Self-Advocacy and Assessment Process

Joseph B. Devlin: Welcome, I'm your host, Joseph Devlin. And today, we are going to discuss some more excerpts from my book. So let's get at it. Confidence during intake process, you may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. Maya Angelou, you and your loved one have come to an agreement, you've made the decision and and have arrived at this point to go to treatment. This is huge. You believe you know which level of treatment your loved one should go to. Now what step one, you need to figure out where insurance will pay for treatment. In this chapter, we're going to talk about the process of admission into treatment. So throughout this show, we're going to talk about intake and assessment and they're gonna go kind of hand in hand book talks a little bit more about that. And but it's really that process of you're going to need to be assessed in order to be allowed into the treatment and into for the assessor to be able to justify which level of treatment that you need to go to. Alright, so let me get back to this. The one thing that needs to be determined right away is what type of insurance you have. The first thing to do is to call the number on the back of your insurance card and find out where the insurance company contracts for drug and alcohol treatment, you should talk with the insurer about the cost of you're in network and out of network benefits. Most of the time, you're in network benefits will be less out of pocket for you. Up front. However, it limits where treatment can be provided, your out of network benefits will increase the number of possible facilities. And if the deductible has been met for the year, then it may be the same cost as going to an in network provider. After contacting your insurance company, the next step is to call the treatment facility to find out what their processes for entering their treatment facility. During this contact, you will also find out if there is any availability or openings at this time, most likely, you will schedule a time to come in for an intake slash assessment appointment with your loved one. As long as there is availability and your loved one meets criteria for placement, you will be offered the opportunity to enter the treatment center that day. Stop here for a moment, it is so crucial to be able to pick up the phone, call your insurance company, ask him what levels of treatment do they cover, inpatient, outpatient, detox, partial hospitalization, IOP. You know, find out who they what levels will be covered. And also find out which treatment centers will be covered in your area. And also find out which treatment centers will be covered. Then you outreach to the treatment center, and find out what their process is for that intake. And many times it'll be either the next morning you can go in for an assessment, or many times you can go in that day, do make a strong suggestion is to do it as early as possible in the day. So once they open, if you're one of the first people there, you're going to increase your likelihood of being able to enter that facility that day. And here's an extra note that I have here in the book is a side note, I encourage you to always be in contact with the treatment facility and the insurance agent. This way you will know what is being covered and what is not. Also, if the insurance does deny a level of care that you feel your loved one needs, there is an appeal process you can go through, you would need to contact your insurance company regarding this process. And the treatment center we'll be more than willing to help walk you through this appeals process. That is huge. advocating for yourself. I often give the example that like when we go to the doctors, we really do need to be prepared to just ask them questions. I remember my wife and I our first child that we had the first doctor's appointment that I was at. I mean, we had like questions two pages long that we wanted to ask the doctor. And we you know, we had to narrow it down like what were the important ones to ask. And so that's the same thing here when you have your loved one going into treatment is being connected to the your insurance company as well as the treatment center so that you know what is being covered. Because many times you'll think that something's going to be covered for seven days and it's covered for three or you think it's going to be covered for three and it's covered for 10. And when you're advocating on behalf that you're contacting the treatment center saying okay, how long are they approved for? Then you can outreach to your insurance company and say okay, how outcome, they're not approved for more. So when you're advocating on behalf of your loved one is going to be extremely important. And it will keep you in the loop of what you know needs to happen next. Once you talk to your insurance company, then you talk to the treatment center, then you get that appointment scheduled and, and make sure that you arrive at least 15 minutes early to that appointment. And I really do encourage you to grab the first appointment in the morning, because that will increase your likelihood that you will be able to enter a treatment facility that day. So I'll come back to the book here. One of the questions I often get is, How do we walk with somebody through this intake process. The first thing that you will need to do once the intake appointment is scheduled is determined who will go with your loved one to the assessment site. The addict should be accompanied by somebody close to them such as a family member. This helps ensure arrival to the intake appointment, and that your loved ones intake questions are accurately answered. Also, if a document is forgotten at home, the family member can go home and get it. When waiting for the assessment to begin, there will be some initial paperwork that needs to be filled out before meeting somebody face to face for an assessment. You can also help assist your loved one in filling out these documents. Next step will be the assessment your loved one will be going into the assessment by themselves as this will be the most effective and efficient evaluation process. You can most certainly request to sit in for some of the assessment. However, this tends to slow down the process. You may choose to express your concerns at the beginning of the assessment. But I would encourage you to be directed to the point. This is a very emotional time. And you've been through a lot to get to this point. I'm going to stop there. Yeah, so within the intake process at this point, you you have, you finally have come to the point where everybody's we're in at the assessment process, we've got them there. Now maybe just some key pieces of information that maybe the assessor needs to know. And then you kind of pull back, you can also, you know, you can, as I said, you can be in there for the assessment, you can also be there at the beginning at the end. But any crucial information that you need to give them I would just make them you know, just points 123 points. And rather than maybe telling a longer story, because then again, that would just slow down the process. And again, this is great. When you have somebody who's an interventionist, they can also help you, you know craft those statements that you want to be able to relay the important information to the assessor. Upon completion of an assessment, a recommendation will be given for a level of treatment for your loved one. For the sake of our discussion, let's say that they are recommended to enter an inpatient detox unit. Excellent. This is the level of treatment that you were hoping for and you were very happy. Note here. If you're hoping for this result, take a small bag of clothes to the assessment. So your loved one can take this with them to the inpatient facility. Important. The next step you can do to help your loved one is to make sure they safely arrive and are admitted to the inpatient facility. This may consist of you physically driving them to the treatment facility, or it may take you waiting with them until the treatment facility can come and pick them up and drive them to their facility. Please, if you're the one transporting them to the inpatient facility, do not stop for anything, drive them directly to the facility, there is nothing that is more important that they need to do right now then to get to the treatment facility in the same condition they were in at the assessment. If they needed an article, clothing, etc. You can drop off whatever they need. At the facility later. I have worked with hundreds of individuals who will promise to enter an inpatient treatment facility tomorrow or a week from now. I would refrain from waiting as this is a time sensitive manner. They could lose their spot at the facility. They may no longer meet criteria to enter the facility and there is a whole slew of other factors that could come into play. Please just get them to the facility. You have taken this much time to get your loved one approved for a treatment facility. Don't break the momentum, keep on keeping on and go right to the facility and into treatment.

This part is so important because as we discussed the process to go through the assessment and you know getting yourself set up through the insurance and the phone calls and the appointment getting there on time and then go Going through the assessment efficiently. And hey, you've been referred to an inpatient treatment center. And many times, you'll have to wait until like a bed opens, and it'll be later in the day. And so just wait with that individual don't take them anywhere. I've often seen people who say, hey, you know, I'll go in on Thursday, or I'll go in on a Friday, or I'll just give me one more day, and then I'll go, and many times, that really just leads to somebody wanting to try and get like one last high one last load and, and that could be the very last load. Unfortunately, that has happened to me too many times that I know of too many situations where that was the case. And it breaks my heart, because I know that it was there, there were just moments away from being able to, to begin leading a different life. So whatever it may be, whatever they may tell, you, make sure that you just take them to the treatment center, or you wait with them while they're waiting to be picked up from the treatment center. And this is also a great time to be able to reach out to your support networks from if you were involved in the 12 step community or whatever that support network may be, that you can call them, because you're going to feel the pressure to take them somewhere else, if they're asking you to. Even if they want food, that's fine, call food in or have somebody else pick it up and deliver it to you. It's just, it is a, it's just a crucial waiting point. So and the other tip really is to keep that bag of clothes in the car, if you think that that the ultimate result is going to be an inpatient facility. Okay, so I'm gonna jump back into the book here. Congratulations, your loved one is admitted by the inpatient facility, this may be the first time that you can actually think about yourself, this has been a long process. And now maybe for the first time in a long time, you can breathe. And this is a really big piece, while you're driving home from that assessment, and that your loved one has now entered treatment, you know, be happy and celebrate and breathe, take three deep breaths and just enjoy the moment, know that you were a huge part, and then entering treatment. And this has been something that has been going on for so long, and has caused so much chaos and so much turmoil that you do need that celebration, but also just to let that piece come. And once you get home, get rid of anything that you're aware of your loved one may tell you during that assessment time or while you're waiting for them to get into treatment, you know, to get rid of things, just go ahead and throw it away, just get rid of it. And don't think twice. Because that place is going to be the safe place that they come home to, you know if you know their house will be in that safe place. Or if you know if that's the safe place that they come and visit. And to have that void of as much temptation as possible, it's going to be extremely important. So again, this is this is a really big part. You know, as we're talking through the book, you know, this is a time will be the first time where you're going to have the opportunity to really pour into yourself. And it will be the first time maybe where you can really breathe, and that you have actual time for yourself. Without feeling that extra chaos and pressure of I wonder what my loved ones doing. I wonder how they're doing? Are they going to be alive tonight? Oh my goodness, When are they coming home? Oh my goodness, what am I going to say to him when I see him wake up from the couch or the bed to wherever they may be. And it will be a time for you to begin rejuvenating yourself. So we'll talk about that in upcoming episodes. As always, please leave some questions and comments, I'd love to further this discussion. Because at this point in the recovery journey, this has been a huge step. And a lot of weights been lifted off of the individual who has the addiction. They're feeling safe that they're in a safe place. You as a loved one, you're feeling a weight lifted because you know that your loved ones in a safe place. And now it's okay. Let's not stop the momentum. Let's keep moving forward. This is a place where we're going to build a solid foundation from as we move forward. So until our next episode, remember, sobriety is a family affair. Nice to be with you