What the hell is rehab? What does rehab mean? What’s it all about?
Well, the answer’s going to depend on who you ask. The dictionary, the media, and clinicians are all going to have different opinions on what makes treatment, well, treatment.
Let’s explore them in-depth.
Dictionary Definition of Rehab
According to the linguistic gate bearers at Merriam-Webster, rehab means:
(ˈriːhæb) noun: a program for helping people who have problems with drugs, alcohol, etc.
There are two parts of this definition that bear closer examination – the idea that rehab’s a program and the idea that it helps people. Let’s start with the latter.
Going to rehab helps people. We can all agree on that one. Still, just what kind of help does it offer?
Here’s where things get complicated. Different types of treatment programs offer different kinds of help. At its most basic, rehab can be detox, inpatient, partial hospitalization, and outpatient.
Breaking these down further brings us into the realm of specialized programs. We’re talking about things like holistic treatment centers that focus on body cleanses and yoga, 12-step based treatment centers that focus on applying spiritual principles and following the steps, and high-end “luxury” treatment centers that cater to patients’ comfort.
And about a million others!
Whichever way you look at it, there are a lot of different ways rehabs help people. Some are better suited to individual personalities and temperaments. The important thing here’s simply that help is available for everyone.
Moving on, the dictionary defines rehab as a program. This is incredibly important. It means that seeking professional help for addiction is just that – professional.
Going to rehab consists of entering a facility and following their program. We see so many people struggling with addiction who want help…but aren’t willing to do the work required to recover.
Ever heard that saying “half measures availed us nothing?”
Here at Malvern – and in rehabs across the country and world – we’re professionals. We know what we’re doing when it comes to addiction. We know how to help men and women return to health. We know how to change lives and reunite families.
We accomplish this through our tried and true program.
Okay, we’re stepping off our soapbox now! Let’s take a look at how the media portrays addiction treatment.
What the Media Thinks Rehab Means
We’ve all seen how rehab’s portrayed in TV and movies.
It usually takes place in a dreary, old building. It consists of a bunch of heavily tattooed people sitting in a circle of chairs and talking about how they drove drunk 100 times or how they missed their kid’s school play. They’re drinking coffee and – in year’s past anyway – chain smoking.
And you know what? Sometimes rehab is like that, but not always.
Sometimes treatment takes place in a rundown building and consists primarily of group therapy. Sometimes it takes place in a state-of-the-art hospital and consists primarily of individual therapy. Sometimes it takes place in the outdoors and consists of grueling physical challenges.
Sometimes it takes place in somewhere else entirely – it all depends on the specific program.
Another treatment trope that pops up again and again’s the blurring of the lines between AA and rehab. It’s probably not the media’s fault. After all, if you’re not involved in a 12-step fellowship, it’s easy to think of them as interchangeable with treatment.
Still, this couldn’t be further from the truth!
Drug and alcohol rehabs often makes use of the 12-steps. Treatment centers often incorporate spiritual principles like honesty, self-searching, admitting fault, making restitution, and more into their groups.
It’s important to remember though that, according to Alcoholics Anonymous themselves,
An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose (Traditional Six of the Twelve Traditions)
We got back up on our soapbox, didn’t we? We apologize! Let’s move on to how the medical establishment defines rehab.
The Medical Definition
According to the 8th edition of Mosby’s Medical Dictionary, rehab is defined as:
…an agency that provides treatment for a person with a chemical or drug dependency.
Simple, straightforward, and to the point. We like it!
What’s next?
The Clinical Definition
Things get complicated when looking at addiction treatment from a clinical perspective. Areas blur and become intertwined. Effective treatment requires and demands a lot from both patient and clinician.
It’s not about treating the mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, and familial aspects of addiction separately – at least not in any rehab worth their salt – it’s about integrating care and offering a comprehensive solution to the disease of addiction.
Rehab’s about addressing all the patient’s needs. It’s about offering a continuum of care from detox and inpatient treatment to providing relapse prevention and lower levels of care that allow patients to transition back to their lives.
It’s about having a compassionate and professional staff available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. It’s about giving each patient a treatment plan catered to their unique challenges and tailored to help them achieve specific and measurable goals.
It’s about offering premier secondary services, incorporating 12-step programs, and making sure patients have the chance to unwind and relax every once in awhile.
In other words, rehab’s about treating everyone who enters with the respect and care they deserve.
We take these very seriously here at Malvern. For us, these are more than parts of a definition – they’re the very fabric that bind us together. They’re our philosophy and how we operate on a daily basis.