Choices and Changes Inc

A: Family and friends can play critical roles in motivating individuals with drug problems to enter and stay in treatment. Family therapy is important, especially for adolescents. Involvement of a family member in an individual's treatment program can strengthen and extend the benefits of the program.

A: There are many addictive drugs, and treatments for specific drugs that can differ. Treatment varies depending on the characteristic needs of the patient. Problems associated with an individual's drug addiction can vary significantly. People who are addicted to drugs come from all walks of life. Many suffer from mental health, occupational, health, or social problems that make their addictive disorders much more difficult to treat. Even if there are few associated problems, the severity of addiction itself ranges widely among people. A variety of scientifically based approaches to drug addiction treatment exist. Drug addiction treatment can include behavioral therapy (such as counseling, cognitive therapy, or psychotherapy), medications, or their combination. Behavioral therapies offer people strategies for coping with their drug cravings, teach them ways to avoid drugs and prevent relapse, and help them deal with relapse if it occurs. Because drug addiction is typically a chronic disorder characterized by occasional relapses, a short-term, one-time treatment often is not sufficient. For many, treatment is a long-term process that involves multiple interventions and attempts at abstinence.

A: Please visit this helpful link with pictures and description of commonly abused drugs and other substances.

A: Nearly all addicted individuals believe in the beginning that they can stop using drugs on their own, and most try to stop without treatment. However, most of these attempts result in failure to achieve long-term abstinence. Research has shown that long-term drug use results in significant changes in brain function that persist long after the individual stops using drugs. These drug-induced changes in brain function may have many behavioral consequences, including the compulsion to use drugs despite adverse consequences the defining characteristic of addiction. Understanding that addiction has such an important biological component may help explain an individual's difficulty in achieving and maintaining abstinence without treatment. Psychological stress from work or family problems, social cues (such as meeting individuals from one's drug-using past), or the environment (such as encountering streets, objects, or even smells associated with drug use) can interact with biological factors to hinder attainment of sustained abstinence and make relapse more likely. Research studies indicate that even the most severely addicted individuals can participate actively in treatment and that active participation is essential to good outcomes.

A: In addition to stopping drug use, the goal of treatment is to return the individual to productive functioning in the family, workplace, and community. Measures of effectiveness typically include levels of bad behavior, family functioning, employability, and medical condition. Overall, treatment of addiction is as successful as treatment of other chronic diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, and asthma. According to several studies, drug treatment reduces drug use by 40 to 60%. Treatment can improve the prospects for employment, with gains of up to 40 percent after treatment. Although these effectiveness rates hold in general, individual treatment outcomes depend on the extent and nature of the patient's presenting problems, the appropriateness of the treatment components and related services used to address those problems, and the degree of active engagement of the patient in the treatment process.

A: Individuals progress through drug addiction treatment at various speeds, so there is no predetermined length of treatment. However, research has shown unequivocally that good outcomes are contingent on adequate lengths of treatment. Generally, for residential or outpatient treatment, participation for less than 90 days is of limited or no effectiveness, and treatments lasting significantly longer often are indicated. Many people who enter treatment drop out before receiving all the benefits that treatment can provide. Successful outcomes may require more than one treatment experience. Many addicted individuals have multiple episodes of treatment, often with a cumulative impact.

A: Since successful outcomes often depend upon retaining the person long enough to gain the full benefits of treatment, strategies for keeping an individual in the program are critical. Whether a patient stays in treatment depends on factors associated with both the individual and the program. Individual factors related to engagement and retention include motivation to change drug-using behavior, degree of support from family and friends, and whether there is pressure to stay in treatment from the criminal justice system, child protection services, employers, or the family. Within the program, successful counselors are able to establish a positive, therapeutic relationship with the patient. The counselor should ensure that a treatment plan is established and followed so that the individual knows what to expect during treatment.

Primary Focus of the Provider

• Substance Abuse Treatment Services

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Type of Care

• Substance abuse treatment
• Accepts clients on opioid medication

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Facility Type

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Treatment Approaches

• Cognitive/behavioral therapy
• Dialectical behavioral therapy
• Substance abuse counseling approach
• Rational emotive behavioral therapy

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Facility Smoking Policy

• Smoking permitted in designated area

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Service Setting (e.g., Outpatient, Residential, etc.)

• Outpatient
• Intensive outpatient treatment
• Regular outpatient treatment

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Facility Operation (e.g. Private, Public)

• Private organization
• State substance abuse agency
• State department of health

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Payment/Insurance Accepted

• Cash or self-payment
• Private health insurance

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Emergency Mental Health Services

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Payment Assistance Available

• Sliding fee scale (fee is based on income and other factors)

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Language Services

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Special Programs/Groups Offered

• Persons with co-occurring mental and substance abuse disorders
• Lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) clients
• Veterans
• Military families
• Clients referred from the court/judicial system
• Seniors or older adults
• Pregnant/postpartum women
• Adult women
• Adult men
• Persons with HIV or AIDS
• Persons who have experienced trauma
• Persons who have experienced sexual abuse
• Persons who have experienced intimate partner violence, domestic violence
• Transitional age young adults

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Ancillary Services

• Individual counseling offered
• Group counseling offered
• Family counseling offered
• 12-step faciltitation approach
• Brief intervention approach
• Contingency management/motivational incentive
• Motivational interviewing
• Anger management
• Martix Model
• Relapse prevention

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Age Groups Accepted

• Children/adolescents
• Young adults
• Adults

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Gender Accepted

• Female
• Male

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Exclusive Services

• DUI/DWI clients

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