It’s a given that no two drug addiction treatment and recovery centers are ever the same, just as no two individuals are the same. There are two types of programs – in-patient and out-patient. So what is the primary difference? In both cases the name implies how they function. Out-patient programs do not require that the individual stay there during the treatment and recovery process. They can perform the tasks of everyday life such as continuing their educations or working at their jobs without them being interfered with.
Conversely, the inpatient drug treatment facility is a residential environment where the client has an apartment like setting to recover in. This is a more structured environment as the majority of daily activities follow a scheduled regimen. Additionally, the residential format provides the client with a safe haven so that they can focus completely on the details and processes associated with addiction rehab and recovery. They are constantly supervised and provided with numerous recovery tools that they can benefit from.
There are 5 key benefits to entering an in-patient drug treatment facility compared to the out-patient format which includes:
Depending on the severity of the individual’s addiction, they may be staying in the facility on either a long-term or a short-term basis. The short-term in-patient drug treatment program typically lasts between 14 and 28 days whereas long-term programs can last up to 6 months or longer.
In addition to the detox and in-patient recovery stages, there is continual support once the individual has left the facility. For instance, there is the transitional living environment which was originally known as a “halfway house.” These residences were originally developed for recovering alcoholics and individuals who had been incarcerated for a crime. It provided them with additional support while transitioning between prison or the rehab center and society.
Today, transitional residences serve the original purpose that they were designed around and provide additional support for those recovering individuals who are not totally confident in their sobriety or their ability to live substance-free. This is all part of the aftercare and support phases of the ongoing recovery process. In fact, the better addiction treatment and recovery centers offer this as a part of their in-patient drug treatment programs.
