Inpatient Vs. Outpatient Rehab

Choosing the type of rehab you need can be a challenge. It all depends on where you’re at in your life and what kind of treatment you need. While one type isn’t necessarily better than the other, one may benefit you in a way that the other can’t. Check out a few facts concerning inpatient vs. outpatient rehab before making your decision.

Who Benefits from Inpatient Vs. Outpatient Rehab?

An inpatient treatment option helps you to focus on getting well while shutting out distractions. There are typically five situations in which this treatment model is of greatest benefit:

1. Hard drug problem. Addiction is a disease and rehab moves at its own pace for everyone. That said, some drugs, particularly alcohol and heroin, can be harder to recover from. Having the around-the-clock assistance of trained staff members is an enormous benefit for the client.
2. Enabling home environment. If someone lives in a family environment where drug use is normal, getting away from the substance can be a trial. The same goes for a home where a family member or partner enables substance use. Getting out of this environment is a crucial step to healing.
3. High-stress external influences. A career can put tremendous stress on an individual. It’s easy to rationalize putting rehab second when deadlines loom large. Before you know it, the drug use starts again or gets worse. Getting away from it all is vital for rehab success.
4. Unsupportive peer group. Although it sounds like a tired proverb, it’s true. Bad company does corrupt good character. Rehab is difficult enough. If a peer group tries to undo your decision, recovery can become nearly impossible.
5. Safety concerns. If you feel unsafe in your home situation – for any reason – it’s vital to get out. Take care of yourself first, heal, and then decide where to go from there. During your stay, you grow in your self-confidence and life skills, which help you to see your options more clearly.

Detox in Inpatient Vs. Outpatient Rehab

When a physical dependency is unfulfilled, the affected person undergoes withdrawal. Withdrawal is particularly severe for heavy users, and for users of alcohol, heroin, and benzos. This severity is dangerous not only to a person's health, but to their recovery. If a person undergoes withdrawal but has access to their substance of choice, the urge to relapse will be very strong. Withdrawal is the first, and perhaps the most difficult, roadblock to your recovery.

Since withdrawal is so severe, doctors strongly recommend against going through withdrawal alone, aka "cold turkey." Instead, doctors recommend that patients seek detox treatment at an inpatient rehab facility. Detox is normally only offered in inpatient facilities because of the worry that withdrawal symptoms could harm patients once they leave an outpatient program for the day. Another risk of detoxing during an outpatient program is relapse, since a substance may be available outside inpatient facilities.

Detox starts with withdrawal, lasting anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days. The benefit of detox is that it takes place in a secure, medically monitored environment. Some withdrawal symptoms, like seizures or delirium tremens (for alcoholics), can be fatal if left untreated. Medical professionals monitor detox patients 24/7 to keep them comfortable and safe as their body purges the addictive substance. At San Antonio Recovery Center, we offer detox programs for alcohol and heroin, for both men and women.

Therapy in Inpatient Vs. Outpatient Rehab

One major commonality between inpatient vs. outpatient rehab is the use of therapy. Addiction therapy is a follow-up to detox, which heals the body. Psychotherapy instead focuses on healing the mind, tackling the roots of addictive behaviors. Therapy also handles co-occurring mental disorders through dual diagnosis treatment. The types of therapy used in inpatient vs. outpatient rehab can be split into the holistic approach and evidence-based modalities.

At San Antonio Recovery Center, therapies used in inpatient and outpatient rehab include:

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
• Animal Assisted Therapy
• Art Therapy
• Behavioral Therapy
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy
• EMDR Therapy
• Exercise Therapy
• Experiential Therapy
• Family Therapy
• Holistic Therapy
• Individual Therapy
• Meditation Therapy
• Mindfulness Training
• Motivational Enhancement Therapy
• Music Therapy
• Nutritional Therapy
• Outdoor Therapy
• Recreational Therapy
• Trauma Therapy
• Yoga Therapy

An Intensive Outpatient Program Can Be Ideal in Some Situations

It’s impossible to answer the inpatient vs. outpatient rehab debate by always pointing to one or the other option. If your addiction to a substance is moderate and you have the advantage of a supportive home environment, an intensive outpatient rehab program could be ideal. You receive a customized treatment plan just as you would in an inpatient setting. Typically, clients with an involved family or peer group do very well while living at home.

Remember, you don’t have to make up your mind right this very second. Talk through your choices with a compassionate counselor who can help you weigh the options. You’re always in control of your decisions, and the therapists at the rehab facility are there to support you.

Get More Information About Inpatient Vs. Outpatient Rehab Options

If you’re ready to overcome your addiction with the help of a residential drug alcohol inpatient or intensive outpatient rehab program, now is the time to make your move. Don’t allow a substance to hold you back from enjoying life to the fullest. Call 866.957.7885 today to reach out to San Antonio Recovery Center. Today, you can change the rest of your life.