Addiction treatment isn’t simply a one-size-fits-all type of solution. For the best chances of a successful outcome, addiction treatment must be tailored to an individual’s specific needs. Before any treatment is provided, most of today’s addiction treatment centers take time to carefully evaluate new patients so that an individualized treatment plan can be developed.
While it’s important for addiction specialists to understand the nature of the sufferer’s addiction, they will also need to assess physical and mental health to ensure that each person gets the comprehensive medical treatment they need to manage the disease of addiction along with any other conditions that may affect them. Assessment before addiction treatment is the first essential step in the recovery process.
Assessment Before Addiction Treatment Concerns
Since everyone presents a different picture of health when they enter an addiction treatment center, healthcare providers take time to get an accurate picture of each individual’s health with as assessment before addiction treatment. The medical detox process often involves medications to ease the intensity of withdrawal symptoms. Consequently, doctors should be aware if the sufferer is allergic to any medications, if they have an underlying health issue that also requires treatment and if they are currently taking any medications.
Sometimes healthcare providers will uncover health problems that accompany the sufferer’s addiction during an assessment before addiction treatment. As many as one-third of all addiction sufferers present to rehab with a dual diagnosis, which is the presence of an addiction as well as a mental health issue or mood disorder. An assessment before addiction treatment may also uncover an illness, a physical injury or a vitamin or mineral deficiency.
What Happens during the Assessment Process?
During your assessment before addiction treatment, healthcare providers will ask if you are presently on any drugs, when the last time you took a drug was and how long you’ve been taking drugs.1 They will also ask you about past diagnoses, your family status and how your drug abuse problem has been affecting your job, education and relationships. After you have completed the question portion of the evaluation, you’ll typically be asked to submit both urine and blood for testing. These medical tests will help specialists create a treatment plan.
Individualized Treatment Plans
After the medical evaluation is complete, addiction specialists can recommend a treatment plan. Other medical practitioners such as healthcare specialists or mental health experts may also need to weigh in on the plan to recommend their own treatments if needed. The treatment plan will address the client’s substance addiction as well as any other problems that the evaluation may have uncovered. Treatment plans are flexible and can be adjusted as needs change during therapy.
Addiction sufferers should remember that every question they may be asked is designed to address their mental and physical health. An addiction treatment center is a medical facility, a safe place where there’s no need for judgment. Addiction treatment center staffers are committed to each patient’s comfort, recovery and confidentiality.
Assessment before addiction treatment is not meant to be intrusive; it is simply an essential step that healthcare providers must take to provide you with the tailored treatment you need.2 Your recovery journey begins the moment you walk into an addiction treatment center, and the evaluation is the first step in the process. With an effective assessment before addiction treatment, you can learn to manage the disease of addiction and safeguard your health and well-being.