Therapy such as dual diagnosis treatment is effective in fighting addiction problems. Treatment may be as damaging and harmful as a dependence that must be combated if it is misled, carelessly, or unprofessionally.
People looking for dual diagnosis treatment may fall victim to the hundreds of advertisements that promise to provide miracle recovery treatment, fast-track rehabilitation processes, and other incredible offers of alcohol and drug-related therapies. Some services claim that they will cure your loved ones magically in no time. But the best therapy for drug addiction is dual diagnosis treatment.
Perhaps you wonder what works really? Whether programs such as dual diagnosis treatment, or those without sound analysis? What could be the new fad is behind them? To entrust them with the facilities we know nothing about, the welfare of your loved one is too important.
This is the reason why accreditation is available: to facilitate safe institutions and activities in recovery and to defend families and their loved ones against people who independently ask for money from patients with fake promises to provide dual diagnosis treatment.
Meaning of Accreditation
A lot of private recovery centers for dual diagnosis treatment still follow the accreditation process, in addition to fulfilling state licensing criteria.
There is no need for accreditation to function in Florida, they should at least get a license from the Department of Children and Families (DCF). When an approved opioid rehabilitation center is said to be accredited for dual diagnosis treatment, that suggests several testing has been done to receive the accreditation certificate from the state.
A systematic evaluation must be carried out to be accredited to provide dual diagnosis treatment. For an agency or a third party to review it, a drug rehab center would need to open its drug recovery programs, therapeutic programs, and even company accounts.
At times, accreditation is a long and costly procedure. The accreditation body will review the personnel, security programs, customer service, processes, and practices of the facility in detail before they are allowed to offer dual diagnosis treatment.
Paper audits, as well as on-site visits, have to be conducted by an accreditation facility planning on providing dual diagnosis treatment. A certified facility has personnel that is regularly educated in the accrediting authority’s requirements and are consistent with privacy regulations.
A certified service has shown that it uses rehabilitation dual diagnosis treatment that follows the requirements of the accrediting organization to assist customers who struggle with a drug use condition. Once certified, the dual diagnosis treatment center will list it in the marketing material and consumers are aware that it is a trustworthy facility.
Importance of Drug Rehab Accreditation
There can be some uncertainty about where to go to find dual diagnosis treatment whether you or anyone of your loved ones is dealing with a drug use condition and possibly a mental health problem. You can wonder what online promises are valid and how to find an environment that can offer high-quality, evidence-based care.
The choice of an approved dual diagnosis treatment clinic for addiction is an ideal means of ensuring that the professionals and personnel of the clinic are committed to the highest quality of care. Accreditation is a comprehensive and continuous procedure such that consumers can be confident that an institution is updated on the new interventions for the dual diagnosis treatment.
The choice of an approved clinic for dual diagnosis treatment is an ideal means of ensuring that the professionals and personnel of the clinic are committed to the highest quality of care. Accreditation is a comprehensive and continuous procedure such that consumers can be confident that the service is up-to-date on the most current testing initiatives in dual diagnosis treatment.
Any of The Other Accreditation Opportunities in Dual Diagnosis Treatment Include:
- Payment for insurance: Many third-party payers, such as insurance providers, use accreditation for determining which programs they agree to
- Safe and therapeutically environment: Because the approved organizations have been exposed to a stringent method of veterinarian, they are therefore considered better than non-accredited centers
- Basic healthcare: Accreditation guarantees that the medicine rehabilitation center offers high-quality services that satisfy the accreditation body requirements
- Marketing and promotional services: Accreditation enables processing facilities to inform prospective customers about their acceptance seal so that the right choice is taken in a multitude of rehabilitation programs
Why Do you Need to Accredit Your Treatment?
You might wonder what is the need for accreditation and licensing?? It is the same line of argument that clinics are embraced by the state, the state, and private: it’s a question of life, of death, and the people who seek such services as dual diagnosis treatment should be assured that their welfare is in good hands – particularly from the clutches of drug abuse and other kinds of addiction.
The American Journal of Managed Care states that regulatory authorities play “a major role in maintaining healthcare quality.” Different departments have different focal points, missions, and systems that cover any imaginable basis in care. The journal argued that the purpose of accreditation for dual diagnosis treatment is to set criteria and increase them regularly and provide patients and their families with better care.[1]
It seems fair, but there are some very strong, very serious explanations for the idea of accrediting dual diagnosis treatment facilities. The Journal on Psychoactive Drugs identifies sober houses, also called “Sovereign Houses,” as homes (or a collection of homes that are collected) that have implemented programs free from drugs and alcohol for individuals who choose to remain clean after a time of addiction and abuse.
Due to their formalized dual diagnosis treatment, addictions can acclimatize to a life of discipline and order before reentering fully into the outside world. The actual truth is more commendable, however: the newspaper explains that all of these homes have been neither financed nor licensed by state or municipal authorities.[2]
Unregulated Treatment Facilities
For instance, the Arizona Central states that certain dual diagnosis treatment facilities lack mental health credentials, public association permits, government or private entities approvals and that residents and their disabilities lack the skill and the tools required to adequately maintain track and document their patients. As a result, the dual diagnosis treatment buildings do not adapt adequately to accommodate certain individuals with particular medical conditions, so ordinary bedrooms, and dining rooms need to be doubled with many occupants as living and living spaces.
The holders of those dual diagnosis treatment residences do not wish to file their sober houses with the government, because it is because they do not have the right to collect license fees or taxes and because their house will never meet the standards of state and/or municipal legislation that it eventually needs to close.[3]
Unregulated sobriety issues can be dangerously profound. Because most sober homes are managed separately, there are various behavioral guidelines, but tenants have to continue staying in the establishment by following some common practices:
- Total abstinence from all dangerous behaviors such as alcohol and drug misuse
- Permission to randomly search their rooms and belongings
- Pass random urine and blood tests
- Maintain a regular job
- Quick payment
- Be part of group therapy sessions
Criminal Rehabs
Such types of standards in dual diagnosis treatment are very helpful in providing the addict with a basis and a way to recovery, especially within the first three months after he or she has been formalized. [4]
However, in dual diagnosis treatment, the correct method of handling those patients who cannot or do not meet those standards could be missing in dual diagnosis treatment living houses with no competent surveillance. The NJ (New Jersey) spotlight is sharing the story of a 24-year-old man who overdosed heroin during a sober retreat. The facility sought to separate itself from accountability in response to the mother’s question and explained that the patient was an adult who had made his own decision.
As a result, the mother of the man began to work with the legislative authorities to enforce regulatory requirements in dual diagnosis treatment houses, for example telling the next child if an occupant is expelled. A congregator characterized private, sober houses as “rogue rehabs,” which can be built in a district without warning or telling residents. Some dual diagnosis treatment facilities, however, objected to the new law, claiming that it would put the legal burden on those establishments so severe that it would force them away. Others (such as a rehabilitating alcoholic who is president of a dual diagnosis treatment living establishment and an operating hospital) noted that informal dual diagnosis treatment houses are an affordable option to people who cannot afford the services offered by a supervised rehabilitation facility.[5]
Probably unattended dual diagnosis treatment facilities that provide treatment for addicts’ recovery require attention, but the Federal Trade Commission warns that there is no common concept for many of those programs. [6] Some are known as “therapeutic boarding schools” and some are known as “emotional development academies,” “conduct modifications” and a “wildlife counselling” program in one situation. In 2007, a study of “serious violence and neglect” cases was issued from the Government Accountability Office by the US Congress.[7]
Accrediting Treatment Models
Independently run dual diagnosis treatment housing has just the flimsiest semblance of legitimacy or transparency, which is why a proper recovery facility accreditation exists. The Federal Trade Commission, for example, cites services such as JACHO – once known as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Institutions, but now commonly known as The Joint Commission. JAHCO is a non-profit corporation that accredits over 20,500 healthcare systems and dual diagnosis treatment facilities in the United States. Its defined goal is to enhance quality healthcare by assessing and encouraging organizations that offer services to lift their standards.[8]
JAHCO certifications are valid for three years, and dual diagnosis treatment facilities governed by JAHCO must be up to date on existing standards and practices in mental health and substance abuse and addiction care, account for current processes (and associated policies and procedures), and show an ability to enhance any areas that are not in accordance.
Another oversight body for the management of mental health care services and dual diagnosis treatment is the Council on Accreditation (COA). COA works with organizations that provide programs to children and families, such as the Joint Council on International Children’s Services, the Alliance for Children and Families, and the Florida Coalition for Children. COA provides accreditation for both private and public entities, as well as development services for children and youth, focused on mental health and community-based welfare. COA controls administrative and management practices, as well as service quality standards for private entities that provide dual diagnosis. Certification is valid for four years and can take up to 18 months to achieve with the aid of a COA accreditation supervisor.[9]
The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) has been in existence since 1966, and its purpose is to offer accreditation criteria to medical organizations all over the world. CARF oversees mental health, psychosocial therapy, child and youth care, medical rehabilitation, housing and community services, and dual diagnosis treatment.[10]
According to CARF, accreditation for dual diagnosis treatment is designed to provide patients and their families with a range of dependable and trustworthy choices while looking for a facility that meets their needs. Every year of their accreditation period, accredited organizations must send a report to CARF. The accreditation term can be three years, one year, or for a temporary period, depending on the organization’s submission, self-evaluation, and CARF oversight. The report should demonstrate that the dual diagnosis treatment organizations have made progress in areas identified by CARF as conditions for continued involvement and approval.[11]
Accreditation That’s Sponsored by the Government
The United States government, through the Department of Health and Human Services, is also in charge of overseeing dual diagnosis treatment facilities. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) supports its accreditation agencies to perform site visits and review institutions that offer opioid, alcohol, and other types of substance abuse treatment, ensuring that those facilities’ services, processes, procedures, and policies meet exact, agreed criteria for company processes and care delivery in the dual diagnosis treatment facility.
According to SAMHSA, such initiatives increase community trust in treatment services, empower workers to better care for their patients, strengthen recruiting guidelines, and assist treatment facilities in meeting licensure standards imposed by local and state governments.[12]
Abusive and Illegal
According to PBS, in cases of adolescent and young adult substance abuse, parents are often so desperate for assistance that they do not think to ask the director of a dual diagnosis treatment facility for their credentials. Is he or she in possession of the requisite or sufficient advanced degree, such as a master’s degree in social work? Is he or she qualified to practice clinical social work (particularly for the need that the parents or other family members have defined as best for their loved one), and is the facility licensed? Is the operator in possession of the required licenses and accreditation?
According to PBS, failing to perform due diligence could result in your loved one being inadvertently placed in an oppressive and unethical dual diagnosis treatment program.[13]
Is Recovery Certain with Accreditation?
The success of dual diagnosis treatment can be influenced by several factors in the treatment program. This may include a history of alcohol and substance abuse, chronic health issues, the existence of a co-occurring illness, trauma exposure, and other causes.
Although dual diagnosis treatment helps an addict to complete therapy in an approved facility does not guarantee long-term rehabilitation, these facilities and evidence-based treatments will ensure that each client receives the best possible treatment. If you or a loved one is dealing with a drug use problem, look up the treatment facility’s accreditation online or contact us at 615-490-9376 for further information on dual diagnosis treatment.
References
[1] “Accrediting Organization ” (October 2000). The American Journal of Managed Care. Accessed February 1, 2015.
[2] “What Did We Learn From Our Study on Sober Living Houses and Where Do We Go From Here?” (December 2010). Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. Accessed February 2, 2014.
[3] “Booming Sober-House Industry Lacks Oversight.” (April 2013). The Arizona Republic. Accessed February 2, 2015.
[4] “Aftercare: A Fundamental Tenet in Attaining Long-Term Recovery” (January 2013). Intervenenow.com. Accessed January 25, 2015.
[5] “Tighter Regulation Sought for “Sober Living” Homes for Recovering Addicts.” (September 2014). NJ Spotlight. Accessed February 2, 2015.
[6] “Evaluating Private Residential Programs for Troubled Teens.” (July 2008). Federal Trade Commission. Accessed February 2, 2015.
[7] “Residential Treatment Programs for Teens.” (July 2008). Federal Trade Commission. Accessed February 2, 2015.
[8] “About the Joint Commission.” (n.d.) The Joint Commission. Accessed February 2, 2015.
[9] “Private Organization Accreditation.” (n.d.) Council on Accreditation. Accessed February 2, 2015.
[10] “Opioid Treatment Program.” (n.d.) CARF International. Accessed February 2, 2015.
[11] “Steps to Accreditation.” (n.d.) CARF International. Accessed February 2, 2015.
[12] “Opioid Treatment Program Accreditation.” (n.d.) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Accessed February 2, 2015.
[13] “Abuses in Programs for Struggling Teens: The Legacy of Scandal.” (n.d.) PBS. Accessed February 2, 2015.
Ben Lesser is one of the most sought-after experts in health, fitness and medicine. His articles impress with unique research work as well as field-tested skills. He is a freelance medical writer specializing in creating content to improve public awareness of health topics. We are honored to have Ben writing exclusively for Dualdiagnosis.org.