When conducting Interventions, I often refer the addicted individual (client) to a treatment center that is away from their home. My suggestion to place the client in another state is often met with uncertainty from the family.
The purpose of this blog is to explain why treatment is often better in a location that is far away from the home locale of the client. I want to say at the outset that we at Compassionate Interventions work our very hardest to create a system that will allow the client to stay sober long-term. We tell clients that even though they may not understand the reasoning behind choices we make, we need them to understand that we make all decisions with the client’s best interest in mind.
Seek Treatment Away From Home
The first reason we suggest a “far away” treatment center is flight risk. We understand that change is hard, but they are more likely to surrender to the recovery process. Addiction affects the limbic system of the brain, which is where the “fight or flight” response is. This part of the brain is often called “the primitive part.” When you have a client in a treatment setting, the clinician and other staff members are using their frontal lobe to try and combat that client’s limbic system. An analogy would be trying to reason with a madman. For readers in recovery, that analogy may ring true for you.
The second reason is to give the individual a fresh start. We have found over the years that there is something healing for the client when they realize not only do they have a fresh start from trying treatment, but they also have a fresh start physically, because they are in a new place. I want to conclude by reminding the reader that the best way to get clean and sober is to trust the professional to do the job. If you can’t trust that professional, then you need to find one you can trust. Even if one of Compassionate Interventions’ interventionists aren’t appealing to you, we will refer you to an interventionist that we know will do a good job for you.
Visit our addiction treatment resources page for more information. You can also learn more about our addiction intervention programs.
Sincerely, Ben Randolph