The next step in getting addiction treatment is the drug abuse and alcohol assessment process.
After the treatment center has completed the addiction screening process and one is deemed appropriate for the program, and the intake paperwork is done, assessment begins. The assessment process is basically an evaluation and identification of a person’s problems, strengths and weaknesses, in areas that need improvement or development for the purposes of designing a treatment plan to address them.
Actually, some information is being gathered during the screening and the intake process. Assessment is actually an ongoing process throughout substance abuse treatment, although the majority of it takes place in the beginning of treatment so as to establish a personalized plan of treatment. Assessments are modified throughout the process and are never “Written in stone.”
The counselor or professional performing the assessment will take all look at several broad “Life” areas. Information will be gathered on the frequency and types of substances that are being used, a social and family history, a psychological history, as well as any medical, medication and treatment history. These pieces of information are usually gathered through a structured interview process, with the patient, and possibly family and medical professionals.
Once the information is gathered together the skill and the competency of the counselor is used to formulate a strategic plan of action. This plan of action is called the “treatment plan”. This treatment plan then becomes the road map that outlines a specific course of addiction treatment tailored to the individual’s needs.
Depending on the individual drug and alcohol treatment center the assessments may be made by various professionals and an assimilated to gather in an assessment summary. In a top tier inpatient treatment center you may realistically expect to be assessed by the addiction counselor, medical or nursing staff, Psychology, psychiatry, and spiritual care. It is usually the job of the addiction counselor to coordinate these various assessments and develop the treatment plan.
For Part 1 of this series click on: Addiction Treatment Screening
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Assessment is the first step towards any kind of addiction recovery and I guess every case is different in a lot of ways so you just can not put down rules for the same.