Thesis statement: Drug rehabilitation centres do not provide clear results that luxury or any rehabilitation centres do work although they cost extremely high to join the program, attendees are not heavily regulated, and there has been little or no information concerning the effectiveness of drug rehabilitation programs on the modification of behaviours of the addicts of alcohol and drugs.   

Drug rehabilitation centres do not provide clear results that luxury or any rehabilitation centres do work. Although they cost extremely high to join the program, attendees are not heavily regulated, and there has been little or no information concerning the effectiveness of drug rehabilitation programs on the modification of behaviours of the addicts of alcohol and drugs. Some treatments, such as opiate addiction treatment, have turned out to be addictive in their sense

Patients still relapse to their addictive behaviours since the root cause of addiction is not being addressed by the rehabilitation centres (Foreman, 2015). With such relapses, addiction has brought devastation and destruction of communities, families, and lives. Also, rehabilitation centres do not seem to agree on a particular method of treatment. The articles; “Stars Check In, Stars Check Out” by Sharon Waxman, New York Times, “Hung Out to Dry” by John Hill, and “When Jail is Not the Answer” by Kelly Foreman, all discuss the state of the facilities, methods of treatment, cost of rehabilitation and the success rate of the rehab system.

The average cost of luxury rehabilitation centres ranges from $15,000 -$20,000 a month, which produces the same results as a normal 12 step program. Some centres cost a lot more. For example, Ms Lohan goes to centres like Promise in Malibu that charges approximately $49,000 a month (Waxman, 2007). Ryan Rogers, on the other hand, pays about $1,800 a day at Baywatch Recovery in San Diego (Hill, 2015). At Passages, Malibu, Chris Prentiss rejects the 12-step program insisting that he has found a cure for addiction. He claims to have a success rate of 84.4% hence boldly charges $67,550 per month. Despite all this, government studies have shown that 80% of the addicts relapse irrespective of the method of treatment used (Waxman, 2007). With such charges, addicts from a poor background cannot access rehabilitation services from these facilities.

Addicts that attends luxury rehabilitation centres and other program are not heavily regulated by the staff. Ryan died just 17 days into rehab. Government records show that it might not have been just the drinking that killed but also the treatment as well. At the time of his death, the Bay Recovery’s executive director, Dr Jerry Rand, had four open cases to answer for including concerns of the death of another patient at the facility. Despite all this, the centre was still operational leaving Rand responsible for Ryan and other vulnerable addicts. Ryan’s story is a case of addiction, loss, and poorly regulated rehab system. These facilities are subject to minimal standards, with regulators who do very little to track the patients progress or to or to ensure that the programs are following evidence best practices (Hill, 2015).

Luxury rehabilitation centres have little or no effectiveness in the battle of alcohol and drug addiction. For any rehabilitation successful, an addict needs medicine-assisted treatment, cognitive behavioural therapy, and accountability. Rehab centres concentrate on either medicine-assisted treatment or behavioural therapy. Most of them lack accountability of patients’ progress. According to Ashley Carter, Infinity Center, the need for a holistic approach to treat opiate-addicted patients is critical because it is rare that a patient seeks help for their addiction which is not facing other pressing issues (Foreman, 2015). With this sentiments, it is clear that most rehabilitation centres are failing. This is evident with the 80% rate of relapse shown in the government studies, their effect on the fight against alcohol and drug abuse in very minimal.

In summary, alcoholism and drug abuse have to be treated holistically. The root cause that triggers addiction in each patient has to be identified and addressed to prevent or rather reduces the rate of relapses. The luxury rehabilitation centres have little to show for their high cost of rehabilitation and should, therefore, work on improving their services. Regulations surrounding such facilities have to be looked into. The facilities should strive to be accountable for their patients otherwise it shall remain to be difficult to assess their success rate. The rehabilitation centres should focus on helping the addicts lead a healthier life rather than profits.

References

Waxman, S. (2007, June 17). Stars Checks In, Stars Check Out. The New York Times.

Hill, J. (2015). Hung Out to Dry.

Foreman, K. (2015). When Jail Is Not the Answer