Can a Teenager Go To Rehab Without Parental Consent?

So many teens need help getting sober, and the result when they don’t get the help early is a lifetime of battling addiction. As a teen, your mind is still developing, and it’s not too late to continue that vital development, although you may have an increased struggle in overcoming this challenge in your life. Now, if you don’t feel like you can get parental consent, then you may have a few other hurdles to jump. 

First, you should seek parental consent. Second, you should go through the options available in your area so that you can set your plans in motion. Finally, make plans that revolve around you. If you need your teenage child need help with addiction contact Rehab Carolinas today.

Medical Facilities and Parental Consent

Unfortunately, unlike Planned Parenthood, there is not a center where teens can gain access to resources they need for addiction. Medical treatment, which comes with an expense, can’t be charged to your parent’s insurance without them knowing. Although you are owed a right to patient privacy, there is no guarantee that a bill won’t give away your visit. Additionally, there is the issue of handling how you would enter a facility without your parent’s knowledge that you would be going for somewhere for a stretch of time each day. 

Often parents will put down the idea of treatment under the assumption that their child will be away for weeks or months at a time. There’s the concern that they won’t know what’s going on, that there will be limited communication and that something could go wrong. Often parents don’t realize that they shut down the idea of treatment because of good intentions. 

Rehabilitation Centers Aren’t Free.

The biggest obstacle for teenagers and many others is the expense of treatment. In-patient treatment can range easily in the tens of thousands of dollars, while outpatient treatment can be only slightly more affordable. 

About 40% of people in the U.S believe that they can’t afford treatment, and because of that, they don’t go. Typically detox alone can cost from $250 to $800 per day. Detox can take between two and twenty days, depending on the drug and level of use. 

Residential treatment or in-patient treatment can easily cost anywhere between $2,000 and $20,000—usually, the bore you spend, the longer and more extensive the treatment. Outpatient programs, however, range between $5,000 and $10,000 and provide longer programs at more affordable price ranges. 

If you choose to talk to your parents, make sure to bring up the possibility of an outpatient program. Additionally, you may look toward resources for things such as opioid addiction treatment, in which the current presidential administration has devoted extensive funds to help make treatment affordable and accessible. 

Give Your Parents Good Reasons to Agree to Treatment

If you’re ready for treatment, but your parents are in denial or unable to afford it, then you should argue your point further. Continued addiction throughout your teenage years can derail the entirety of your life. Not only can it stop your graduation, and continued education, but it can also damage your brain irreparably, and close many doors that may be very difficult to open again later. 

Inform your parents of:

• The likelihood that your drug use would continue
• Mental health and physical health damage to continued drug use
• That you can continue schoolwork and stay at home during treatment
• Learn life skills

Most importantly, inform them that you can go through the process with them. Family therapy, group therapy, and going to meetings together is part of the recovery journey. 

Can You Get Free Help?

Yes, you can go through and get free help, although it’s always best to tell your parents where you are at. 12-step meetings are always free, and always anonymous, although they can often be in dangerous parts of town. Usually, you can find these meetings online or through local resources. Meetings are often a great way to accompany treatment in that they’re a form of group therapy where you can hear the stories and struggles of others. 

Talk To Your Parents About Treatment 

Teen addiction is rampant in the United States, and for many teens, they want help but can’t approach their parents. Or they feel that their parents won’t support their need for help, and that is true in some cases. The best that you can do is talk to your parents about where you can start on your path to sobriety by getting more information from Rehab Carolinas. 

Accessing help from Rehab Carolinas in Raleigh, NC, could be your first step toward sober adulthood. Get the information your parents will need to make a decision about your treatment.