South Pasadena’s charming facade, however, belies the pitched battle the region is fighting against drug and alcohol misuse. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) Report, 13.9%, or 326,000 people aged 12 and up in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area reported illicit drug use. In addition, 10.1% of the population reported marijuana use, and 4.6% reported non-medical use of prescription pain relievers. (2)
South Pasadena is located in Pinellas county, which has seen a steady increase in overdose-related incidents since 2017. In 2021 alone, Pinellas County reported:
- 576 fatal overdoses.
- 15,031 EMS overdose responses.
- 3,421 doses of Naloxone administered.
- 3,421 drug-related arrests.
- 923,810 opioid prescriptions dispensed.
- 85 infants born with neonatal abstinence syndrome, a condition caused when an infant withdraws from drugs they are exposed to prior to birth.
- 1,356 adults and 356 children enrolled in substance abuse programs. (3)
Drug & Alcohol Treatment in South Pasadena
Pineallas County has a population of just over 965,000 people. (4) With the number of residents seeking treatment for substance abuse disorder, access to high-quality treatment is vital. Unfortunately, the number of adult substance abuse beds in Pinellas county has dropped precipitously from 6.7 per 100,000 population in 200f to 2.2 per 100,000 population in 2021. (5)
There are 8 drug and alcohol treatment centers within 5 miles of South Pasadena and a total of 26 centers within 15 miles of the city, including CuraSouth. (6)
Why trust Guardian Recovery – Tampa Addiction Center for your addiction treatment?
Choosing a Drug & Alcohol Rehab Center in South Pasadena
When choosing a drug and alcohol treatment center in South Pasadena, it’s vital to ensure the facility you choose is reputable, effective, and able to suit your individual needs. Here are a few questions you want to be answered before making your selection:
- Is the facility licensed and accredited to provide services in the state of Florida?
- Do they use evidence-based treatments? These are treatments proven to be effective by scientific research, and include cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and medically-assisted treatment.
- Does your health insurance cover the therapy or services you need? …
- Does the facility setting work for you? …
- How experienced are the physicians, nurses, and staff?
- What are the quality outcomes of the facility?
- Do they provide specialized treatment based on your individual situation, needs, and diagnosis?
- Do they have a streamlined, comprehensive admissions process?
Detox & Rehab Options in South Pasadena
Intervention
The decision to enter rehabilitation is often prompted by family and friends who are concerned about your dependence upon drugs and alcohol. A group of those who care about you may partner to stage an intervention, which is a carefully planned process to confront you about the impact your substance use is having on your life and to ask you to begin treatment. Doctors, licensed alcohol and drug counselors, or faith leaders may help plan or participate in an intervention.
During an intervention, those involved will usually:
- Provide specific examples of destructive behaviors and their impact on you, your family, and your friends.
- Offer a prearranged treatment plan with clear steps, goals, and guidelines
- Spell out what they will do if you refuse to accept treatment
Detox
The first step in most addiction recovery journeys is cleansing your body of drugs and alcohol. Known as detoxification (detox), the process can be physically and emotionally uncomfortable. At CuraSouth, we offer medically-assisted detox in a comfortable, safe, and secure environment. Appropriate medications are administered by experienced medical professionals to minimize the side effects of withdrawal. Our team of skilled, compassionate clinical and medical professionals will design a program specifically for you and will see to your medical and emotional needs ensuring you detox safely and emerge ready to embark upon your recovery journey.
Residential / Inpatient Treatment
Residential (or inpatient) treatment is an immersive experience where you will live at our comfortable, modern facility amongst your sober peers. Residential treatment provides a safe environment where you will find kinship and support from others on their recovery journey and experienced, compassionate medical and clinical professionals. Our facility is located on several acres of beautiful land and offers catered meals, modern furnishings, and a variety of spaces where you can enjoy the company of others or spend time in quiet reflection.
The amount of time spent in residential treatments varies, but most spend about 30 days.
Outpatient Treatment
Outpatient treatment is sometimes used on its own or as continued therapy after completing a residential program. There are three types of outpatient treatment: partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient treatment, and outpatient treatment. You can work with your medical and clinical providers to determine the right level of care for you. Factors you will consider include the severity of your substance use disorder, previous addiction treatment experience, and personal obligations like work, school, or caretaking.
Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP)
You will typically take part in a partial hospitalization program once you complete residential treatment. Such programs include a full schedule of activities — much like those offered in inpatient programs — 5 or 6 days each week. These could include https://www.curasouth.com/addiction-treatment/individualized-therapy/, group, and family therapy, educational workshops, recreational activities, meditation, and other recovery programming. While in PHP, you will live in a sober or private home and come to the PHP facility during the day.
Intensive Outpatient Treatment (IOP)
The next step in your recovery journey may be Intensive Outpatient Treatment. During IOP you may return to work, school, etc., while living in a sober living or private home and attend treatment for several hours each day, 3 to 5 days a week. CuraSouth’s IOP locations offer treatment programs several times a day – morning, afternoon, and evening – to fit your schedule and help you maintain your treatment while reintegrating into community life and fulfilling your obligations.
Outpatient Treatment (OP)
Outpatient Treatment allows you to more fully reintegrate into community life while continuing to participate in treatment that is vital to your long-term recovery. Outpatient programs may meet 2 or 3 days a week and focus more on relapse prevention skills and healthy coping mechanisms. Some provide vocational training or educational training services. Outpatient treatment is the most flexible form of therapy and provides you the autonomy to pursue employment, spend more time with family and friends, and make more choices for yourself.
Medication Assisted Treatment & Suboxone
Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) employs medication to lessen withdrawal symptoms, reduce continued cravings and decrease the chances of relapse. For these reasons, a properly-supervised medication regime can be an effective tool in your recovery journey.
Tampa Addiction Center administers Suboxone to those who have an opioid dependency, including to prescription (Oxycodone, OxyContin, Percocet, etc.) and illicit (heroin) drugs. Suboxone contains buprenorphine and naloxone. Buprenorphine satisfies the brain’s craving for opioids and prevents severe withdrawal symptoms without creating a high. Naloxone blocks the effects of opioids, which makes it difficult to abuse. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved both medications for treating opioid use disorder (OUD).
Substance Use Disorder Program Costs in South Pasadena
Private Funded Programs
If you have health insurance through a major regional or national provider, you can explore privately funded rehabs in the Tampa area. These types of programs are almost always covered by insurance. Privately-funded substance use disorder facilities tend to offer more individualized and comprehensive care than publicly-funded programs. Services are generally more integrated, and there is a more intensive focus on aftercare and maintaining long-term recovery once treatment concludes.
Public & State Funded
If you are uninsured or cannot afford out-of-pocket costs of privately-funded programs, public and state-funded programs provide a viable option for treatment. The most significant disadvantage of these programs is accessibility. With rates of substance abuse dependence continuing to rise throughout Tampa, it can be difficult to find a vacancy in state-funded detox and rehabilitation centers and waiting lists for those with moderate or severe SUDs can be long. For some, waiting for a spot to become available in may not be advisable.
Insurance Based
Most privately funded detox and rehabilitation facilities in the vicinity of South Pasadena accept major insurance providers. Guardian Recovery will contact your insurance provider to learn about your personal coverage, and one of our Treatment Advisors will explain your benefits to you in language that is easy to understand, so you will know exactly what your coverage includes. We also offer a number of options if you do not have insurance and can help you choose which option is best for you. We do everything we can to prevent the ability to pay from becoming a barrier to your recovery.
Free & Medicaid / Medicare
Medicare is a government-funded medical insurance program for people over 65 and younger disabled people and dialysis patients. Medicaid, also funded by the government, helps low-income patients’ medical expenses.” (7) Some treatment programs in Tampa, Florida, accept Medicaid and/or Medicare. However, utilizing one of these government programs will significantly limit the network of treatment centers you are able to choose from. These centers also tend to have long waitlists and large client-to-staff ratios and do not have the capacity to create a program that addresses your personal needs.
Learn more about Tampa, Florida Medicaid options HERE.
Learn more about Medicare for Tampa, Florida residents HERE.
South Pasadena Addiction Recovery Resources
AA Meetings in Tampa, FL
There are Alcoholics Anonymous meetings throughout the Tampa region. Here are just a few:
On Awakening Tampa
3333 West Columbus Drive
Mon-Fri at 6:30am
Attitude of Gratitude Group
8601 Bowles Road
Mon-Sun at 12pm
Next Door Group
4418 North Hubert Avenue
Mon-Fri at 10pm
The following resources provide multiple listings for AA Meetings in the area:
Pinellas County Intergroup Inc
Tri-County Central Office, Inc
NA Meetings
Pilgrim Congregational UCC
6315 Central Avenue
Saint Petersburg
Tuesdays, 7 pm
Gulfport Beach Pavilion
5730 Shore Boulevard South
Gulfport
Saturdays, 8 pm
Rainbow Recovery Club
308 E Martin Luther King Boulevard Suite C
Tampa
Sundays, 1 pm
Visit https://www.na.org/meetingsearch/ for more in-person and virtual meeting.
Smart Recovery Meetings
SMART Recovery is an international non-profit organization that is “a transformative method for moving from addictive substances and negative behaviors to a life of positive self-regard and willingness to change.”. SMART stands for Self-Management and Recovery Training. The group offers both in-person and virtual meetings, which are listed here.
Commonly Asked Questions
We offer programs lengths individualized for each client. Generally detox is anywhere from 3-7 days. These are estimates and are adjusted to meet the needs of the individual client.
Yes! We work with most major insurance providers. We offer free no-obligation insurance benefit checks for those who are interested in our program. Our admissions team will speak with your insurer and get a detailed verification of your insurance benefits and share those details with you. Unfortunately Medicaid and Medicare do not cover our facility.
Absolutely. We understand that addiction affects the entire family system and encourage families to participate in their loved one’s treatment. To help families recover we also offer intervention services, case management, and family workshops.
Yes. We believe in complete and total confidentiality and privacy for all of our clients. We take extra measures to make sure we go above and beyond HIPAA and health privacy standards. If you are concerned about specific privacy requirements please feel free to reach out and we can answer your questions.
While we strongly discourage leaving before treatment completion, we are not a lockdown facility. Clients are in our program voluntarily and may leave when they want.
Clients who need to take off work to attend treatment may be eligible for the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). FMLA ensures that you will not be terminated while taking a leave of absence from work to attend treatment. Our admissions and case management staff can help with setting up any FMLA paperwork. For clients who are self employed, we do offer an executive program that allows for cellphone and laptop access in certain cases during business hours.
Contact Us Today to Begin
Finding an addiction treatment program in South Pasadena, Florida is a straightforward process when you know what to look for. Once you have determined which level of care is right for you, we recommend reaching out to an experienced Treatment Advisor who can guide you through the admissions process. At Guardian Recovery we have a team of experienced Treatment Advisors standing by to answer any additional questions you have and help you get started on the road to recovery as quickly as possible. As soon as you contact us, you will undergo a brief pre-assessment over the phone. The pre-assessment consists of a series of questions geared towards finding a treatment program that meets all of your unique clinical needs. We offer a free, no obligation health insurance benefit check to those who are insured through a major regional or national provider. If you are currently uninsured, we will help you determine which costs will need to be covered out-of-pocket. Finally, we help arrange local ground transportation to our South Pasadena, Florida detox center, or help set you up with an alternative level of care. To learn more or to begin your personal journey of addiction recovery in South Pasadena, contact us today.
Reviewed for accuracy by:
Travis Atchison
LCSW, MCAP
Travis is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Addiction Professional. He has worked in various community-based settings, where he served families and couples, addressed issues related to homelessness and crisis and worked in a substance abuse setting.
