Washington Dc Treatment Centers

Washington, DC, is very much aware of the fact that it has a significant drug and alcohol abuse problem. As a result, the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) has started the Substance Abuse Disorder Services. As part of this program, different community based providers that offer intervention, detox, rehab, and other treatment services to address substance abuse disorders, can become certified as a public behavioral health program. To receive certification, they must offer a variety of substance abuse disorder services, which include detox, as well as inpatient and outpatient services, and they must offer this based on an individual's level of need. These services are regulated by the DBH, who sets policy in order to improve levels of prevention, treatment services, and recovery options. The DBH has also launched "The Arc" (assessment and referral center), through which people can enroll in the services.

The DBH Mission

The DBH aims to play a coordinating role between various service providers in an effort to prevent substance abuse, treat those who have a substance abuse disorder, and ensure that patients have the necessary support services available in order to recover. These services are offered not just to those who are addicted, but also to those who are affected by it, including families and loved ones.

Services Offered Through DBH

The goal of the DBH is to ensure that there is a continuum of services for substance abuse disorder prevention, detox, rehab, and recovery support. As such, the DBH has made a distinction between those three things:

1. Prevention, which aims to reduce the opportunities for children and young people to be exposed to drugs and alcohol, while at the same time educating them and the wider community about the risks associated with drug and alcohol abuse.
2. Treatment, which includes assessing individuals and referring them to the right service to get help. This is a form of intervention, in which people will be sent to detox first, which could be medically assisted, followed by outpatient, intensive outpatient, or residential care.
3. Recovery support, where patients bring all the help they have received together, so that they can continue to stay on the road to recovery. This includes care coordination, coaching, mentoring, job readiness, educational support, public transportation, training, and more.

The Continuum of Care

For the DBH, the goal is to make sure patients can access a continuum of the highest possible quality of care. As such, they have created subdivisions of what is available, which people can be referred to by The Arc. These services include:

• Prevention services, including in community and educational establishments
• Adult treatment services
• Treatment services specifically for adolescents
• Recovery support and aftercare services

Like most places, Washington, DC, recognizes that addiction and substance abuse disorders are not lifestyle choices or signs of weakness. Rather, they are diseases that can - and must - be prevented, and that can - and must - be treated once someone does develop it. Through the coordinating services of the DBH and The Arc, this is exactly what is being achieved.