Mental-Health Questions to Raise When Considering Drug Rehab in California

Begin with current experiences, using your own words. Note sleep changes, severe worry, panic, persistent sadness, unusual energy, racing thoughts, confusion, memory problems, anger, isolation, difficulty concentrating, or hearing or seeing things others may not. Record frequency, approximate start date, duration, intensity, and effect on eating, work, relationships, hygiene, housing, or personal safety. Do not use the worksheet to diagnose yourself. It is a disclosure tool.

Add a simple timeline. For each symptom, mark whether it occurred before substance use, during use, while reducing or stopping, or during a period without use. List substances used, approximate last use, recent changes, and any previous withdrawal complications you can accurately report. If dates are uncertain, say “approximately” instead of guessing. Include prior emergency visits, hospital stays, counseling, substance-use treatment, and diagnoses previously communicated by qualified professionals. Separate what a professional told you from what you suspect yourself.

• Current symptoms in plain language, with start dates and frequency
• How symptoms affect sleep, eating, work, relationships, housing, or self-care
• Whether symptoms appear before, during, or after substance use or during abstinence periods; do not try to determine the cause yourself here. Add the substances involved, the last‐

Include prescriptions, nonprescription medicines, vitamins, supplements, injections, and medications taken only as needed. Mark whether each item is current, stopped, or uncertain. Note missed doses and side effects without changing anything on your own. Do not stop, restart, substitute, or taper a medication based on an article or an admissions conversation. Ask an appropriate clinician or prescriber for individualized guidance.

Prior-care details can prevent avoidable confusion. Record provider and facility names, approximate dates, what type of care you received, and what helped or did not help from your perspective. If you have discharge paperwork or a current medication list, ask how to submit it securely. Never assume that mentioning a medication means a facility can continue, initiate, store, or manage it. Ask what is possible, who makes clinical decisions, and when that decision can be confirmed.

• Medication name and dose exactly as shown on the label
• Usual timing, reason given for use, prescriber, and pharmacy
• Allergies, adverse reactions, missed doses, and recent changes , keep this list factual, not prescriptive. Add prior care dates and documents, and ask which records are needed and

Before a call, decide what the support person may share, hear, or record. Their job might be limited to recalling dates, describing observed behavior, asking two agreed questions, or writing down the representative’s exact words. Ask the facility what permissions are needed before it discusses personal information. Family involvement should not be treated as automatically available or required.

Use two columns after each conversation: “What the program said” and “What we still need to verify.” If accounts differ, preserve both without arguing over a diagnosis. For example: “I remember sleeping three hours” and “My sister observed that I stayed awake most of the night.” These are observations a professional can explore. Ask how family involvement works in assessment, communication, education, discharge planning, and continuing care rather than assuming a single policy.

• Choose a note-taker and agree on privacy boundaries
• Write down observations rather than assigning diagnoses
• Ask what consent or authorization is needed for communication. Decide which questions the support person will ask, and compare notes immediately after each call.