California Drug Treatment: Why Travel For Recovery
In some cases, it may be most beneficial for a person to leave home and start fresh with a clean slate at a facility somewhere else. Sometimes the people and things around us can be contributing factors to struggles such as substance abuse, and getting away from those things leaves more room for recovery.
Choosing a facility that is located away from home may also leave you with more options in terms of recreational treatment.
At our Los Angeles substance abuse luxury rehab facility, recreational activities are built into our treatment programs, and include hiking, beach days, and fresh air mindfulness and yoga sessions thanks to the beautiful California setting.
Benefits of Traveling For Recovery
There are countless ways that traveling for recovery from addiction can benefit you, but some of these are:
- Reduced exposure to triggers
- Separation from negative influences – People in your social network can potentially influence you or expose you to drugs and alcohol.
- Distance between yourself and places you associate with substance abuse – A person likely associates drug and alcohol use with certain places such as bars, clubs, etc.
- Privacy and ability to be discreet – Traveling for recovery means it is easier to prevent coworkers, neighbors, or others from finding out about your private and personal struggles with substance use and addiction.
- Escape from stressors in daily life which may lead to or result in substance use as a means of coping – Being around stressors, such as responsibilities pertaining to work or family, can also interfere with recovery.
- Access to addiction treatments or recovery programs that may not be available in your home location – Examples include horse therapy, medication-assisted treatment, and luxury rehab centers like Starbridge Recovery.
- More time to reflect on your life as well as issues in your life that may hinder recovery or that have contributed to your substance use – Taking a step away from your normal routine and home base allows you space to look back with a clearer mind.
Additionally, traveling out of state for treatment might allow you to receive a more proactive and comprehensive treatment approach. This kind of approach addresses underlying factors that contribute to a person’s substance use, and treats these issues. This approach also treats the individual as a whole by looking at social and psychological factors that tie into their addiction, and this form of treatment is associated with high success.
Being away from home also eliminates many distractions, such as family, work obligations, or other personal distractions that may take your attention away from recovery, making your journey more difficult. Leaving home for treatment lessens this issue, allowing each individual to devote their undivided attention to the path to sobriety.
With recovery as your main focus, coping strategies and methods used in your treatment program will be more successful, and you will likely appreciate them more because you will not be worried about keeping up any form of reputation in your personal or professional life.
Traveling for rehab also means you have more options available to you in terms of programs and facilities. Evidence-based programs are associated with the highest rates of success in terms of recovery and sobriety, especially for an individual’s long-term recovery from substance use.
Starbridge Recovery offers evidence-based treatment in a luxury setting so that you can commit to recovery in as much comfort as possible.
What is Evidence-Based Treatment?
Evidence-based approaches for drug addiction treatment are approaches which have evidence supporting their use. Some of these approaches are meant to go hand in hand with other forms of treatment, whereas others are comprehensive on their own.
Evidence-based approaches include, but are not limited to:
- Pharmacotherapies
- Behavioral Therapies
More often than not, pharmacotherapy evidence-based approaches are recommended to be used in combination with behavioral therapy approaches. By doing this, all factors contributing to substance abuse will be addressed so that treatment is more successful in the long run.
Behavioral therapy approaches include:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – Alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, nicotine
- Contingency Management Interventions/Motivational Incentives – Alcohol, stimulants, opioids, marijuana, nicotine
- Community Reinforcement – Alcohol, cocaine, opioids
- Motivational Enhancement Therapy – Alcohol, marijuana, nicotine
- The Matrix Mode l- Stimulants
- 12-Step Facilitation Therapy – Alcohol, stimulants, opiates
- Family Behavior Therapy
- Behavioral Therapies Primarily for Adolescents
All of the substances listed above are addictions which we treat at our Los Angeles facility.
At our facility, there are multiple program options available to you. The most common forms of addiction treatment include:
- Detoxification – Ridding your body of harmful toxins and substances
- Residential Inpatient – Living on site in a 24/7 residential, homelike setting
- Partial Hospitalization – Also known as partial day treatment, this is a combination of inpatient and outpatient where clients may live at home while attending treatment programs during the day.
- Intensive Outpatient – Clients slowly return to everyday life while partaking in treatment such as group or individual therapy.
- Outpatient – Outpatient treatment is available to clients who complete intensive outpatient treatment, and it is a less invasive option.
- Sober Living Home– A safe and structured environment that clients can choose to take part in after completing their rehabilitation program.
These are just some of the options available as methods of treatment, and traveling may make these more accessible to you depending on your location. If the treatment options available in your area are not up to par, it may be worth it to travel elsewhere and receive better treatment.
Choosing To Take Part In An Out-of-State Program
Deciding whether or not to choose an in-state or out-of-state rehabilitation program can be difficult, but there are certain factors that should be considered in order to make the choice that is best for you and your specific needs.
Consider whether or not you have personal or professional connections who influence you in negative ways, or who make negative choices. For example, if you are surrounded by peers and professionals who also use drugs and/or alcohol, it is unlikely that your recovery will be successful long-term. This behavior can have a poor impact on your progress during recovery, and this may be reason enough to seek treatment elsewhere.
Consider the options that are nearby. Do they treat the individual as a whole? Do they work to identify and improve underlying issues which contribute to substance use? Is their treatment approach one that aligns with your needs? The best options are always those which provide 24/7 access to medical professionals so that pre-existing health concerns can be appropriately monitored and put to rest throughout the recovery process. Addiction can take a toll on your overall health in many ways, so it is vital that you choose a facility that will take the utmost care to make you feel comfortable and safe.
Another very important part of recovery is establishing healthy connections and building a positive support system. This means surrounding yourself with people who support you and your path to sobriety, and this may prove difficult if your social network at home is full of negative influences, or if you feel that you have a certain reputation to uphold at home which may not be in line with the person you become throughout your journey to sobriety. In this case, seeking treatment out-of-state may, again, be more conducive to your recovery.
If you find that your life is full of distractions at home, this is another sign that you might be better served by a treatment program in another state. Distractions can come in many forms, ranging from family and work duties to social events. During recovery, it is vital that you are able to put all of your focus and attention into your treatment. If there are too many distractions around you, they could be hindering your recovery.
Summary
Traveling away from home for rehabilitation may sound like a daunting task to take on, but it is worth it. Traveling for recovery can be extremely rewarding and beneficial in many ways, because being away from home means there are less distractions, less negative influences, and less exposure to triggers that may interfere with your recovery progress throughout treatment.
Being away from home allows you much more privacy regarding your personal struggles with substance abuse and addiction, meaning neighbors or coworkers will not have to know. This distance means you will also no longer be dealing with stressors such as work obligations or family obligations, and you will also be able to separate yourself from places and things that you associate with substance use.
Most importantly, being willing to travel for drug addiction treatment opens up your options to many different facilities and approaches to treatment. This means that you can find exactly what you need and what will be most beneficial for you in order to yield successful results long-term.
Certain approaches or programs that may not be available near your home base are most definitely available elsewhere. Evidence-based treatment specifically has long been held as one of the most successful approaches, and if this is not available at a facility near you, it is likely worth it to travel in order to participate in a program that uses this approach.
Sources:
https://www.addictions.com/faq/should-i-travel-for-treatment/
https://www.addictionresource.net/blog/traveling-out-of-state-rehab/
