If you are thinking about going to rehab, you’ll need to understand which direction is best for you to take.
knowing where you stand with everything can be hard, especially when you make the decision that help is needed. If you’ve been an addict for a long time, how should you decide what kind of care is best for you?
Being unsure and nervous by this decision is completely normal and there’s nothing to worry about. Our aim is to help you figure out whether you should get inpatient or outpatient rehab. One isn’t necessarily better than the other, but there are some big-time differences that might make you lean one way over the other.
So, why wait any longer? Let’s get to the bottom of the inpatient vs outpatient rehab discussion. Which one should you choose?
Inpatient Vs Outpatient Rehab: Which Is For You?
To properly break this down, we need to find out what is included in each of these types of rehab. You might think you know what goes on, but there’s a deeper purpose beyond the surface that might make your recovery better suited for inpatient over outpatient, or vice versa.
What Is Inpatient Rehab?
Inpatient rehab is an intensive rehabilitation process where the patient lives at the facility for a set amount of time. These licensed live-in facilities have 24-hour services to accommodate your needs. Doctors, nurses, psychologists, and other workers are present at all times to help you through your process.
This type of rehab is very structured and special focus is put on living a sober lifestyle. Days are planned out with various activities and appointments to check in and help you with any concerns you have about your treatment and your addiction.
There are things to consider, however, before you decide that inpatient treatment is for you:
You’re required to leave your life and lifestyle behind when you enter the facility. Once you’re there, you’re in treatment short-term or long-term. If you’ve got a spouse, kids, or a job, you’ll have to arrange other plans to get the kids to school and inform your employer that you’ll be gone for a while.
Short term treatments typically last for 3-6 weeks and long-term treatments last between 6-12 months. Treatment types depend on how severe your condition is. The structured nature of the treatment can be challenging for some, as the facility’s staff will determine your day to day schedule.
Because of the intensive nature of this kind of treatment (taking care of patients, maintaining facilities, paying staff), inpatient rehab can get expensive.
What Is Outpatient Rehab?
Outpatient rehab is, in many ways, the opposite of inpatient rehab. Rather than providing a live-in facility, outpatient rehab allows the patient to continue to live, work, and interact within their normal lives. It still involves (sometimes) daily treatment at a facility, but in the evening, the patient gets to go home.
Overall, it’s less intensive than inpatient, but you still get to go through therapy, group sessions, and 1-on-1 counseling with dedicated professionals. While inpatient treatment is intense and structured throughout the entire time you’re at the facility, outpatient treatments down-scale as you grow within the treatment.
Let’s talk about some of the things you need to think about before you decide to choose outpatient treatment:
You get to choose the level of treatment that you get. If you’re a casual user that wants to quit a habit, you can choose a more lax form of rehab. You can still proceed with your daily life and fit in counseling sessions and group therapy in your free time.
You get to live at home, rather than at a facility. Some people take comfort in the ability to continue living their normal lives during their recovery. Appointments can be made in the evenings and on weekends to accommodate your work and family schedule. For this reason, it’s much cheaper.
Some outpatient programs offer concurrent treatments for co-occurring problems like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and PTSD. This allows you to tackle two problems at the same time. Many people fall into addiction because of a deeper psychological issue. Addiction and mental health are often tied together.
Which Should You Choose?
It’s alright if you still don’t know which is the best one for you. You should consider talking to a professional to make this decision, however. It really boils down to the severity of your substance abuse issue.
Those that have had a long-standing battle with addiction almost always choose inpatient rehab. Often, an addict’s personal life becomes completely entangled with a drug. If you find yourself in an environment where your lifestyle revolves around getting drugs and getting high, then you need to remove yourself from it ASAP.
The best way to detox and reset is to be admitted to a facility where there are no drugs around and you can get medical attention whenever you need it.
If you’re a functioning addict, then you’ll probably choose outpatient rehab. This type of rehab is still intensive, but you can be present in your life. It’s suited for those who have milder addictions that require support, but maybe not 24/7 attention.
It should be noted that the success rate of inpatient is higher than that of outpatient, but the statistics don’t tell the whole story. A lot more money goes into inpatient rehab because they’re often dealing with more dire situations. The success rate of outpatient rehab depends a lot more on the patient.
Get Clean Today
Now that you know what the two types of treatment include, you can make a more informed decision. It’s not a matter of inpatient vs outpatient rehab, it’s a matter of what’s best for your health and recovery. Talk to a doctor today and decide what’s best for you and your family.
It can be a long road to sobriety, but it’s not impossible. Deciding to go to rehab for treatment is where the process will start, regardless of what that treatment is. If outpatient treatment doesn’t work for you, you can always try inpatient. And, if you’ve tried inpatient, but don’t like it, you can always try an outpatient program.
Visit Recover In Motion to find out how to get clean. We’ve got affordable inpatient and outpatient programs in the Tucson, AZ area. Our focus is on getting you clean and back to your friends and families.
While you’re there, check out our blog to read additional information about getting sober and what to expect from rehab.
