I know little about drug rehab, but in reading about it it seems that if rehab is voluntary that people tend to quit or wander away once the going gets tough. Is it possible to put yourself into rehab on a voluntary basis and somehow arrange for them not to release you even if you change your mind once you start jonesing during withdrawal and demand to be released from the facility?
Can this be done voluntarily?
I don’t believe this is possible, but that could vary by state.
In MN, one can be placed on a psychiatric hold for up to 72 hours for evaluation if it is believed there is an immediate threat of harm to yourself and/or others. Once one is found to be stable and no longer a threat, you must be released upon request.
A rehab facility providing medical detox essentially operates on the same basis. If you come in drunk and sober up after a day or three, they can’t hold you unless there’s some specific psychiatric reason.
The majority of rehab facilities (for adults at least, may be different for minors) are not locked-down. Even if you request it, most don’t even have the means to restrain anyone.
The general form of what you suggest is what is known as a "Uylsses contract" and is mostly a hypothetical concept used by philosophers and medical ethicisits.
There is no possible way in any civilised country that I am aware of that you can hold a mentally competent person against their will. That’s false imprisonment. Thus I suspect what you are after doesn’t exist.
Not drug/alcohol, but in a similar vein:
I’m familiar with a facility for eating disorders where one agrees to the following upon signing in:
you agree to 30 days inpatient to start.
If you wish to leave before the facility deems you cured, or your insurance denies continued coverage, you have to give fourteen days’ notice.
If you leave before the fourteenth day, you agree to pay $1500 a day for the remainder of the two weeks.
Granted, owing 20 grand isn’t technically a lock and key, but it’s a great commitment device to stick it out that extra few weeks, which may or may not make a difference in the end. I’m not entirely sure how much I agree with this policy, though. On one hand, it does definitely get people to stick around two more weeks, which may or may not be helpful. On the other hand, it keeps people there who no longer wish to get the treatment, and leaves the next person on the waitlist waiting longer than necessary.
But – it does seem like a nice, legal way to ‘disallow’ someone to leave without REALLY not allowing them to leave.
Is this “eating disorder” rehab typically for overeating or anorexia?
That pretty much sums it up. Your best bet for accomplishing this would be to get arrested for something drug-related (preferably non-violent: burglary, shoplifting etc.) and flat out tell the judge that if you’re not locked up in a restricted rehab you *will *commit another crime to get high. If you don’t have a long record, and again your crime isn’t violent, most judges would be more than happy to oblige.
I think the rub, however, would be that there aren’t too many such facilities in existence. Probably none that don’t require insurance. So you’d essentially wind up going to the rehab/psych wing of your county jail. Not a fun place…
Anorexia. Also bullemia or exercise addiction.
Dealing with withdrawal is a medical priority, but there is really no point in detaining someone who does not want to commit to working on recovery. The attitude I’ve heard from substance abuse counseling professionals is: Give the bed to someone who is “done.”