Most insurance plans will cover either all or a portion of the treatment.
Navigation:
- Overview
- Addressing Specific Physical and Mental Health Concerns
- Intuitive and Culturally Competent Behavioral Therapy
- Compassionate and Safe Medically Supervised Detoxification
- Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)
- Targeted, Specialized Therapeutic Programming
- How Do I Find Drug Rehab for Athletes?
Overview
Athletes, both amateur and professional, are uniquely vulnerable to substance use. From the more than 50 percent of professional football players who admit to opioid abuse during the course of their careers to high school and college students who start using painkillers and steroids to improve their performance, athletic competition and substance abuse are often closely linked.
Whether due to the pressures and emotional rigors of competition, injury-related prescription drug abuse, depression or anxiety over career ups and downs, or a number of other factors, this population routinely deals with distinct and persistent physical and mental health challenges for which they may use drugs or alcohol to cope.
In recognition of the unique origins and triggers of substance abuse that athletes face, as well as the equally unique care needs they have during treatment, many behavioral health providers have started offering specialized drug rehab for athletes to help them reclaim their careers and their lives.
Addressing Specific Physical and Mental Health Concerns
Effective drug rehab for athletes must address the causes and triggers of addiction on multiple fronts. This includes helping patients navigate how their athletic pursuits both contribute to and are impacted by their substance abuse, as well as the complicated physical relationship between their original competition-related injuries and the health issues associated with substance abuse. Facilities should be staffed with experienced doctors, nurses, and therapists who are trained in sports medicine and psychology to provide the best possible care.
Intuitive and Culturally Competent Behavioral Therapy: It’s important to realize that athletes very often define themselves by their performance and continued ability to compete, even though their substance abuse may significantly compromise their performance and, in many cases, render them permanently unable to continue in their sport. The realization that their athletic days are behind them can be traumatic in itself, and it’s important that they get the help they need to navigate that transition.
At the same time, it’s important that these patients understand how their athletic activity may have contributed to and sustained their addictions. One of the most important pillars of drug rehab for athletes is behavioral therapy, which can help patients unravel and reconcile their athletic and individual identities. This is often done through modalities such as cognitive behavioral therapy and other therapeutic techniques. While each patient’s journey and clinical care needs will be unique, these are some of the issues more common to athletes who are struggling with substance use disorder.
Compassionate and Safe Medically Supervised Detoxification: The medical detox process can be particularly difficult and complicated for athletes. This is a population whose bodies may have sustained extreme rigor and strain during the course of training, performance, and competition-related injuries. Unfortunately, it’s also a population that is uniquely vulnerable to painkiller abuse and addiction. The acute withdrawal period associated with substance use disorder can involve complex medical issues and should be managed by experienced and qualified doctors and nurses who are trained to safely relieve symptoms and intervene in the event of a medical emergency.
Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT): For athletes who are struggling with opioid use disorder, as many are, medication-assisted treatment (MAT) uses certain FDA-approved medications to help curb cravings and manage withdrawal symptoms. These medications include Suboxone (buprenorphine and naloxone), Vivitrol (monthly injectable naltrexone), methadone, Sublocade, and similar medications. MAT is administered under the supervision of an experienced and licensed healthcare provider and varies in duration according to patients’ ongoing care needs and progress.
Targeted, Specialized Therapeutic Programming: Effective drug rehab for athletes should also offer programming and amenities that cater to athletes’ specific lifestyles. This may include programming such as fitness therapy, or at least access to fitness facilities and exercise resources, as well as nutritional therapy and healthy meals and snacks for athletes in inpatient or intensive outpatient programs.
In order for athletes, or any other type of patient, to maintain successful recovery, it’s important that they have continuity in their routines with limited disruption. Rehab centers can provide these comforts and pillars of stability to help patients embrace treatment and successfully transition to post-treatment recovery. It’s also important that aftercare plans continue to acknowledge these needs and incorporate them into patients’ ongoing recovery plans.
How Do I Find Drug Rehab for Athletes?
Professional athletes in need of addiction treatment very often seek help from higher-end facilities that have the necessary programming and amenities readily available during their care. This does not mean, however, that athletes with fewer financial resources can’t find a rehab that addresses their unique concerns. The best way to find a drug rehab that’s conducive to your or your loved one’s needs is to contact the facility you’re considering and inquire about its amenities and therapeutic programming. The facility should be able to provide a full breakdown of its treatment options and complete an insurance verification.
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