Entering Drug Rehab Without Ruining Your Professional Reputation

By Meghan Vivo

We all worry about what other people think, but when you’re suffering from an addiction to drugs or alcohol, the opinions of other people should be your last concern.

Millions of Americans avoid getting addiction treatment because they are afraid of losing their jobs or facing criticism at work. In many cases, these fears are unfounded. Most employers would rather help a valued employee enter rehab than to hire and train a replacement.

“Most people have nothing but praise for addicts when they go into recovery – they understand that getting sober requires a heroic effort,” says Tanya Desloover, MA, CADC-II, case manager and marriage and family therapy intern at The Rose, a renowned drug rehab for women in Newport Beach, Calif. “If you give people a chance, they will often surprise you by being much more supportive than you ever dreamed.”

Many people who enter an addiction treatment program are able to keep their jobs or find one even better suited to their talents and interests. On the other hand, research shows that people who continue to use drugs are more likely to become permanently unemployed. And, as Desloover warns, “Addicts have so much more to lose than their careers. When you avoid getting treatment, you put your relationships and your very life in jeopardy.”

Although career worries shouldn’t be your foremost concern, there are steps you can take to protect your professional reputation when entering drug rehab, such as choosing the right substance abuse treatment program. Here are a few features to look for when choosing a drug rehab facility:

Ongoing Support While Transitioning Back Into the Community

Extended care programs and sober living houses offer structure, therapy and support while recovering addicts transition back into their regular life. Patients generally work or attend school during the day, and attend AA meetings and therapy sessions in the evenings.

To facilitate a smooth transition back into the community, the staff at The Rose creates a comprehensive aftercare plan for every patient, which includes 12-Step meetings, outpatient treatment and/or therapy, and other useful resources. Patients go to 12-Step meetings in the Newport Beach community throughout their stay in rehab so that they feel comfortable attending meetings once they return home.

“By the time our patients go home, they have attended 90 meetings in 90 days, completed 12-Step work and connected with a sponsor,” says Desloover. “At home, all they have to do is keep doing what they did with us and their transition will be a smooth one.”

The Company of Like-Minded People

According to Desloover, many high-functioning addicts are in denial. They think, “How can I be a drug addict? I’m not living under a bridge.” In treatment with like-minded people, patients realize that other people who are affluent and successful are also struggling with addiction, which makes them more likely to acknowledge that they, too, have a problem.

“At The Rose, recovering addicts receive treatment in an environment that fits with their image of themselves,” says Desloover. In a luxurious, custom-built home right on the sand in Newport Beach, the women at The Rose are able to do the intense work of recovery in the most comfortable and welcoming environment possible.

As a all-women drug rehab facility, patients at The Rose are able to work on their self-esteem, past traumas and other issues in a safe, healing setting under the guidance of expert clinicians who specialize in women’s issues.

Privacy and Confidentiality

One way to protect your professional reputation is to attend a drug rehab facility outside of your home community. Many clients at The Rose tell their employers that they are getting away to beautiful Southern California for a month-long personal retreat – a reason that is both true and protective of their privacy.

While privacy and confidentiality are the law at all drug treatment centers, some programs specialize in creating an exclusive drug rehab environment that is highly conducive to a discreet recovery. Unlike many large addiction treatment programs that accommodate dozens of people, The Rose houses just six women at a time, creating an intimate and private setting that is ideal for professionals and executives in drug rehab.

Family Involvement

Addiction is a family disease, and recovery is a family process. “Every member of the family has learned behaviors in response to a loved one’s addiction, and every family member needs to get healthy again in order to restore function to the family system,” says Desloover.

At The Rose, families are encouraged to participate in family therapy in a three-day family program, during which families learn about the disease of addiction from the foremost experts in the field. Family members learn to differentiate from each other and become individuals in their own right, and then begin to relate to each other in new ways.

According to Desloover, “Not only do addicts benefit from family therapy, but their parents, siblings, spouses and children also feel a sense of freedom and empowerment.”

An Opportunity to Reinvent Oneself

“Addicts are generally people who are highly intelligent and have a lot of potential, but who haven’t found healthy ways to manage their stress,” notes Desloover. “They often have co-existing disorders like anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, ADD and social phobias, which contribute to low self-esteem.”

As a result of low self-esteem, many addicts may have chosen a “safe” profession that didn’t require much risk but that also left little room to excel. They report using drugs or alcohol because they feel bored and unfulfilled, explains Desloover. After completing drug rehab, many women go back to school, begin new career paths and consider a whole new set of options.

“Treatment is an opportunity for women to completely reinvent themselves,” Desloover says. “According to the Big Book of AA, recovering addicts have to take contrary action. For many, that means finding new careers and discovering their passions so that they can play full out in their lives.”

The Rose offers a number of workshops designed to help women rebuild their self-esteem and identify their passions. Patients create story boards and dream boards, and are challenged to consider what they would do with their lives if they knew they wouldn’t fail.

“We tell our clients, ‘If you’re still alive after struggling with addiction, you have survived your ordeal for a reason,’” says Desloover.

No More Secrets

There is still a stigma attached to addiction, and people go to great lengths to keep their disease a secret. But an important part of recovery, and a running theme in AA, is rigorous honesty.

“The stress of trying to hold a career together and putting a different face on for the rest of the world can be paralyzing,” says Desloover. “Once you get rid of the secrets, you feel as light as air.”

The reward for all of this honesty and hard work, reports Desloover, is that, “Once an addict begins peeling away the layers and getting back on track, they become absolutely unstoppable.”

It is true that drug rehab will require some time away from work. You may even need to quit your job and resume employment after completing a full course of treatment. Some people discover during rehab that the stress of their work, their workplace environment or some other factor was fueling their addiction, and they seek employment in an alternative field.

Whatever option you choose, you have many years ahead of you to enhance your professional reputation, if needed, and you have the freedom to do so without the damaging influence of drugs or alcohol.

Drug rehab is only a short period of time in the larger scheme of life, but it is an experience that brings hope and a world of new possibilities to recovering addicts. Even if rehab means taking a short break from your career, the doors that will open up to you will be well worth the sacrifice.