It’s interesting to note that more than a few groups of people in the US have concerns about being eligible for addiction treatment. Clearly, addictions are equal opportunity diseases. They don’t care if they afflict young people, elderly people, white people, black people, Americans, Asians, short people, tall people or people of any shape or size. Given the opportunity, addictions are more than happy to lower the boom on anyone that tempts them.
For that very reason, there are addiction treatment services available for all of the aforementioned groups and many more. If you are in fact over the age of 65, you can certainly get access to the treatment you need. However, you need to be aware they are many addiction treatment facilities that choose to treat very specific groups of people. That would require you to do a little work to find facilities that will accept you based on exactly who and what you are.
Can I Receive Outpatient Drug Rehabilitation Services if I’m Over the Age of 65?
The answer to the title question is a big yes. However, as a senior, it’s important that you take into account your physical health when trying to find an outpatient treatment program that meets your needs. You’ll want to focus on facilities that are well equipped to handle handicap issues and people with serious medical conditions.
It matters not if you are seeking inpatient or outpatient care. You shouldn’t have any real difficulties finding an addiction treatment facility that offers addiction treatment services for people in your age group. In fact, there’s a decent chance you can find a facility that actually specializes in treating seniors.
That brings to mind the special needs a 65-year-old addiction sufferer might have. Clearly, seniors are at greater risk of health problems. A drug or alcohol addiction would most likely speed up the aging process enough to increase those health risks. Additionally, there is also a higher likelihood that there are elements to the addiction that involve psychological issues.
Taking all of this into account, it might be a good idea to discuss some of the special needs a person in your age group might have. All of these things should be considered mitigating factors when treating seniors for substance abuse addiction.
The Need for Prescription Drugs
Rare is the senior who doesn’t need some form of medication. It’s simply a fact of life that as the human body ages, things start breaking down a bit. When that happens, a little medication is usually able to mend some of the fences.
When treating seniors for a drug addiction, the facility’s medical staff and therapists need to understand the senior client’s medical needs. If there’s medication involved, that medication will become a concern. In an outpatient setting, that’s usually not a big problem because the client still has the ability to make their regular doctor visits and fill their prescriptions as needed. It’s when some of the medications are identified as the source of the addiction that things get a little complicated.
That’s when it might be necessary for an addiction facility’s medical staff to intervene. What they might be looking for is an alternative medication to treat the client’s medical problem, one that doesn’t have addictive properties. If such a medication does not exist, the facility’s medical staff might need to huddle with the client’s family doctor to look for solutions.
Bottom line. Dealing with medication issues requires an extra level of care, even in an outpatient program.
Dealing With Mental or Psychological Issues
If a senior client enters an outpatient rehab program with an identifiable psychological or mental issue, they might well need to go through dual-diagnosis therapy. Dual diagnosis therapy allows for the treatment of co-occurring conditions simultaneously. If the addiction and mental issues are clearly integrated with one another, treatment for both conditions needs to be handled simultaneously to prevent the untreated condition from interfering with the recovery process.
If the senior client is suffering from memory loss issues, it complicates the treatment process even more. At that point, the addiction treatment therapist might again need to interact with the client’s medical doctors for guidance.
If you are over 65 and looking for help with your addiction, there’s no need to worry about getting help. You’ll find there are plenty of options. In fact, we are more than happy to treat people in your age group. If you would allow us to help you, you should contact us at 844-639-8371.