Finding Appropriate Addiction Treatment: Roman Petrocelli Writes For U.s. News & World Report

When an addict finally admits he or she needs formal help, it’s a huge step. Sometimes, interventions are needed, and in other cases, a brush with death or a serious life event is what it takes to get the addicted person to realize that he or she can no longer sustain the same lifestyle and behaviors.

Serenity at Summit’s very own Roman Petrocelli, MA, LPC, recently wrote a guest article for U.S. News & World Report about what steps to take and what questions to ask in looking for the most appropriate addiction treatment. The piece is titled, You Finally Decided to Get Help for Addiction. Now What?

Petrocelli, Clinical Director for our outpatient facility in Florham Park, New Jersey, offered advice in the following areas in his byline article for U.S. News & World Report, which has an average of roughly 20 million unique visitors per month:

  • Proper course of treatment: Talk to an addiction counselor first, and see which course of treatment is recommended. Is medical detox necessary? Is treatment on an outpatient basis sufficient, or do you need to be more closely supervised for several weeks in a row? If the latter applies, then a residential program would be the most appropriate option.
  • Need for holistic therapy: It’s highly recommended to look for a treatment program that incorporates holistic treatment modalities into its recovery program. These could be activities such as recovery yoga, nutritional counseling, art and music therapy, etc. Holistic therapy helps recovering addicts center their minds and improve physically. It’s also something that they can likely take with them after they graduate a formal treatment program.
  • Need for evidence-based practices: While holistic treatment is essential, your treatment center of choice also needs to practice tried-and-true healing methods. Before committing to a particular treatment center, ask if the counselors there are well versed in evidence-based methods, such as trauma-informed care or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
  • Treatment for co-occurring disorders: The best treatment centers are going to do more than simply detoxify a substance from your system and then only treat the symptoms that the substance caused. An effective treatment center will offer a psychiatric assessment to identify any mental health issues that played a role in a client’s substance abuse. Certain medication may need to be prescribed or continued in order to regulate any mental conditions that fuel cravings of certain harmful substances. Your treatment program should involve more than a primary counselor. A psychiatrist and medical team need to be included in the recovery treatment process.
  • An accredited program:  Your treatment center of choice should be fully licensed in the state in which it resides, and you should ask if it is accredited by any national health care organizations, such as The Joint Commission. If you’re not sure if a certain treatment center is licensed and accredited, just call and ask!
  • Family therapy services: Helping an addict get clean and stay clean takes a group effort. Yes, this means the family needs to play a role in their loved one’s recovery, too. The best treatment centers are going to offer family therapy services — such as family education classes, counseling for the family itself, and interaction with other families of addicts. Helping the client’s family heal together and support each other better is crucial in the long-term recovery process.
  • Stance on self-help programs: Does your desired treatment center encourage attending self-help programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous, or does it like to keep its treatment all in house? First-rate treatment centers should see the long-term value in the AA and NA programs, and they should help their clients with the logistics of continually attending these meetings.
  • Paying for treatment: It’s important to ask your potential treatment destinations what forms of financial assistance they have available. Do they work with insurance companies, and is financial aid an option? Finances shouldn’t have to be a barrier, but if a certain treatment center doesn’t have many options for making its fees more bearable, then you might have to move on to the next provider.

Read Petrocelli’s Full U.S. News Article Here

Drug and Alcohol Addiction Treatment at Serenity at Summit

Serenity at Summit currently boasts 6 addiction treatment facilities among New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, including four outpatient locations and two facilities with detox capabilities.

We combine evidence-based and holistic  (yoga, meditation, creative arts, etc.) modalities to provide the best possible addiction treatment. Clients are assigned a primary counselor for the duration of their treatment program, but a psychiatrist and medical team are highly involved in the process as well. A full psychiatric assessment helps us identify and then treat any co-occurring disorders.

Family education and therapy services are available for the family members of both our inpatient and outpatient clients. We also encourage inpatient and outpatient clients to attend AA or NA meetings, and we help them find the means to get there.

All of our 6 locations are licensed with the state in which they operate, and as a network, we are nationally accredited by The Joint Commission and a member of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers. Many of our directors and treatment providers are called upon frequently by national and local media to provide expert insight on drug and alcohol rehabilitation issues.

Last, but not least, we also work with most major insurers and even offer financing to help potential clients get the care they need without suffering too big of a blow to their bank account. To learn more about our Admissions Process and to connect with one of our helpful admissions counselors, click here.

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