Frequently Asked Questions

Wondering about our services or have other concerns? Here are answers to some of our most frequently asked questions.

Absolutely not. Addiction is a disease. Just like you can’t cause heart disease or cancer, you can’t cause addiction. If someone never touches a drink or drug, they can’t become an addicted person. But if someone has the genetic predisposition for addiction, they could experiment only a handful of times and trip the addiction wiring. Once the disease of addiction is activated, it doesn’t turn off. Family dynamics, dysfunctional relationships, and life challenges are common underlying factors that inspire people to use addictive substances, but the genetic predisposition is what can turn using into addiction.

We don’t recommend it. Addiction impairs the reasoning centers in the brain and reduces it to 20% functionality. If people struggling with substance abuse were rational enough to understand what was happening, they would already be helping themselves. The fact that they don’t help themselves means they can’t, which also means a rational conversation won’t have any effect. In fact, one-on-one conversations tend to push an actively addicted person deeper into their denial. A structured intervention is a huge undertaking, but it allows you to touch the heart of your loved one, bypassing the impaired brain altogether.

Yes. We evaluate scholarship availability on a case-by-case basis.

Of course. There are differences in reliability, staffing levels, staffing expertise, service experience, therapeutic modality, and specialties. Some treatment centers will be flexible about costs and duration of stay; others won’t. Some segregate their populations for focused treatment needs; others can’t. A component of our expertise is knowing which providers deliver quality care in an ethical manner.*

*Note: Recovery Care Partner does not take compensation for referring to any provider. We believe that to be unethical and do not do that. Our value is to assess your loved ones clinical needs while also considering financial constraints and to match those two criteria with a known provider.

Unfortunately, most couldn’t. Though medical school equips doctors well for many things, it tends to leave them woefully underprepared to diagnose addiction. Combine an addicted person’s tendency to deny, justify, and rationalize their substance use with the doctor’s lack of education, and you have a perfect recipe for a missed diagnosis. Treatment centers, on the other hand, are staffed by doctors who specialize in addiction medicine. They’re experts at it. Rely on them and on us for this one, not your general practitioner.

Actually, it can. Many people who wind up in treatment these days are addicted to one or several mood-altering prescription drugs. While taking prescription drugs isn’t illegal, mixing pills, taking more than prescribed, or buying higher quantities from dealers (or friends!) is dangerous – and all too common. It doesn’t have to be street drugs to constitute addiction.

Of course we didn’t all smoke weed – but many of us did. It’s important to understand that marijuana is no longer the gateway drug it used to be. Creative biochemistry and dealers’ ability to “cut” (infuse) their product with other substances have made marijuana more dangerous than it used to be. Additionally, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that the THC content in cannabis rose by 212% from 1995 to 2015. In the past few years, we have seen overdoses and psychotic breaks caused by weed alone. More people than ever are going to treatment, even if they’ve never tried another substance.

Your kids already know. Addiction isn’t something we can hide – when someone is actively drunk or stoned, the stress and impact is obvious to the whole family. Children might not be able to label what’s going on, but on some (or many) levels, they do know. The way to broach the topic respectfully with them is by using age-appropriate language and asking them how much they want to participate.

You’re not. By the time an addicted person or their family acknowledges a problem and can see the effects of addiction, the problem has likely advanced far enough to no longer be kept secret. That’s advanced enough to intervene.

An intervention is a betrayal. But it’s the betrayal of the disease, not the person it lives inside. The disease of addiction is cunning, baffling, powerful, and patient. Its goal is to isolate and kill the addicted person. Though an intervention is one of life’s most difficult experiences, it is also a life-saving one.

The answer to that question depends on a variety of factors, but the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) is a great place to start.

The DSM lists 11 clear and easy-to-identify markers that can be used to determine if someone has an alcohol use disorder:

  1. Alcohol is often taken in larger amounts or over a longer period than was intended.
  2. There is a persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control alcohol use.
  3. A great deal of time is spent in activities necessary to obtain alcohol, use alcohol, or recover from its effects.
  4. Craving, or a strong desire or urge to use alcohol.
  5. Recurrent alcohol use resulting in a failure to fulfill major role obligations at work, school, or home.
  6. Continued alcohol use despite having persistent or recurrent social or interpersonal problems caused or exacerbated by the effects of alcohol.
  7. Important social, occupational, or recreational activities are given up or reduced because of alcohol use.
  8. Recurrent alcohol use in situations in which it is physically hazardous.
  9. Alcohol use is continued despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent physical or psychological problem that is likely to have been caused or exacerbated by alcohol.
  10. Tolerance, as defined by either of the following: a) A need for markedly increased amounts of alcohol to achieve intoxication or desired effect, or b) A markedly diminished effect with continued use of the same amount of alcohol.
  11. Withdrawal, as manifested by either of the following: a) The characteristic withdrawal syndrome for alcohol b) Alcohol (or a closely related substance, such as a benzodiazepine) is taken to relieve or avoid withdrawal symptoms.

It isn’t fair. Your family has been touched by the disease of addiction. Addiction, like other diseases, has a lifetime of effects – most of which are unfair. If your loved one had diabetes, for example, you’d make sure they always had access to insulin shots. If they were wheelchair-bound, you’d make your home disability-accessible. Going to meetings gives your loved one the best shot at staying in healthy recovery.

Thank you for reading our frequently asked questions section, however if a question of yours was not answered in our frequently asked questions section, please contact us to inquire further.