Benefits of Having a Methadone Clinic Close to Home

Many opioid addicts choose to attend treatment at a methadone clinic that is as close to home as possible. This is because there are many reasons why this type of treatment program works. Having a methadone clinic close to home and receiving treatment there is a wonderful opportunity for many addicts who are looking to recover.

Availability

In some situations, patients have to go far away for their treatment which can be difficult and require lots of planning. The availability of a nearby methadone clinic is extremely helpful and can make your treatment much less difficult to obtain every day. According to the NIDA, “Treatment needs to be readily available,” which is true of this type of close to home, reliable methadone treatment.

Less Expensive

Those who go away for treatment often wind up spending much more money than those who stick close to home. Airfare and travel, living arrangements, and other considerations that can get extremely expensive are often not needed with this kind of treatment facility. Staying local can allow you to attend treatment at an outpatient methadone clinic and go home afterward, which will also save you on expenses. In general, this type of treatment is usually cheaper which may be necessary for many individuals who have debts already as a consequence of their addictions.

Support Group Closeness

Going to a nearby methadone clinic can allow for the development of strong support groups.

If you go away for treatment, it can sometimes be difficult for your support group to visit you. If you gain a good amount of strength from your loved ones as part of your recovery (which many patients do), the proximity of your support group will likely be important to you. In this case, you can often:

• Have your support group visit you in the facility (if you are staying in an inpatient methadone clinic)
• Go home each night to stay with one or some of the individuals who support you (if you are attending treatment in an outpatient methadone clinic)
• Attend family or relationship therapy at the clinic in order to work through the issues that opioid addiction has caused between you and your loved ones (in either scenario)

In most cases, it is so incredibly important to have your support group close and to be able to rely on them to be a part of your treatment. A methadone clinic that is close to home will allow you to add this important level to your recovery.

Comfort

It is incredibly important that a patient feel comfortable in their treatment environment so that they will:

• Be able to focus on their recovery
• Want to stay in treatment for the appropriate amount of time (according to the NIDA, the most effective amount of time is 90 days or more)
• Feel that they are doing the right thing and helping themselves by attending treatment

Patients who stay close to home often feel more comfortable in their environments during and after treatment than those who go away: it is more familiar and they are not far from the lives and individuals they know well. Barring safety issues or discomfort at home, patients often choose to stay close to home for these reasons.