How to Offer Help for an Alcoholic Parent
Do I Need Rehab?
Drug and alcohol addiction can make many important life decisions feel confusing and
overwhelming. The first step on the road on how to offer help for an alcoholic parent is accepting that you need help with your alcohol addiction. There are many ways to offer help for an alcoholic parent. The warning signs are usually there, but many individuals choose to ignore them because they are hesitant to ask for help. The relief (if any) that you achieve when avoiding rehab is only temporary; recovery, on the other hand, can provide permanent relief. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering when to go to rehab for alcohol or drugs, it’s most likely time. Here are some other signs that you may need rehab:
- Your drug or alcohol intake has negatively affected your life or important relationships.
- You want to quit, but you can’t.
- You spend a lot of your time trying to acquire your substance of choice.
- You feel like you don’t have control over the situation.
- You have a loss of interest in other activities in your life.
- You’ve built up a tolerance.
- You suffer from withdrawal symptoms.
- You’ve grown accustomed to hiding your substance use from your loved ones.
If you relate to any of the problems listed above, it may be time to consider rehab. Deciding to turn your life around is an important and meaningful step. Addiction is a progressive disease, and it is highly likely that it will get worse if left untreated. You’ll have many questions and concerns along the way, but your care providers will be there to guide you through the alcohol recovery process.
You may be wondering how to get admitted into rehab and asking yourself: “How much does rehab cost?” However, it’s important to take this process one step at a time. We’ll discuss these concerns; how to get into rehab; the rehab admissions process; and, many more details in the following sections.
How to Find a Rehab for Alcoholic Parents
Now that you’ve decided to seek help, it’s time to find a rehab that meets your personal preferences, geographical requirements, and provides the specific services that are right for you. This can seem like a daunting task when there are so many options to choose from, but it’s easier than you think with the right resources and support system. Before you start searching, decide if you’d feel more comfortable in an inpatient rehab or with outpatient treatment. For most individuals, inpatient rehab will prove to be more effective.
The best way to begin is by calling and speaking to our friendly admissions coordinators, who will answer all of your questions and concerns. Resurgence California offers comprehensive care in a relaxed, safe, and residential environment. Your conversation with our admissions coordinators will be completely confidential and informative, and they’ll help guide you in the right direction. Once we have a bit of information from you, we’ll be able to offer details about how you can benefit from treatment in our facility, what services and addiction treatment options we offer, individualized costs, support groups, and more. However, we understand that another option may better suit your needs, and we will always put the safety and recovery of individuals seeking treatment above all else.
When you start your search for the right Orange County rehab facility, you should be prepared to answer some personal questions. The treatment experts you speak with will need to perform a pre-intake screening or a prescreening assessment so they can suggest the types of services and amenities that would be the most beneficial to you and your recovery. They’ll typically start by asking you to provide your basic personal information like your name, date of birth, home address, and employment information.
Next, you’ll have to answer questions that may be a little more difficult. They will ask about your history of substance abuse, the length of time and substances preferred, and how your relationship with these substances began. They will also need to know about your mental health, medical health (including a history of any illnesses or disorders), and details of any personal or financial difficulties you’ve been facing. It’s important to answer honestly so that they can effectively help you. They will not judge or blame you, and your information is confidential.
Scheduling an Intervention
If you are seeking substance abuse treatment for someone other than yourself, you may want to consider scheduling an intervention. Local rehab centers and hotlines can refer you to an intervention specialist to help you through the process. These individuals will help you understand what your loved one is going through, teach you how to break down their barriers to treatment, and talk to them in a way that is calm, helpful, understanding, and effective.
Watching a loved one suffer from an addiction can be an incredibly emotional process. In order to remain objective, it’s often best to allow an experienced professional to lead the way, communicate factually without seeming accusatory, provide their experience-based opinion, and offer suggestions for treatment options.
Before your intervention is scheduled, the experts you speak with will help determine the best clinical fit and treatment options. They will also likely recommend discussing behaviors from individuals other than the patient that may be contributing to the problem, like enabling and codependency. It’s important to address all of the sources of turmoil, remove any behaviors that may sabotage the patient’s long-term sobriety, and help everyone involved emerge with a healthier and more productive mindset. This will also help your loved one understand the severity of the situation and realize that rehab may be the best solution.
The Costs of Rehab
You may soon find yourself asking: “Does my insurance cover rehab?” Thankfully, many health insurance plans will cover at least some of the costs of inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation. You always have the option to consult your plan or provider to find out how much will be covered, then confirm that your rehab of choice accepts your insurance. However, we want to make this process as stress-free as possible for you. This is why we offer a fast, free insurance verification when you call our facility. We understand that insurance companies can be difficult to deal with, so each of our admissions coordinators can call your insurance company for you. This is typically much faster and easier than when individuals have to do it themselves.
If you don’t have insurance, your insurance doesn’t cover the costs, or the facility you prefer doesn’t accept your particular insurance provider, you may be able to pay on a sliding scale based on income or establish a payment plan. Once the costs and payment options are established, there are some other questions you should ask your rehab center:
- Do they specialize in your particular area of need?
- Do they provide supervised detox options?
- Do they have comfortable accommodations and activities?
- Do they offer continuing care when your treatment is done, such as outpatient treatment, support groups, and so forth?
When given the choice, many individuals may choose a local rehab so that they don’t feel completely removed from their life and loved ones. In this case, traveling will be minimal, and you’ll only have to arrange a ride to and from the rehab facility, alert your employer, and ask a trusted loved one to provide childcare.
However, depending on your location, there may not be any local facilities. Your insurance may also require you to travel to another city or state to get coverage; or, you may have found the rehab that perfectly fits your needs, but it’s far from home. Don’t get discouraged, there are some benefits to traveling for rehab. You may get access to a higher quality treatment option, anonymity, a fresh start, distance between the patient and what triggers them, and the mindset that you’re on a true journey to recovery.
If you want or need to travel for rehab, you’ll have to work this into your budget. The costs may include airfare both ways, gas, food, and hotel rooms if you’re driving, among others. Don’t let these costs discourage you; getting sober is, perhaps, the best decision that you could make for your life, and the journey will be well worth the costs.
What to Bring to Rehab for the Treatment of Alcoholism
As you pack to move toward your new, healthy life, you may not know what to bring to rehab with you. You can check with your treatment center before going to get help for an alcoholic parent before your arrival to see what items are not allowed. Many of them will provide you with a checklist to pack off of. Generally speaking, here are the items that you should bring with you:
- A list of contact information for any individuals you want to keep involved in your treatment and recovery process
- An alarm clock without a radio
- Prescription medications with documentation and original bottles
- Necessities like your wedding ring or favorite watch, one week’s worth of comfortable clothing, a minimal amount of cash, your insurance card and ID, and your preferred payment method
- Personal hygiene products like your toothbrush and toothpaste, hair products, deodorant, lotion, makeup, and shaving cream
- A notebook to take notes or track your progress, thoughts, and ideas in
- Envelopes and stamps if you plan to send letters to loved ones
- Pictures and paperback books
Arrival at Rehab
Once you arrive at your chosen facility, you’ll go through what’s called a rehab intake process. The medical professionals at your facility will conduct mental health and medical examinations, and interviews that will help them create your personalized treatment plan. The intake assessment will help them make the right choices for you. The more information they have, the more seamlessly they’ll be able to place you on the path to sobriety on how to offer help for an alcoholic parent. This process can feel intimidating at first but remember that they are professionals and they are here to help. Some potential interview questions may include:
- Have you gone to rehab before?
- What is your motivation for seeking treatment?
- When did you begin using alcohol or drugs?
- What substances are you using currently?
These may be questions that you had answered in previous communications, but they’ll likely have to ask again to ensure they have the most accurate and up to date information while they put together your treatment on how to offer help to an alcoholic parent. Be honest and open with them, it will help them address your treatment most effectively. Once your evaluations and interviews or assessments are done, you’ll go through an orientation.
The orientation will help you learn about the rules, goals of the program, and schedules for activities and therapies. You may have to hand in your phone and other devices at the start of your program. You’ll see the rooms, meet other patients, and get introduced to the rest of the staff. Remaining open-minded and positive throughout your arrival will help you get started on the right foot and set you up for a successful recovery.
Resurgence Behavioral Health Can Help
We hope that, by now, many of your questions have been answered, and you are aware of how to offer help to an alcoholic parent. You understand the importance of rehab, the costs, and the overall process. It’s much less scary than most people make it out to be, and the end result is infinitely worth the effort. If you have any further questions, you’d like to discuss our treatment options, or you would like our admissions coordinators to verify your insurance for rehab purposes, you can contact us at 855-458-0050 or visit our insurance verification page to start your road to recovery.
