Adicition Rehab: "I hate this place!"

last week while interviewing a client who had recently started her drug addiction program, she was convinced that this program was not for her. She didn't like the therapy. She didn't like the house. She didn't like the dual diagnosis that she received. She was lonely. She missed her parents. She didn't fit in with the other clients. SHE WANTED TO GO HOME!

Today was a whole different story. Everything was the polar opposite. She was a different person with a different story.

Rehab is not easy. Good rehab is uncomfortable. Good therapy makes you uncomfortable. If it doesn't then you are wasting your time and your money. The transition, in particular, is the most difficult time. Think back to those first few days at college, the starting of a new job, or just walking into any social situation where you are a newcomer amongst veterans; it just is not that easy. Now multiply that by a factor of many and this should help you understand how difficult the first few days of therapy can be. but just like you don't quit school or your new job, you cannot give up a treatment program just because the first few days are rough.

Resist the temptation to give in to the whines of your child or loved ones in the first week of their program. Stand firm because if the program is worth its weight and its cost then the dynamic will change and in a short time they will be well on their way to recovery.