While residential (inpatient) treatment is usually the best option for most addiction sufferers, it’s not always best in some circumstances. What addiction sufferers really need is an opportunity to establish sobriety with a minimum of restrictions.
Unfortunately, most people enter rehab with a significant addiction to their drug of choice. Given the amount of time it takes to treat people with a significant addiction, inpatient treatment remains the preferred option to ensure the client has the time and resources they will need to build recovery.
As for circumstances under which inpatient treatment might not be necessary or could be deemed too restrictive, there are things that need to be considered. If it’s not necessary, clients should not be restricted from attending to their lives while getting treatment. This is a common theme among people who are still responsible and have decided to get treatment before their addiction takes them into the uncharted waters of destruction.
Unfortunately, there are other considerations that might make inpatient care implausible. Not everyone has enough flexibility in their lives to simply disappear for a month or two. Since they still need treatment, rehab facilities like to offer outpatient options.
Outpatient care options do offer a high level of treatment without the client having to be restricted to an inpatient facility 24/7. In many cases, the client will go through many of the same treatment programs they would encounter as inpatient residents. It might require the treatment process to extend beyond a month or two, but that’s the price one has to pay to avoid the restrictiveness of inpatient care.
Here are a few circumstances under which it might be necessary for a rehab facility’s intake clinician to prescribe outpatient care:
- The client doesn’t have the financial resources to pay for inpatient care
- The client cannot break away from childcare responsibilities
- The client is the family’s primary breadwinner
- The client cannot get relief from work or school responsibilities
What Are the Different Kinds of Drug Rehab Outpatient Programs?
Using the above criteria and other considerations, the intake clinician usually has three different outpatient care options they can offer. They include (in order of restrictiveness from most to least):
- Partial Hospitalization
- Intensive Inpatient
- Standard Inpatient
The main difference between these three options is the amount of time the client has to spend in treatment and the kinds of treatment options that will be made available to the client. Remember, clients can participate in outpatient programs as long as they follow the rules, report on schedule and make good progress towards recovery. Let’s discuss further.
Partial Hospitalization
This is by far the most restrictive outpatient option. This is the one intake clinicians will assign to clients who have a substantial addiction but cannot submit to a residential program.
Keeping in mind things may vary a little from one rehab facility to the next, a partial hospitalization addiction treatment program will usually require that the client report for treatment for 5 to 7 days a week. Each time they report, they might have to spend as much a 6 to 8 hours in the facility. During this time, they will be required to attend multiple intensive individual therapy sessions, as well as family and group therapy sessions when necessary. At times, they might get an invitation to participate in some activities usually reserved for residential clients.
Intensive Outpatient
This option is usually reserved for clients with a significant addiction issue but limited available time for treatment. The client will usually need to report for treatment for 3 to 5 days a week. Each time they report, they might have to spend as much as 3 to 4 hours in the facility. During that time, most of the treatment focus will be directed at intensive individual therapy.
Standard Outpatient
At the lowest level of outpatient care scale is the standard outpatient option. This is usually reserved for clients with a moderate addiction issue or the clients who have shown really good progress at the higher levels of outpatient care. The client will usually need to report for treatment for 1 to 2 days a week. Each time they report, they might have to spend as much as 2 to 3 hours in the facility.
If circumstances dictate you pursue an outpatient option, we can help you with that. If you contact us at 844-639-8371, we would be glad to assess your circumstances and make a recommendation.