You Are Going To An Alcoholic Treatment Center for the First Time What Can You Expect?

You may have just gone through an intervention, or been court-ordered to attend, or just received the diagnosis of alcoholism. No matter how you arrived at this time in your life you are about to enter an alcoholic treatment center for the first time. Life is full of first times from the moment we take our first breath until we take our last. Not everyone has to face this particular first, but here you are facing entering a treatment center for alcoholics for the first time. You are nervous and just a little unsure about what to expect. You may have heard stories or read about celebrities in treatment centers but what is it really like for someone like you?

There are several important sections that you will be encountering once you enter the treatment center they include the checking-in process, the psychological assessment, the medical assessment, detoxification, individual therapy sessions, group therapy sessions, family counseling, aftercare and then there is the encouragement to join a local Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) group for continued support.

The checking-in process:

A staff member of the admissions department will meet you in the lobby of the facility and have you fill out paperwork. Your insurance information will be assessed.

You will be shown to your room in the treatment center. Be prepared to have someone go through your personal belonging. This will be done to be sure that you did not bring anything that you shouldn’t have in the treatment center. You should have been given instructions about the things you are allowed to bring and the things you should not bring when you registered for admission to the treatment center or when someone registered you on your behalf. Unless you were told to bring prescription medications it is never appropriate to bring any medications or herbal remedies into the facility. You are obviously never allowed to bring in any products that contain alcohol such as certain mouthwashes.

You will be given a tour of the treatment center so that you can begin to become familiar with the layout and where to locate certain areas that you will be using.

You will start to be introduced to other treatment staff members and others.

The rules of the treatment center will be explained to you and you will be given a copy of these rules.

The psychological assessment involves a counselor whom will take your complete history, and information specific to your alcohol other drug usage. This counselor will assess your mental and emotional states and you may be referred to a staff psychiatrist for additional treatment. It will be determined at this time what if any additional mental health or medical treatment that you require.

A medical assessment is when you are seen by a medical doctor at the treatment center who is responsible for getting a complete medical history from you, completing a physical, prescribing any necessary medications and caring for any physical health needs you may have that are related to your drinking alcohol or any other medical conditions that you have at the time.

Detoxification is when the staff of the treatment center will monitor your withdrawal symptoms you will go through as you go through the period of time when you are not able to consume alcohol in order to recover from your alcoholism symptoms. Your withdrawal symptoms may include anxiety, nausea, shakiness and tremors, sweating and other symptoms.

There are several therapies available while you are in the alcohol treatment center including individual therapy, group therapy, educational sessions to complement the therapy and family therapy. All of these sessions are designed to support you as you learn how to manage alcoholism. You will be learning how to cope with new skills to avoid situations where alcohol is present so that you can manage your disease. The family counseling will be done with you and with the family alone and is geared not to embarrass you but to help your family understand alcoholism and what it will be like for you as you learn how to manage your disease.

What is aftercare?

After you are discharged from the alcohol treatment center you will be enrolled in an aftercare program that will most likely consist of weekly sessions. These sessions are designed to continue to support your efforts to control your disease. The staff of the aftercare program will also monitor your efforts. This program is very important to your ongoing success in being able to manage your disease.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA):

Your local chapter of AA may be offered as a complement to your treatment program you are about to arrive at and is there to also help you to have continued success handling and coping with all the events and situations you will encounter in your life after being diagnosed with alcoholism and life after the alcoholic treatment center.

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