Tap To Call
Page title background

How to Get a Loved One Into Treatment

Watching someone you love struggle with drug or alcohol addiction can be quite painful. You hate to see their substance abuse destroy their life. And it hurts even worse if they don’t want to seek help because they can’t understand the negative impact of their addiction. So, you want to know how to get someone to go to rehab for alcohol or drugs when they don’t want to go themselves?

To help your loved one into a rehab program, you need to take certain steps to simplify the process and make it more effective. The team at Gateway will help you overcome any obstacles you may encounter during the process.

Here are some tips on how to get someone into rehab whether or not the person wants to go.

View Infographic

How to Get a Loved One into Treatment

How to Get a Loved One Into Treatment For Addiction

Laughing during a therapy session

Get Help For Addiction

Overcoming a substance use disorder is hard, but your loved ones doesn’t have to struggle alone. Find help & healing at Gateway Foundation.

877.505.4673

1. Understand the Signs and Symptoms of Substance Abuse

To help your loved one recover from substance use disorder, you need to recognize the warning signs of drug and alcohol addiction. The early warning signs of addiction include:

  • Being secretive
  • Avoiding responsibilities
  • Borrowing money without any important reasons
  • Poor hygiene
  • Frequent mood changes
  • Becoming isolated
  • Coming home smelling like smoke or alcohol

These are some general signs and symptoms that could indicate your loved one is addicted to drugs or alcohol. The exact symptoms they demonstrate will vary depending on their level of addiction, as well as the substances they choose to use. Someone suffering from alcoholism may come home smelling of alcohol, but a person who is abusing other drugs may not demonstrate that particular sign.

If your loved one is using cocaine or other stimulants, there may not be any outward signs. However, they may demonstrate uncharacteristic hyperactivity or the ability to go for long periods without sleep. Those who use heroin may also display a dramatic change in their sleeping schedule. Unless you see the needle marks on their arms, though, you might not be able to tell your loved one is abusing an illicit substance.

The point here isn’t that you won’t be able to see the signs and symptoms of substance abuse in your loved ones. It’s that you might need to look a little closer to figure out something is wrong. Once you do that, you can figure out how to get a loved one into rehab.

Substance abuse can cause problems at home and even lead to job loss or failure at school. If you notice these symptoms, you need to take prompt action. Don’t wait until your loved one displays dangerous, violent or life-threatening behavior such as drunk driving.

Man consoling his significant other

2. Discover if Your Loved One Wants Rehab

After you’ve seen signs of addiction in your loved one, find out if they would like to go to rehab. If they are open to it, then you can start the process of planning by calling our 24-hour confidential line at 877–377–2027.

If they aren’t ready for rehab, you should hire an interventionist. A professional interventionist knows how to get the most stubborn drug addicts into rehab. Since they’re usually emotionally detached from the person, they make the task much easier.

3. Learn the Most Effective Treatment Options

The exact steps to addiction recovery vary from person to person. This is because drug abuse triggers and situations that lure people into drug use vary widely. So, it’s important to know the different types of treatment available and choose the one best suited for your loved one.

You can learn about the different types of treatment on our website and find out more about the types of aftercare, family therapy and support groups designed to meet your loved one’s needs.

Selecting the right addiction treatment center will determine whether your loved one stays on the path to recovery or if they’ll struggle with relapse. At Gateway, we use nine core treatment methods to ensure we address the drug addiction but also deal with the co-occurring factors that led to the addiction in the first place.

Our treatment facility offers everything required to handle withdrawal and detox symptoms, and we have a complete team of medical professionals to handle every aspect of addiction recovery. We offer amenities that will make your loved one feel safe and comfortable.

Man talking to a counselor

4. Discuss Your Options With a Counselor

When you’re thinking about how to get someone into rehab, you must think through how to get the needed resources, finances and logistics in order. At this stage, you must also discuss your health insurance options. When you call to book an appointment with our entry support staff, we’ll help you evaluate various insurance options that will meet your loved one’s needs. Before your date, you may wish to contact your health insurance provider to see what sort of coverage your policy offers for rehab facilities. You may find yourself responsible for some.

5. Create an Intervention Plan

An intervention is the most effective way to confront someone with a substance use disorder. When you create your intervention plan, you should invite the person’s close friends and family members. Working with an interventionist will also make the process much smoother and successful.

You need to plan what you’ll say and how you’ll approach the issue. Write everything down so you can deliver your message calmly and effectively. Avoid throwing blame at your loved one. Also, plan to take the person straight into rehab immediately after they agree to treatment since that’s the best time to do so. Interventions can be frightening and emotional events.

The goal isn’t to get your loved one to agree to pursue treatment under duress — that is not an effective way for how to get an addict into rehab.

You want to help them realize there is a problem — even if they can’t see it. Let them know you’re there for them as they start their path to recovery.

therapy treatment sess

Start on the Path to Recovery

Overcoming a substance use disorder is hard, but your loved ones doesn’t have to struggle alone. Find help & healing at Gateway Foundation.

877.505.4673
Woman consoling her significant other

6. Provide Love and Support

Choose a rehab facility where you can offer all the support and love you can during each stage of treatment. Recovery from a substance abuse problem is one of the hardest things your loved one will ever do. Don’t make them do it alone. Make sure you are there for them as much as possible.

You’re going to become a foundation for them, a rock they can use to support their recovery. It sounds cliché, but having a strong support system is vital to the success of any recovery journey.

At Gateway, our therapists work in partnership with family members to ensure each patient has all the support they need to stay sober and enjoy lifelong recovery.

blue banner

Let’s Help Your Loved One Get on the Path to Full Recovery

For more assistance on how to get your loved one into a rehab facility in Illinois, please call our confidential helpline at 877–377–2027. We’ve been offering life-saving addiction treatment for over 50 years. To learn more about our drug rehab programs, send us a message through our contact page today.