Government vs Private Addiction Treatment

In Addiction Headlines by Brian Abela0 Comments

If you’re reeling from the effects of addiction, it’s important to know that there’s help available but lets look at Government vs Private addiction treatment. In fact, there are a few different kinds of help to choose from. The 2 for this discussion are Government treatment centres and the Private addiction treatment centres. For those who have been in their addiction for quite a while, residential care is the chosen route—and rightfully so. Government vs Private will be the focus of the article at hand.

Addiction is a chronic disease and mental condition and while relapse rates for many programs are famously high, studies show that for those that for those who have had 60 – 90 days or more of private residential treatment, only approximately 25% reported relapse after a year. The numbers for Government rehab programs are much higher like approximately 70-80% relapsing. This is very real and hence also why it is so very important to pick the right centre and hence what to look at in Government vs Private addiction treatment..

So there is evidence to support making the choice to seek the right private residential rehab. But where? There are so many private inpatient treatment centres that have popped up in the last 5 years in Canada, which one is right for you? We will look at why Canadian Addiction Recovery Network centres is the choice for you and show you why private is the way to go when comparing Government vs Private.

There are many differences among residential rehab programs that are government funded or public and those that are private, some quite substantial. But one of the biggest differences among these 2 programs is a public rehab is one that is funded by the government and a private centre is funded by the family or individual. The other big difference is that the public or government facilities usually have long wait lists to get in where with most private someone can have access to treatment immediately, which is usually what is most important as when addiction is in crisis mode every day counts and no waiting should be the preference.

Government Rehab: The Bad

Because government funded treatment centers are low cost or no cost, there is usually high demand for services. This means that if you choose this type of rehab, you may have to wait for treatment(sometimes 4-6 months). Often times, the window of opportunity to get someone help for an addiction is relatively short, so waiting isn’t always in the addict’s best interest.

Public facilities are usually limited in the type of treatment they provide. The program is typically more cookie cutter and generic with little flexibility or customized treatment care and almost all are 12 step models with no mental health or concurrent disorder therapy.

While private facilities do vary greatly, the guest experience at government run facilities is usually very basic and they are often located in more crowded with patients and located in busy city centre areas. Often these programs don’t provide as much in the way of amenities or room for outdoor recreation, quiet reflection or reconnecting with nature. Government vs Private is become more clear cut.

Government Rehab: The Good

No cost.

Private Rehab: The Good

In contrast to Government rehab( Government vs Private ), private facilities do charge more for their services as they are not funded through the province. You will pay more for a private rehab experience, but often times, it’s money well spent.

When it comes to factors from cost to program to experience, private rehabs vary greatly, so it’s hard to lump them all together. However, as a whole, there are some key differences.

One of the major differences you will likely notice when it comes to private treatment is the guest experience. Because the guests and their families are the ones paying for the treatment, there is often times more care given to the guest experience.

This means that meals may be a little more nutritious and enjoyable. Bedrooms and accommodations are often a bit more updates, and the grounds a private facility is located on are often times superior to that of publicly funded treatment.

In addition to a more thoughtful guest experience, private rehab usually provides a more customized and credentialed program. Private one-on-one therapy is an incredibly important part of rehab for substance abuse, and private facilities offer a more thorough clinical experience for their guests.

Private facilities often spend more time updating and making tweaks to their programs and provide a more thorough regimen of educational classes and a broader array of therapies. In addition to traditional therapies, many private facilities offer more holistic options like art therapy, meditation or yoga to treat the whole person.

These holistic approaches lead to higher success rates, though to what degree is a topic that’s often debated.

Since we’re talking success rate, it’s often thought that private rehab facilities do set people up for a greater chance at long-term sobriety, but success is defined differently by almost every facility and organization which makes this fact difficult to prove.

Here at the Canadian Addiction Recovery Network we have a 95% completion rate coupled with a 65-70% success rate with our 60 or 90 day programs, which is more than triple the national average of success of government funded programs. In Government vs Private it is more clear than ever that private is the way to go.

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