If you suspect that you or someone you love may be addicted to alcohol or drugs, it can be helpful and also something of a relief to know that there are resources and options available to you. The most important thing is to admit and accept that there is a problem, which is also the first and most important step of recovery. And with that acknowledged it is also important to know that if it is a loved one for whom you are worried, you may be able to offer support and guidance and maybe even stage an intervention, however, it is up to the addict to actually make use of the alcoholism addiction treatment services and they will not work if the alcoholic or drug addict does not admit to the problem or want to change it.

One of the first things many people are concerned about with alcohol treatment programs is the amount of cost that is associated with them. Many of the in-patient facilities are covered by insurance policies though they can be extremely expensive if paying out of your pocket. In addition, some of the private centers have something of a prestigious element to them and depending on their location and particular facility can escalate in price. The good news is that some of them also offer sliding scale fees. However, what may be the best news of all is that if an in-patient program is not possible for you, or if your particular situation is not so extreme as to demand the services of one, there are other options available.

Twelve Step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous are free to participants and they are also available in all major cities across the country as well as most towns. In fact, the large cities in the nation will have multiple meetings in various locations and they will occur around the clock. Alcoholics Anonymous is the most successful of the programs in its efforts to help individuals achieve sobriety and begin as well as sustain recovery. It recognizes the various stages of alcohol recovery and it also accepts that relapse is frequently part of the recovery process. It does not label an individual’s efforts as failure if they have a drink, or quite a few of them, a week or even a day or hours after they first declare that they have a problem and want to quit.

The first year of recovery is generally considered to be the most stressful and chaotic and most of the phases occur throughout this time period. And while every individual is different, addiction is extremely similar across the board and there are certain aspects of recovery that are expected with most or all of those who go through it.

If you or a loved one is suffering from substance abuse, our list of treatment centers could help provide a solution.