There are several alcohol addiction treatment centers out there and if you want to make a real change in your life then you should probably just pick one and go to it. There really is no difference when it comes to long term success rates.

Most people recoil in horror at such a statement. "How can there be no difference?" they will exclaim. We are used to having a variety of quality levels when it comes to services. Some hotels are nicer than others. Some restaurants have better service than others. So surely some drug treatment centers are better than others, right? If you send an addict to a nice treatment center, they might have a better chance than if you send them to a lousy one, right? It just makes sense.

But this is not the case, and I do not believe it is the truth. In fact, a "nice" treatment center may actually be slightly detrimental to a person's chances at long term sobriety. But in the end I do not think that even that matters much.

Rehab is rehab. Treatment is treatment. Sure, there are differences out there, but for the most part, success is going to come down to something else entirely. It is not how many therapists you have or what kind of treatment program you are using. Instead, the key factors for success are things like:

1) Level of conviction to stay clean and sober.

2) Level of surrender and truly being done with the lifestyle.

3) Having hit bottom and truly being ready for change.

4) A willingness to accept a new way of life.

5) Willingness to do the extreme amount of work necessary to change your entire life.

All of these ideas are part of the same thing. They all point to the X factor that determines whether or not an addict or an alcoholic will stay clean and sober or not.

In fact this list of 5 characteristics is all basically synonyms designed for how to help an alcoholic. They are all the same thing really. Either the addict is willing to change or they are not.

What is a program of recovery? Abstinence followed up with action that is it. Everything else is details

You have to start with abstinence as your baseline for success (moderation does not work). After that, a recovery plan needs action. Or more specifically, the alcoholic needs to take serious action in order to recover from alcohol addiction. What they do is not so important, so long as it is positive and moves them towards holistic health.

In the same way, the treatment center does not matter much either. Any one will do. Pick one and go.

Good luck