Does rehab really work?
A query that has been weighing on my mind recently is does rehab really work, given the amount of recidivism currently seen among today’s celebrities and non-celebrities alike?
I’m beginning to think that most rehabs are not designed to work. They make money by attendance. So, if they can get the addict sober but fail to instill in the addict a need to _stay_ sober, they might get a repeat customer.
While not all rehabs operate under this principle, some obviously do from the anecdotes, particularly of celebrities. And privately some in the field have told me statistics ballied about are wrong. One rehab that claims an 85% success may have long-term success of only 10%. Perhaps it’s a question of how we define “success”; after all, 85% of those leaving rehab may well be off the hooch and other drugs at that moment. The real test, though, is the long term.
Rehab rarely properly educates family, friends and associates about the disease. They do not understand that lines must not only be drawn to get the person into rehab, but also if behavioral signs of a relapse are detected, regardless of what the addict may say (my work is in the vanguard of such behavioral clues). If there is one enabler left in the addict’s life, the odds of permanent sobriety are greatly reduced. The twin goals of rehab should be educate the addict and all of his or her enablers. The second goal, unfortunately, is often not met.