When you decide that you want treatment for drug addiction, there are a few questions you should ask the doctor who will be running your program. Most doctors will be able to easily provide answers for these questions or will refer you to someone who can.

1. What Kind of Treatment is Available?

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, there are a wide variety of treatment programs available for those who need it. A doctor that is also an addiction specialist should know about many of these types.

2. How does the Treatment Work?

One of the important things to know is how they expect the treatment to work. Most treatments work through detoxification and then counseling but some have other methods. How a treatment works will depend on the type of treatment.

3. What Kind of Studies Support the Treatment you want to Use?

The treatment should be tested and based in fact. If it is not then it is an unproven method of recovery. Although some unproven methods occasionally work, you should know if there is some basis for it working.

4. Do you have Qualified Staff for this Treatment?

Always check the qualifications of the staff who is helping you with any type of treatment. In recent years there have been treatments administered by unqualified personnel that resulted in accidents. You need to make sure the staff is qualified.

5. How do you Qualify Success?

Qualifying success is also important. Ask what your doctor considers a success and what they consider a failure. Some programs have different requirements than others and it is important to know what these requirements are.

6. Do you Treat Psychological as well as Physiological Conditions that go along with Addiction?

Many addictions have a psychological cause. It is important to treat both the addiction as well as the underlying causes.

7. How do you Drug Test?

Drug testing during treatment is also important. Some tests are proven unreliable while others are not. This is a particularly good question if it is a teenager or younger person in treatment.

8. Do you use a Medical Approach?

This question is essentially to ascertain whether the treatment has a medical component involved. There are medications that help ease withdrawal and other symptoms of addiction as well as those that treat the psychological conditions behind addiction.

9. Do you Offer Aftercare?

Aftercare is extremely important. You will need supportive treatment even after the physical addiction is dealt with. A doctor should offer some form of aftercare or support after treatment. Usually aftercare involves counseling and other therapies.

10. Do you Accept my Insurance?

How to pay for treatment is always a concern. Knowing if your insurance will pay for the treatment or if you are relying on grants or other assistance is extremely important. If you have insurance that covers addiction treatment you will want to make sure it covers this particular treatment.

For more questions to ask or to find a treatment center or doctor that is right for you, call us at 800-934-1582(Who Answers?) .