Questions to Ask a Treatment Center

Questions to Ask a Treatment Center, The Details

Before you sign any paperwork, ask a few pointed questions. A good program will answer them plainly, and the way staff respond often tells you as much as the answers themselves. We put together the list we would use if we were calling on behalf of someone we love.

Start here:

• Accreditation and licensing. Who accredits the facility, and is the state license current? Ask for specifics, not just a logo on the website.
• Clinical staffing. Which licensed professionals are on the team, and who oversees medical care? Ask about the ratio of clinicians to clients.
• Family involvement. How and when are families included, and what does that participation actually look like week to week?
• Aftercare planning. Does discharge planning begin early, and what support exists once a person leaves?
• Measuring outcomes. How does the center track progress, and how do they define whether treatment worked?

Write the answers down. Compare a few centers side by side. If a program hesitates on the basics, that is useful information too, and we would rather you learn it now than later.