A comprehensive assessment of your or your loved ones illness of addiction is an essential first step on the road to recovery.  It sets out the route to take in order to obtain the best possible treatment option and ultimately is the first step in the road to a return to a quality of life that you deserve.  Assessments should be a relaxed two way flow of information with some simple tests which leaves you more knowledgeable of your illness and hopefully more motivated to get treatment.

The treatment of addictions is a competitive business for the providers and an expensive business for the patient.  Survival of the business particularly in difficult times can lead to less than ethical practices.  In some cases getting “bums in beds” can appear more important than looking at whether the treatment facility is appropriate for your needs or whether residential treatment is necessary.  You need to be confident that what you are committing to gives you the best chance of recovery. Recovery in Reality, free of the need to take into account financial considerations, offers a comprehensive free assessment service with free advice on the severity of your illness and what we consider to be the most relevant treatment facility for your needs.  For this service we ask for no, nor do we receive any, commission from your eventual place of treatment.  Nor do we recommend expensive residential treatment when it is not needed.  Our aim is to ensure that where possible you get what you need not what somebody else needs.

Addiction is a complex illness that can be effectively diagnosed using criteria long approved by the American Psychiatric Association and the World Health Organisation.  Diagnoses can be made by any trained addictions professional, doctor or Psychiatrist but what is important is that although airing on the side of caution is acceptable, making the diagnosis just to get you into treatment is not.  Sometimes less expensive outpatient treatment may be an excellent first step.  There are often a number of options that should be discussed and much will depend on not only the severity of your illness, although this must have a high priority, but also on your other commitments such as work and family.

Recovery in Reality use widely accepted diagnostic tools including DSM IV, ICD 10, SASSI, AUDIT and CAGE. The AUDIT and CAGE tests are available on the Internet and can be used as a self diagnosis tool but only if they are answered with 100 per cent honesty.  They give a good indication of whether you should seek help or not but are not a thorough assessment tool.  We also take a full clinical, mental and social history and where appropriate full psychiatric and medical assessments including blood tests (there is a charge, at cost, for any medical tests). Only after exhaustive assessment can a true recommendation for treatment be made.

If you are concerned about your drinking or using or are concerned about someone close to you please don’t delay.  A comprehensive free assessment is exactly what it says.  It may confirm what you already know or give you some relief from expectation of the worse.  Whatever the outcome of the assessment it often feels good that the first step has been taken.
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