Nothing is Guaranteed
When it comes to mental health and substance abuse treatment, nothing is ever guaranteed. If a professional or program guarantees to you anything, I’d walk away immediately. We are talking about humans, and nothing is ever certain.
Think about it this way: Is the stock market guaranteed? Absolutely not. In fact, you could make a lot of money, or you could lose everything. The same thing stands for treatment.
We are dealing with some many competing factors that impact experiences. Here are some of the biggest determinants of the “success” of treatment:
The family’s willingness to engage in their own treatment while their loved one is in a program. This includes their own individual therapy, coaching, parent support groups, and family therapy within the program.
Ambivalence to get help and a focus on the need for treatment or change within the young adult.
If the program is in-network with an insurance policy vs. a private pay treatment program.
The timeline of the treatment process. Typically the shorter the care, the surface-level the treatment experience. I see a lot of people who go to treatment multiple times because they kept returning to 30-day residential treatment experiences and then immediately stepped-down from there back home/work/school.
Skipping steps in the treatment continuum process. We can refer to this as “getting through treatment too quickly.” This can be referred to as “getting back on track” or “returning to college prematurely.”
Changes within the program that may not be known immediately. When a program is purchased or newly acquired by another program, there are usually significant changes within the staff team. High staff turnover is usually a red flag to steer clear and let the dust settle before enrolling. I see people getting caught in this trap too when they were referred to a program (what’s good for you, may not be good for someone else) because their friend’s child went to that program 6 years ago and it was a great experience for them.” A ton can change in 6 years!
The current makeup of the milieu can make or break a treatment experience. If you are enrolling in a program because the website says they work with a specific population, know that things change. Ask for that information on the frontend. What are the current ages of the community? What are the themes or common issues they’re working on? Milieu themes ebb and flow. Sometimes a program might be a great fit on paper, but in reality because of who’s currently in the community, it may not be appropriate at all.
Asking who the therapist will be. If you have a loved one with very complex mental health issues, inquire about who their therapist would be. Is this a master’s level intern? Someone who is barely out of graduate school and not licensed? If yes and you’re okay with that, then ask who will be providing clinical supervision to ensure that your loved one gets quality clinical care. An unlicensed, new clinician needs to get their license somehow!
Have there recently been any compliance (HIPAA or licensing-related) issues that have been submitted against them?
Who is the current Psychiatrist and what is their approach to pharmacology vs. nutrition? How frequently will your loved one actually meet with them? Is their approach simplification rather than over-medication?
These are just the most-relevant things to consider when enrolling your loved one in a program. No outcome is guaranteed. There are a lot of factors at play. The most important being for you as a parent to listen to the clinical team if their recommendation is ongoing care, or targeted support for you as a parent to help change your dynamics with your loved one. Embrace that. And hope for your child being healthier than when this process started.
For questions or comments contact Joanna.
