Learn From My Experiences in Drug Rehab

When you are in need to free drug rehab then that means that you are really in need. Let me explain what I mean. The fact of the matter is that when an addict is abusing drugs and struggling to stay clean and sober, they will often run into a lot of financial difficulty. They will spend all of their money looking for the high. Their addictive behavior carries many consequences but, one of the worst, is the loss of money that their using results in.

When an addict hits rock bottom and simply going to narcotics anonymous isn’t going to get the job done, they need to go to an inpatient drug rehab treatment center to try to get their life back on track. The problem with this is drug rehab is expensive, but it also saves lives.

So, in this instance, when a person can’t afford rehab and still needs the help to break their habit of addictive behavior, then the next best option is a free drug rehab facility.

In order to find a no cost drug and alcohol rehab you are going to have to do some searching. Since most drug and alcohol treatment centers do not offer their services for charity, you will have to work with them to see what you can come up with. Many rehabs will work with you and allow you to come for free if you are willing to commit to recovery.

Therefore, the best thing that you can do, and this is especially true if you need drug rehab without health insurance, because you will be able to find a rehab that will work with you if you put in the effort to look.

The final thing that I would suggest is that you look into a government funded drug treatment program if you find that you are unable to secure a spot in a for-profit treatment center. The thing about such government programs is that they are no frills establishments and are not going to be luxurious. But if you are struggling with drug addiction, you are not going to care about that.

When I first checked into drug rehab, I didn’t know what to expect. I figured that I would have a really specialized counselor who could shed enlightenment upon me and generally open my eyes to a whole new world. I was expecting something like a psychologist — something like Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting. But, now that I’ve been through drug rehab, I can tell you that that’s not exactly what I got.

So, here’s my take on drug rehab counselors.

Drug rehab counselors are, first and foremost, very knowledgeable about drug and alcohol abuse. Without exception they all have had serious drug and alcohol problems. They abused drugs to the point that they could no longer find any employment in their previous industry and, having no where else to turn, they became counselors. That’s not necessarily a knock, it’s more of a reality. And, I found the same to be true in managers of sober houses, but that’s a topic for another post.

So, getting back on track, imagine that you are a guitarist with a heavy drinking problem. After a few years of moderate (even major) success, you find your drinking and drugging is leading to many unwanted consequences. For instance, your attempts to sleep with your record label rep’s wife and your vomiting on the red carpet at the Grammy’s has caused your reputation to take a hit. After a while nobody will work with you. You sell one of your corvettes and that gets you by for six months but, pretty quickly, you realize you only have so many sports cars to sell.

You take a personal inventory and decide you know a lot about only a couple of things. Making bad ass music — but that’s not an option anymore. And getting clean and sober. The bills are mounting so you have to make a call. Presto! You become a drug rehab counselor. It’s that old familiar story.

As a person going into drug rehab you’re probably expecting a certain level of professionalism. You’re probably thinking that you’re going to be dealing with highly insightful, highly trained experts. You might even think that it takes a tremendous amount of training to become a drug counselor. After all, these folks are going to have to conduct psycho-educational lectures, manage group therapy sessions, provide one-on-one counseling, and generally save the lives of their clients. You must need a PhD for that, right?

Unfortunately, you do not. What you do need is to become a licensed chemical dependency counselor which is basically the bottom-feeder of the mental health profession. In the state that I live in (Texas) the requirements to become an LCDC are pretty uncomplicated.

You need:

• An associate’s degree or higher
• Complete 4,000 hours of work with a chemically dependent person
• Get two letters of recommendation
• Pass the exam
• Send in $65

Basically, if you are a former drunk or addict, you probably know only a couple of things really well. One of those things is, to be sure, how to get clean and sober. But you probably do not have a solid educational footing (after all they were drunk and high through school), your social intelligence quotient might be lacking (hey, they drank for a reason) and you probably do not have a lot of marketable skills (there’s a reason that you are working for $40k a year). Take it for what it is.

Is this to say that drug rehab counselors are bad people? No! They almost always know how to stay clean and sober which, of course, is job one. And I don’t bash them to say that they suck. I’m sure there are some good ones out there. I bash them only to point out if you expect to find a drug counselor who is going to speak to your soul or change your life, I gotta tell ya, prepare to be disappointed.

Finally, I will say, that drug rehab counselors, without question, are some of the best depositories of crazy drinking and drugging stories you will ever come across. And that should count for something.