Inpatient vs. Outpatient Addiction Therapy

People suffering from any type of addiction require immediate medication. To treat their condition, the rehab center provides two options – the inpatient or outpatient programs. These two options have unique methods of treatment procedures.

An inpatient treatment facility is a place for both psychological and physiological treatment. Patients who are admitted into these centers are being treated for multiple types of addiction.  Since the level of these addictions varies from one another, patients entering in the inpatient center are often in severe cases. Therefore, they are required to stay longer hours of special supervision. To treat the patients, the center has professional doctors, nurses, and specialists. According to experts, an inpatient rehab facility is one of the most effective ways of treating addiction.

An inpatient program is also known as residential treatment, usually lasts for a minimum of 28 days. In this program, the patients voluntarily enter a secure and safe center. However, some patients are worried about voluntarily entering an inpatient treatment program because of its level of medication. This is a highly emotional issue, supportive and concentrate on assisting the whole body and mind through medication. With this, most rehab centers encourage family participation. This includes the evening family education program or monthly program. Aside from the immediate family, patients can also treat their condition through therapeutic community. This is done through encouraging the patients or other people to stay on task. As a patient, you will be expecting to do the usual inpatient paperwork of insurance and permission to treat. Then, staff of the rehab center also needs to check your luggage. They have to do this to ensure that you don’t have any drug or wine inside your bag. Like other patients, you are also not allowed to receive phone calls and visitors within the first week of medication. However, this rule differs from one center to another. When leaving the inpatient rehab treatment, you will still have a long road ahead of your recovery. You will be given a continuous follow-up treatment direction. You will also be given some lists of 12-step meetings.

The rehab method is not about having a vacation-like stay. You are there to do some tasks and activities to treat your addiction. Most inpatient rehabs follow the 12-step recovery process.  It means that you need to attend at least two groups with other patients every day. These groups can be either on the premises or off the vicinity of the center. The first phase of the treatment includes detoxification. During this phase, rehab center staff ensures that your body is free from drugs or alcohol. If not, you may suffer from severe withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms can be life threatening. However, this phase has some limitations. It is not advisable for patients who are suffering from behavioral addictions. The typical examples of these are sex and gambling.

The second step of the inpatient rehab process is the psychological treatment. In most cases, this phase of recovery involves the use of psychological, medical and peer support. To meet the needs of every patient, most inpatient programs offer various services including individual counseling sessions, life skill courses, group therapy and complementary activities. Some rehab centers offer holistic programs that approach medication from a whole-body outlook, integrating natural therapies to counteract drug and alcohol addiction. There are also specialized rehab centers that provide gender-specific rehab programs. These offers an immediate care for women or men only. At these centers, patients can concentrate on their recovery without distractions from the opposite sex.  In addition, rehab centers specifically catering to teens are another variation of rehabilitation. Some centers also focus on using religious rehab programs., incorporating religious philosophies into their therapy process.

Studies have shown that the longer the patient remains in rehab center, the higher the chance they will recover. A long-term rehabilitation program provides life skills training and supports patients in helping with mental and emotional issues associated to their condition. If you really love yourself and your family, you will do everything to overcome your addiction.

Outpatient Addiction Treatment Programs

Both inpatient and outpatient rehab programs are designed to help behavioral, alcohol or drug addicts. However, outpatient programs offer patients more freedom as they are allowed to keep their commitments to work, family and other responsibilities.  Since patients in an outpatient rehabilitation program can go home after their scheduled therapy session, these patients have a greater level of privacy. Compared to an inpatient treatment program, these patients are not given the same secure and safe environment as found in an inpatient rehab center.  Although, outpatient programs do provide a support network for patients by offering support groups, family counseling and individual counseling.  In addition, patients are also provided with a strong support network of sponsors and non-using peers. An outpatient treatment program focuses on family support and involvement. Gere are the different options found in outpatient treatment programs:

  • Family Therapy: Since addiction affects the users and their family, family therapy is considered as an effective outpatient rehab program. It provides not only a chance for the family to understand more about addiction but also helps make the treatment program successful.  In addition, it provides a chance for the family to accept the situation while treating the patients.
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: This is the main possible treatment that a rehab center must use.  This therapy is a form of medication that addresses the emotions and behaviors behind using an addictive substance. It also attempts to give the needed skills to improve the addictive behavior of the patients.
  • Group Therapy: This is the usual part of outpatient drug treatment program. It provides patients the ability to talk to other patients who are also longing to treat their condition. This gives peer interaction, group learning skills and role playing activities. This group therapy provides the patients a support group of people to turn to when unexpected situation takes place.
  • Contingency Management: This therapy uses motivational incentives to change the behavior of the patients. This is done by rewarding patients for staying clean with either specified physical rewards or verbal compliments.
  • Support Groups: This is quite similar to group therapy. However, it focuses on a support outside of the treatment. This treatment provides a recovering patient a place of encouragement to keep clean through the system of outpatient treatment.

If you want to enter in an outpatient rehab center, you need to talk to an intake counselor. They are responsible in assessing your condition. They will check the level of your addiction, its duration, your health, life commitments and other related concerns. In addition, outpatients program vary in length, often depending on your addiction and condition.  Some outpatient rehab centers require you to undergo eight-hour programs or more.  Most patients in outpatient programs are required to take weekly drug tests.

Outpatient treatment programs are bridge between hospitalization and severe inpatient treatment toward leading an ordinary life ahead of recovery. To help patients, personal recovery plans are often made at the beginning of an outpatient treatment program.

Outpatient rehab programs are not advised for patients with multiple addictions. Experts advise these patients to seek inpatient treatment. Outpatient treatment is also not recommended if the patient has had a previous rehab treatment. As advised, you should not continue outpatient treatment at the risk of recovery.  If you are pressured in the outside world, it is best to commit to inpatient medication. Take note that recovery doesn’t exist if your strength is not developed and prepared for the battle. Before deciding whether you want to undergo inpatient and outpatient medication, you have to discuss this topic with your family. You have to weigh its multiple pros and cons. You also need to know which type of treatment fits for your condition. If you want to depend on outpatient medication, ask yourself several questions. Do you have a chance to break the rule? Do you have the ability to control your cravings over addictive substances? Are you willing to go to the rehab center at least once a week? These are the common questions you need to ask. If you are undecided, you can seek help from experts. With them, you are certain that you can easily solve your addiction within a short period of time. Take note that both inpatient and outpatient treatment programs have life-changing benefits. You just need to ensure that you are following the strict rules of the experts.

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