Anybody struggling with a drug or alcohol addiction will need professional help from a rehabilitation center.
Now, the rehab can be inpatient or outpatient, and each of them has its distinctive set of benefits.
While the inpatient rehabs are a full-time commitment, you can take medical help from the outpatient rehabs on a part-time basis.
Thus, outpatient rehabs seem a more feasible option for many drug addiction patients who have outside commitment but want to get better at the same time.
Many rehabilitation centers like Infinite Recovery offer both inpatient and outpatient recovery services. Click https://www.infiniterecovery.com/ to get more details on them.
What Is An Outpatient Recovery Center?
The outpatient recovery center is not the same as the inpatient recovery center because the patient takes the treatment during the day and returns home at night.
Different types of outpatient recovery centers require different amounts of attendance.
They happen in hospital clinics, mental health centers, local municipal offices, counselor’s offices, etc.
A standard outpatient recovery center demands 1-2 sessions every week. It may also continue every day for 5 days a week or can go on for 7-8 hours a session and continue for 3 days a week.
Usually, the outpatient treatment centers focus on group therapies where the patients learn all about their triggers and how to deal with them.
Features
- It is less restrictive than inpatient programs, which is why many addiction patients prefer it.
- You need to visit a local healthcare center for 10-12 hours every week.
- From drug abuse education to group counseling, outpatient recovery centers focus on everything from identifying triggers to learning the coping mechanism.
- If someone has a mild addiction problem, outpatient treatment centers can be a good option.
- These rehab centers are often part of a long-term drug addiction treatment program.
- Like an inpatient treatment program, the outpatient recovery program can also last for 3-6 months and even for a year if needed.
- It does not require a hospitalization period of more than 24 hours.
- Outpatient detox is safer than inpatient detox and takes less time to complete.
- Doctors will observe your symptoms during the checkup and suggest medications to manage your withdrawal symptoms.
- These treatment programs arrange for meetings in the early morning or late at night so that people can go about their usual routine during the day.
- The AA and NA groups are often integral parts of the outpatient treatment programs.
- Outpatient treatment programs cost less than inpatient rehabs.
- People are also encouraged to seek help from outpatient treatment programs once they complete inpatient treatments.
Benefits
There are many reasons why someone chooses outpatient recovery and rehabilitation over inpatient recovery centers. Apart from it being less costly and less disruptive on daily life, the outpatient recovery centers possess many other benefits such as:
1: You Can Maintain Your Employment
It’s not always easy to find a sponsor to support your recovery journey.
However, if you join an outpatient drug recovery treatment, you can keep your job.
Although the FMLA law dictates that you cannot be fired from your job if you take time off to seek addiction treatment, you may have to support your family, and that’s why you need to keep a steady cash inflow.
If you have a child and nobody to look after him, outpatient rehab can also be helpful in that context.
2: It Is Safer Than Inpatient Detox
Before seeking treatment from an inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation center, you must go through a detoxification procedure.
The outpatient detox is considered safer than inpatient detox because the doctors give you certain medicines to manage the withdrawal symptoms and suggest ways to deal with body aches and pain.
Outpatient detox centers also allow the involvement of family members and friends to support the victim during the detox, which is never an option in the inpatient detoxification.
3: It Is Cost-Effective
The cost of a rehab facility varies widely depending upon the treatment center, location, amenities, medication, and treatment.
While an inpatient rehab program may cost around $30,000 for 3 months, an outpatient program will only cost $5,000 for the same duration.
Although some people take help from the insurance companies to pay the cost, people who don’t have that benefit may find outpatient rehab a much more cost-effective option to seek addiction treatment.
4: The Treatment Is Family-Centered
It is beneficial for a patient to maintain regular contact with his family, and the outpatient treatment programs understand that concern.
These treatment programs also aim to educate the family members on the nature of the addiction and thus they can also help you in recovering from addiction.
Even the family members also learn tricks to keep an eye on the patient and identify the medical, psychological, and behavioral symptoms to understand if the person is using again or not.
How Does Outpatient Treatment Work?
The average outpatient detox duration is 6.5 days, and since people with a mild addiction problem take admission here, the average stay usually works for them.
Even though patients don’t have to stay at a hospital, they must visit the hospital for weekly mental and physical checkups.
Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous groups are an integral part of the outpatient treatment program. People under this treatment often attend these meetings to find a social support group.
Even partial hospitalization is also recommended in outpatient recovery. However, group therapy, one-on-one conversation, counseling, experiential sessions, and biofeedback are some of the different techniques used in an outpatient recovery program.
Should You Choose It?
You should only choose an outpatient recovery program if you have mild addiction problems and have outside commitments to attend to.
Inpatient treatments may seem scary, but people with chronic drug problems should go for them and seek outpatient treatment afterward.
Therefore, it depends upon the severity of your addiction, how long you have been addicted to the substance, and some other factors in deciding if you take admission to outpatient rehab or not.
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