Caroline McGraw

While 12 Step addiction treatment programs are still the most common approach today, there are an increasing number of alternative options available. According to American Addiction Centers, approximately 26% of residential rehab programs in the US today are non 12 step or 12 step alternatives of some kind.

Trending news in the recovery community: a longstanding governmental rule about the number of patients for whom doctors can prescribe opioid addiction medication - such as buprenorphine - may be revised soon.  

If you've come to the realization that Residential Rehab is the best way to heal from an addiction, you've come along way. Residential Treatment helps remove a person who is struggling from an environment that is usually distracting and triggering, and sometimes toxic. Now, it's time to ask yourself some important questions to help you select the right program for you.

If you’ve been looking into residential rehab programs for any length of time, you already know that 12 Step rehabs are the most prevalent. But there are alternatives, and these are showing promising results and becoming the preferred option for an increasing number of people. Here's an unbiased comparison of 12 Steps vs non 12 Step rehab and treatment centers.

What do you think of when you hear the words “California” and “Dual Diagnosis Treatment Centers” in the same sentence? Most likely, an image of strung-out glamor springs to mind. Maybe you’ve read magazine articles about movie stars who choose treatment centers based on the number of luxury accommodations.

What comes to mind when you hear the word trauma? Chances are, your mind supplies violent, frightening images: a car wreck, perhaps, or bombs dropping in wartime. But did you know that trauma isn’t defined by a catastrophic event, but by an individual’s reaction to that event?

Have you ever suspected that your addictions are actually attempts to “numb out” from an underlying emotional pain? If so, then you already understand a great deal about the root causes of addiction and have a sense of what dual diagnosis is. Whether or not you are even consciously aware of the emotional root causes, the slightest reminder or trigger can lead you back into that pattern of self-medicating. So you continue even though your drug of choice is causing collateral damage.

Here's a sobering fact: Suicide is final.

If i get fired from my job, I’ll get another. If my wife divorces me, I can remarry. If i total my car, I’ll buy another. But suicide is game over. Permanently.

So sit on that thought for awhile.

As the rates of suicide increase, psychologists are faced with discovering more effective ways in which to deal with it.

Have you or your loved one continued to struggle with addiction even after trying 12-Step or other recovery programs? 

If so, consider the possibility that there may be related underlying issue fueling the addictive behavior which has not been addressed. 

Did you know that according to 2013 CDC findings, nearly 50% of the general population will deal with a mental health issue over the course of their lifetime?

It’s true. And when people don’t receive the right support and treatment for those issues, many begin abusing substances to mask the pain they feel. As the 2013 CDC report notes, mental illness is associated with drug and alcohol abuse.