Residential or outpatient therapy: Which to choose?

Introduction

Addiction: Residential or Outpatients? Sounds like a daunting choice.

Well, with a little help from an addictions clinician the right treatment can be arranged.

As with any illness, the right type of treatment is essential to ensure recovery.

Our clinicians each have decades of experience in assessing, diagnosing, prescribing for and treating people caught up in addiction.

Here they share their experience and knowledge with you so that you can make an informed choice.

Addiction : Residential or outpatients? Addiction is not a choice

Nobody plans to become an addict and those supporting you may never have dealt with this type of scenario before.

The choice between inpatient and outpatient rehab therapy can often depend on personal circumstances.

While it is, most certainly, overwhelming for the person caught up in addiction, the same can be said for friends, family, colleagues.  

Addiction has varying degrees of impact.

Some manage to hold down employment, vicariously, while others are left homeless, jobless and divorced.

Family and friends, while meaning well, often do not appreciate the complexity of addiction or how the cycle of addiction can be broken.  

Why some people can not be treated as an outpatient

Being able to remain at home while getting treatment is a nice idea but, often, not appropriate and could put the person at risk.

In cases where inpatient or outpatient rehab therapy is considered, someone in the grips of a significant dependency on alcohol would not be able to be treated at home, though someone drinking a lower amount can. 

You are probably thinking residential or outpatient treatment: Which is best?

Effective treatment and long-term recovery depend on the type of treatment. There are multiple options and even more questions.

Making the right decision can be a daunting process and the internet awash with glossy brochure offering all manner of different things.

The internet can be a shark tank: Put your hand in and you get bitten.  

Residential or outpatient treatment: Which to choose?

Those that chose outpatient treatment, sometimes known as dayhab or day rehab, attend therapy sessions and group meetings during the day, returning to their homes in the afternoon.

This provides an opportunity to attend to family and other commitments after therapy activities.

How many sessions and for how long someone attends can be tailored to the individual which can be of great significance to someone in recovery.   

Residential (inpatient) treatment is a fully immersive, seven day a week, whole day programme, with experienced and qualified staff on duty 24/7.

Key staff are easily accessible in residential rehab

A key aspect of inpatient rehab therapy is having either a consultant psychiatrist, addiction specialist, available or a GP with a special interest in addictions as well as a nurse or pharmacist prescriber. 

There are multiple significant advantages to residential treatment in that there is a supportive environment that, regardless of the time of day, is there to support.

The temptations of being able to source drugs and alcohol are removed as the environment is fully void of all addictive substances.  

How long would I need to stay in residential rehab?

The length of a stay in residential rehab can depend on various factors, most importantly the nature of the substance someone is dependent on and how long/how much they are using. 

Someone with a longstanding benzodiazepine and or opioid dependency could not expect to safely detox quickly, whereas some alcohol clients can be accepted for a short stay.  

It all depends on what you are using, how much you are using and how long you have been using it for.

How can I decide which is the right option for me?  

With residential treatment, there are some significant advantages, most noticeably:  

• Treatment that focuses on physical health, as well as the psychological aspects 

• Adjunctive therapies such as massage, yoga, gong baths, mindfulness 

• 24/7 staff on site to support you  

• Absence of triggers and access to substances 

Addiction : Residential or outpatients? Things to consider about outpatient treatment

• Sometimes, though not always, outpatient treatment can be lower cost*  

• Sessions can be arranged to suit your schedule 

• Being at home in the evenings and weekends  

Research shows that residential treatment provides an enhanced level of treatment and a greater chance of achieving, and maintaining, long term abstinence.

As it is unlikely that you know someone in recovery who has been in rehab, there can be some negative stereotypes around the process.  

Isn’t being in rehab like being in prison?

No!

Far from being a place of containment, rehab is a place of freedom where you can escape the shackles of dependency and addiction.

The meetings and therapy sessions give purpose and bolster motivation. In both inpatient and outpatient settings, you are supported towards recovery.  

Surely outpatient therapy would be cheaper?

No.

There are some very accessible low-cost centres that provide all the services needed to recover.

Over a sustained period of treatment and recovery, residential treatment is far greater value than outpatient treatments.

Certain centres provide installment plans and for some, their health insurance may provide funding.  

Group therapy isn’t for me; people have different problems than mine

Everyone who comes into treatment does so for a different reason: No two people are the same.

All have come to treatment for one reason: Recovery.

It matters not what the person is addicted to, how long, or for what for.

The sense of community, the forming of lifelong bonds, the guidance of the therapist leading the session will provide a powerful tool for recovery.

The group process is especially powerful for those who find speaking with others stressful, something which can often compound addiction.  

Addiction : Residential or outpatients? How can Find Me a Rehab help?

We are addictions clinicians.

Each of us has decades of experience assessing, diagnosing, prescribing for and treating people overcoming addiction.

Our experience has been gained in prisons, private rehab centres, private hospitals, NHS commissioned services (including GP shared care addiction clinics) as well as local authority funded community addiction services and residential rehabs.

Because our clinicians are not tied to any particular service or centre there advice is wholly impartial, as well as being free and confidential.

We only signpost to legally registered centres and services.

Addiction : Residential or outpatients? Get help today

If you need 24-hour addiction help, home detox services UK or have any questions on anything related to addiction, mental health and eating disorders, call find me a rehab and speak to one of our clinicians for free, confidential and impartial advice.

For questions specifically about inpatient outpatient rehab therapy options, our team is ready to help.

Call and speak to an experienced addictions clinician at Find Me a Rehab. If you are asking yourself Residential or outpatient therapy: Which to choose ? call and get expert help today.

Addiction : Residential or outpatients? An informed choice.

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