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If you have ever owned a pet, then you know that the bond between you and your furry friend can be inseparable. For those struggling with disabilities and behavioral disorders, having a pet can be beneficial for their physical and emotional well-being.
If you are struggling with addiction and are hesitating to seek out professional help for the sake of your pet, you can rest easy. There are several pet-friendly rehab programs available to those struggling with substance abuse today.
Keep reading to learn more about your recovery options and how you can continue to care for your furry companion while getting the help you need!
The recovery process from alcohol and drug addiction can be a long and difficult road, especially without the right support and tools. This is because many people will begin abusing substances in order to help them cope with the stress of their day-to-day lives.
Particularly for those with underlying mental health disorders, abusing drugs or alcohol may feel like their only way of being able to feel or function normally. This can lead to repetitive habits of substance abuse and eventually addiction.
Once dependent on an abused substance, stopping use on your own can feel almost impossible. This is why many people who are struggling with addiction are encouraged to seek out professional drug and alcohol rehab programs.
Pet-friendly rehab centers understand the animal-human bond that comes with pet ownership and allow their clients to recover at a treatment center with the comforting presence of their animal companion.
Not only can this help ease the worries of having to leave your pet for treatment, but can also add several health benefits to the recovery process. In many cases, people who have owned a pet while in recovery saw more positive treatment outcomes than those who did not have pets.
This is because many pet owners find that having the responsibility of a pet that is dependent on them helps provide the necessary encouragement to develop healthier habits.
Furthermore, having the unconditional love and support of an animal companion can make treatment feel more comfortable and secure.
This may be especially important for individuals with co-occurring disorders, as this additional level of emotional support can help make the recovery process much easier for them.
Recovering through a pet-friendly rehab facility provides you with the opportunity to get the help you need while having an extra level of support in the presence of your pet.
The rehab process can be a stressful and difficult experience for anyone who is struggling with addiction, especially if their habits of substance abuse have become a dominant factor in their life.
Once they begin treatment, these individuals will have to develop a healthier, substance-free lifestyle, which will take time and effort. For many pet owners, having their pet with them throughout this treatment process can make recovery much easier and far less stressful.
In fact, pet-friendly drug rehab centers may even utilize pet therapy and emotional support animals as a part of their recovery approach.
These treatment therapies have recently gained a decent amount of traction within the recovery community as the human-animal bond continues to prove its ability to be emotionally and physically healing.
When using animals as a form of therapy in treating substance use disorders, these can be a great way to provide stress relief, as well as help alleviate feelings of sadness, loneliness, and anxiety.
For many individuals struggling with negative feelings and thoughts caused by a mental health disorder, getting a pet can provide them with the necessary emotional and psychological support.
These animals will be prescribed by a licensed mental health provider to help treat individuals with anxiety or depression, as well as various other mental health disorders, and are called Emotional Support Animals (ESAs).
Cats and dogs are the most common animals found in these roles, but many pets can become ESAs, including birds, pigs, ferrets, and more. These pets provide companionship and support to individuals who may otherwise lack this in their everyday lives.
Of course, there are differences between emotional support dogs and cats and service animals. This means that ESAs will have certain restrictions on where they can go with their owners, due to public health concerns.
For example, ESAs will typically be unable to enter restaurants or other privately-owned areas. However, certain accommodations can be made in specific situations depending on the individual’s needs.
While rehab can be stressful for anyone who decides to enter treatment, this will be especially difficult for individuals with disabilities. This is why many substance abuse treatment options, including some chronic relapse treatment centers, will welcome service animals into their facilities.
Like ESAs, service animals can come in all shapes and sizes. The most common, however, are therapy dogs, as these animals are usually able to provide more physical support for individuals with disabilities than other pets may be able to.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will generally grant your therapy dog or other service animals permission to accompany you wherever you need to go, including rehab.
Someone who is struggling with a drug or alcohol addiction will usually have a very difficult time overcoming their substance abuse on their own.
Seeking out professional treatment will have many benefits, including making the recovery process significantly easier, as well as greatly increasing an individual’s chances of successfully achieving sobriety.
There are several types of pet-friendly drug and alcohol rehab programs, including:
No matter what level of care you choose to seek out when recovering from your drug or alcohol abuse, each of these programs can teach you a number of skills and provide a variety of treatment services, including:
Addiction treatment programs come with a variety of recovery approaches and methods, as not everyone’s experience with addiction is the same. With a vast array of recovery options to choose from, your treatment plan will likely differ from what works for another person.
Knowing which treatment options will be best for your needs can be hard and confusing. Speaking with your doctor or an addiction specialist can help you decide what level of care will be best for you and your furry companion.
Pets require a significant amount of time and attention, which can make getting the help you need to overcome addiction difficult.
Of course, there are many reasons why someone may want to bring their pet with them to rehab, including a lack of boarding for their animal while in recovery, or having an emotional support or service animal that they are dependent on.
While there are several rehab programs designed specifically with pet-owners in mind, these facilities may not be accessible to everyone. In these cases, general rehab programs may allow ESAs and service pets to accompany their clients on a case-by-case basis.
It is important to speak with your admissions team and make sure that you are able to receive permission to bring your pet with you to treatment ahead of time.
Although a pet-friendly drug rehab may offer some forms of animal-assisted therapy, these are two different forms of approach. Though treatment centers may welcome pets, animal-assisted therapy is done with the use of trained animals (and staff) as opposed to clients visiting with their furry companions.
A pet-friendly rehab center is more likely to have such forms of assistive therapy, but please be sure to ask when you call. If you are looking for equine therapy, for instance, rather than a treatment center where you can reside with your pet, we can also help you find these services.
For many people, the cost of treatment can be a major deterrent when looking to overcome their addictions; but this does not have to be the case. There are several payment options available to those recovering from substance use disorders.
The most popular of these are using insurance to help offset the costs of treatment. The amount of coverage you may be entitled to will vary based on your specific insurance provider and policy.
You can easily verify your insurance and find pet-friendly drug and alcohol rehab facilities that are in-network with your plan by calling your provider, or using the FAR fast and free insurance verification tool today!
If you are struggling with addiction and want to get help, but are worried about which options will allow you to keep your pet nearby, you can rest easy knowing that help is just a phone call away.
At Rehabs Of Armerica, we understand the importance of getting the help you need while still being able to have the support and companionship of your furry friend.
Our hotline is available 24/7 to answer all of your addiction treatment questions and connect you with pet-friendly rehab programs in your area.
So don’t wait; call us today, and we will help you get started on your recovery journey, where you can get sober without having to leave your pet behind!
Edward lives and works in South Florida and has been a part of its recovery community for many years. With a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Massachusetts, he works to help Find Addiction Rehabs as both a writer and marketer. Edward loves to share his passion for the field through writing about addiction topics, effective treatment for addiction, and behavioral health as a whole. Alongside personal experience, Edward has deep connections to the mental health treatment industry, having worked as a medical office manager for a psychiatric consortium for many years.
