. The ability to return to a safe, drug-free space and reconnect with the people who helped initiate the healing process can provide an invaluable source of comfort and camaraderie to people recovering from addiction.

8. Do you offer insurance benefits for treatment?

Whether a drug rehab center works with your current insurance carrier may or may not be a dealbreaker. It may depend on the amount of money you would be able and willing to pay out of pocket for treatment, if necessary. If your budget is limited, the answer to this question of insurance options may be vital to your decisions about treatment. Insurance benefits may also function as a tiebreaker if, at the end of your search, you find yourself torn between two or more otherwise equivalent options.

While all of the above questions are important to ask, please note that this is not an exhaustive list. If you or your loved one have any special considerations that need to be taken into account, such as wheelchair accessibility or particular dietary needs, be sure to add questions about those subjects to your list as well.

Choosing the Best Drug Rehab Center

Every person has a different path to success in addiction treatment. Asking these questions of each drug rehab center you’re considering will help you narrow down your options. Ultimately, however, the best drug rehab center for you or your loved one isn’t simply the one that gets all of the answers right now. Rather, it will be the one that can adapt treatment to an individual’s needs and recovery goals, especially as they evolve over time.

Recovery isn’t a matter of progressing steadily from point A to point B. There will be unexpected bumps in the road and detours along the way; that’s just part of the healing process. But with the right help, you’ll be able to navigate those twists and turns without losing your way—and finding that help begins with asking the right questions.