It is important that you call a Substance Abuse Treatment Provider for your telephone screening so that you can be professionally assessed and directed to the level of care that is clinically appropriate for you. Rhode Island Substance Abuse Treatment Providers follow standards set by the American Society of Addiction Medicine, (ASAM), which has developed specific descriptions of levels of care, and guidelines for patient placement decisions. As the treatment needs of patients change, clinicians should make recommendations for their transition from one level of care to another. Six dimensions of illness are assessed:

• Acute intoxication and/or withdrawal potential
• Biomedical conditions and complications
• Emotional and behavioral conditions or complications
• Treatment acceptance and resistance
• Continued use potential
• Recovery Environment

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Detox:

The severity of withdrawal varies by drug group. Opioid withdrawal is unpleasant and distressing to patients, but it is not medically life threatening to a person who is otherwise physically healthy. On the other hand, withdrawal from alcohol or other sedative-hypnotics can produce grand mal seizures and a life-threatening disruption of physiology, even in a patient without other medical illness. Stimulant withdrawal is characterized by such symptoms as depression, and the primary risk during withdrawal is suicidal behavior.

• The immediate goals of detox are to provide a safe, supervised withdrawal from drugs of dependence. For alcohol and drug dependent people, removal of drugs from their bodies is indeed part of the detoxification process. However, detoxification alone is not a cure for addiction, and should be seen as a part of a person’s overall treatment plan.
• To provide withdrawal that is humane and protects the patient's dignity; a caring staff, a supportive environment, sensitivity to cultural issues, confidentiality, and the selection of appropriate detoxification medication (if needed) are all important to providing humane withdrawal.
• To prepare the patient for ongoing treatment of his or her AOD dependence. During detoxification, patients may form therapeutic relationships with treatment staff or other patients, and may become aware of alternatives to an AOD-abusing lifestyle. Detoxification is an opportunity to offer patients information and to motivate them for longer-term treatment.

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Outpatient Treatment:

Staff provide professionally directed evaluation, treatment and recovery services provided in regularly scheduled sessions of up to nine contact hours a week. Services are tailored to each patient's level of clinical severity and must address major lifestyle, attitudinal and behavioral issues that may impede the goals of treatment.

Intensive Outpatient Treatment Services:

These programs provide a minimum of nine hours of structured programming per week, consisting of comprehensive bio-psychosocial assessments, counseling, education and individualized treatment plans, which include problem formulation, tx goals and measurable objectives in addition to affiliations with other levels of care to assist in accessing clinically necessary "wraparound" support services, in addition to addressing the patient's needs for psychiatric and medical services through consultation or referral arrangements.

Partial Hospital Program (PHP) / Day Treatment:

These programs provide a minimum of 20 hours of clinically intensive programming per week, consisting of comprehensive bio-psychosocial assessments, counseling and individualized treatment plans, which include problem formulation, tx goals and measurable objective in addition to affiliations with other levels of care and can assist in accessing clinically necessary "wraparound" support services, counseling and education in addition to addressing the patient's needs for psychiatric and medical services through direct access or referral arrangements.

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Residential Treatment:

Sometimes, separation from the environment and its stressors is necessary for treatment to be most effective. Residential settings provide the opportunity to focus on treatment without distractions that may interfere in other modalities. Lengths of stay vary. Some residential programs allow for the client to work while in treatment and offer services for those with co-occurring psychiatric disorders.

Continuing Care/Aftercare Planning:

To ensure that the recovery process continues beyond the point of treatment, a continuing care plan shall be established early in the treatment process by the therapist and the client. It is a plan to include what services the client will receive and where they will be given after discharge, that will enable the client to sustain abstinence and a recovery-oriented lifestyle. These may include outpatient services, group counseling, as well as tox screens.

In addition, the Rhode Island Council on Alcohol and Other Drug Dependence, 725-0410, administers a Sober Housing Program, which provides safe housing for those in recovery.

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