Visits are usually possible, usually later than families want, and usually governed by rules the campus publishes rather than by anything you can negotiate at the door. The early part of a residential stay is the most restricted, and that is a clinical decision rather than a judgment about you.
This page covers when visits typically start, why family programming is scheduled rather than casual, what to bring and what will be turned away, what to say and what to leave alone, how video and phone contact usually work, the particular question of children visiting a parent, what to do with your own reaction afterward, and what one of our campuses publishes about all of it. Our page on what the rehab process is like covers the stay itself.
When visits usually start
Not on day one, and rarely in the first week of a residential admission. Programs typically open contact in stages as someone stabilizes, and the schedule follows the level of care rather than the calendar.
The clinical reason is worth understanding, because it makes the wait easier to accept. The early days are when withdrawal is doing its work and when a person’s resolve is least defensible. Federal guidance states that for alcohol, sedative-hypnotic and opioid withdrawal, hospitalization or some form of 24-hour medical care is generally the preferred setting for detoxification [3]. Somebody in that setting is having a medical experience, not receiving guests.
The setting explains the rest. Federal protocol distinguishes clinically managed residential detoxification, intended for people whose intoxication or withdrawal is sufficient to warrant 24-hour support, from medically monitored inpatient detoxification, which provides 24-hour medically supervised services, and from medically managed intensive inpatient detoxification in an acute care inpatient setting [5]. The more supervised the setting, the more restricted the visiting usually is.
One more thing to expect, and it surprises people. A program may not be able to discuss your relative with you at all until they have consented. Substance use disorder records may be used or disclosed only as federal regulation permits, limited to the information necessary for the purpose, and that applies whether or not the person asking already has the information [4]. So ask two questions on the admissions call rather than guessing. What is the earliest a visit is likely, given the level of care being recommended? And what has to happen first, in terms of consent, approval and paperwork?
Expect the answer to be conditional. Our levels of care page explains why the level, more than the program, decides this.
Family programming, and why it is scheduled
Where a campus schedules family contact, it sits inside a structure rather than being left to whoever turns up. What one of our campuses publishes about that structure is quoted in full further down. That is deliberate, and there is evidence behind it.
Federal reporting states that family counseling in substance use disorder treatment is positively associated with increased treatment engagement and retention rates, treatment cost effectiveness, and improved outcomes for individual clients and their families [1]. It also says family involvement at any level can motivate a person facing addiction to receive or continue treatment, improve overall family functioning, foster healing for family members affected by the consequences of addiction, and reduce risk in children and adolescents of being exposed to violence and of developing substance use or mental disorders [1].
Read that list again: two of those four outcomes are about you rather than about the person in treatment. Family programming is not a courtesy extended to relatives. It is part of the treatment, and it works on more than one person at a time.
Ask what family programming the campus runs, whether it can be joined remotely, and whether it is the same thing as a visit. Often it is not, and the family session is the more useful of the two.
What to bring, and what will be turned away
Bring less than you think, and ask first. Campuses publish their own lists and the door is not the place to discover them.
Items commonly turned away at residential programs include anything containing alcohol, cameras and recording devices, personal electronics, and food or toiletries that fall outside the published list. Programs restrict these for the whole population of the building rather than for your relative in particular.
Two things are usually welcome and often forgotten. Documents that make the stay easier come first. Orlando Recovery Center’s own packing guidance for new residents names an insurance card, relevant medical records or a list of providers with contact information, and a list of family members and their contact information [2]. And ordinary practical clothing suited to the season, which the same guidance describes in detail [2].
Ask about money separately, because the rules are specific. Orlando’s own packing guidance names a small amount of cash with a stated maximum and a form of payment for co-pays [2]. Our page on the rehab intake process covers what happens to belongings at admission.
Ask about visiting before the admission, not after
Orlando Recovery Center Drug, Alcohol and Mental Health Rehab is our campus in Orlando, Florida, running medical detox, residential and inpatient treatment, inpatient mental health treatment, a partial hospitalization program and aftercare planning. Admissions can set out the visiting schedule for the level of care being recommended.
Check your coverage and admissions
Verify your insurance
Orlando Recovery Center Drug, Alcohol and Mental Health Rehab is part of our family of treatment centers. See the Orlando Recovery Center campus.
What to say, and what to leave alone
An hour is short and almost everyone spends it on the wrong things. Decide in advance what this visit is for.
Say the ordinary. What is happening at home, who asked after them, what the dog did. A person in treatment is starved of the mundane, and the mundane is what reminds them there is a life on the other side of this.
Leave alone, at least for this visit: a full accounting of the damage, the money, whose fault it was, and any promise you want extracted. Those conversations are real and they belong in a family session with a clinician in the room, which is exactly what family programming is for.
Two sentences are usually worth saying out loud, because people assume they are understood and they are not. That you are glad they are here. And that you are not going anywhere. Our page on helping and enabling covers the harder version of that line.
Video and phone are usually governed by the same policy as visiting, and they usually open up earlier.
Expect three things. A period at the start of a residential stay with restricted contact. Set times rather than open access, arranged around clinical programming. And rules about cameras, because a shared residential building is full of other people’s confidential business.
Ask the program what the schedule is in days and hours, so you can be available rather than waiting by a phone. Ask whether calls come from a facility line or a personal handset, because that changes what shows up on your screen. And agree what you will do if a scheduled call is missed, which happens for ordinary reasons far more often than for alarming ones.
If something genuinely urgent needs to reach them, the program is the route rather than a phone. Ask at admission who the named contact is and which number the family should use.
Children visiting a parent in treatment
This deserves its own decision rather than being folded into the adult visit, and it is worth asking the treatment team rather than deciding alone.
Some programs restrict visits by children entirely, some allow them in defined circumstances, and the answer usually differs by level of care. Ask specifically rather than assuming from a general visiting policy.
The reason to take the question seriously is not squeamishness. Federal reporting lists reducing risk in children and adolescents of being exposed to violence and of developing substance use or mental disorders among the things family involvement can do [1]. Handled well and with clinical input, contact can be part of that. Handled as an ambush, it is a lot to ask of a child.
Whatever is decided, prepare the child for what the building looks like, how long the visit will be, and what will happen at the end of it. The ending is the part children find hardest, and it is the part adults forget to explain.
After the visit: your own reaction
Plan the hour after the visit as carefully as the visit itself, because that is when it lands.
Expect the reaction to be mixed and possibly delayed. People commonly feel relief, guilt and anger in quick succession, and being ambushed by it in a parking lot is unpleasant. Arrange to do something ordinary afterward, ideally with someone who knows where you have been.
Expect to have read too much into small things, too. Someone looking well does not mean the work is done, and someone looking tired does not mean it is failing. What you saw was one hour out of a stay.
And take the support that is on offer for you. Family counseling has evidence behind it in its own right [1], and it does not require the person in treatment to attend. Our facility directory lists our campuses by state.
What one of our campuses publishes
Policies differ by campus and by level of care, so the admissions team is the authority. Orlando Recovery Center publishes its own visiting rules, and they show the shape of what to expect.
The campus states that, for the safety of all patients, family members, visitors and staff, visitors may only enter the facility during designated visitation times, and that a patient’s treatment team must approve any visitor [2]. It also states that patients in the medical detox or inpatient programs do not have in-person visitors, so that they can focus on their recovery [2].
On the family side, the same page describes family and supports visits and therapy as part of treatment, says that some people do better with long-distance family treatment while others prefer visits from parents, spouses or other family members, and says family engagement sessions are encouraged and may include loved ones and support outside of biological family relations [2]. It also describes off-site visit opportunities that are determined by the level of care and medical needs [2].
Two things follow for a family planning a trip. Approval is a step, not a formality, so ask about it early. And if the level of care is medical detox or inpatient, plan for family sessions and contact rather than a visit, and ask when that changes. Our medical detox page explains what that level involves.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can I visit someone in rehab? Later than most families hope, and it depends on the level of care. Programs commonly restrict contact early in a residential stay and open it in stages. Orlando Recovery Center states that patients in its medical detox or inpatient programs do not have in-person visitors, so they can focus on recovery. Ask admissions what the earliest likely visit is for the level being recommended.
Does the program have to approve me as a visitor? At many campuses, yes. Orlando Recovery Center states that visitors may only enter during designated visitation times and that a patient’s treatment team must approve any visitor. Treat approval as a step to arrange in advance rather than a formality at the door, and ask what it involves when you ask about the schedule.
What should I bring when I visit? Ask the campus first, because published lists differ and the door is a bad place to find out. Things commonly turned away include anything containing alcohol, cameras and recording devices, personal electronics, and food or toiletries outside the list. The document list people think of, an insurance card, relevant medical records and a list of family members with their contact information, is Orlando Recovery Center’s packing guidance for a new resident arriving at admission rather than a visitor policy. Ask the campus what a visitor may carry in, because that is a different list.
Can children visit a parent in treatment? It depends on the program and the level of care, so ask the treatment team rather than deciding alone. Federal reporting lists reducing risk in children and adolescents among the things family involvement can do, so this is a question with a clinical answer rather than only a practical one. If a visit is agreed, prepare the child for the setting, the length and the ending.
What if I need to reach them urgently? Go through the program rather than through a phone. Ask at admission who the named emergency contact is and which number the family should call, then tell everyone at home the answer once. If the emergency is at your end and it is medical, call 911; for a mental health crisis, call or text 988. A facility switchboard is slower than either.
Sources
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2020). Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Family Therapy, Chapter 1: Substance Use Disorder Treatment: Working With Families. Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series, No. 39. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK571084/
- Orlando Recovery Center. What to Expect at Orlando Recovery Center. The Recovery Village. https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/locations/orlando/what-to-expect-orc/
- Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. (2006). Detoxification and Substance Abuse Treatment, Chapter 4: Physical Detoxification Services for Withdrawal From Specific Substances. Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series, No. 45. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64116/
- Legal Information Institute. 42 CFR § 2.13 — Confidentiality restrictions and safeguards. Cornell Law School. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/42/2.13
- Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. (2006). Detoxification and Substance Abuse Treatment, Chapter 2: Settings, Levels of Care, and Patient Placement. Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series, No. 45. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64109/
This page is for general information and is not medical advice. Only a licensed clinician who knows your history can tell you what is right for you. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911. For free, confidential support 24/7, call or text 988.
Author
Chief Medical Officer,
The Recovery Village
