People who need alcohol or drug rehab are often not given adequate care because it would mean taking time to be away from the job and loved ones for long periods of time. Rehabilitation with outpatient is an option for people with substance abuse problems who choose to not take the time to join a full-time inpatient care program.
Drug treatment provides clients with an opportunity to stay in the home setting while going to a structured therapy program. Addiction professionals can regularly assess the progress of a person in their treatment plan.
Outpatient services differ from inpatient services in that clients are not provided with a safe environment that separates them from individuals and situations that may adversely affect their recovery. Clients live on their own at home and must have their own motivation to abstain from the use of drugs or alcohol, which involves more restraint than inpatient.
However, in relation to therapy in an individual and group format, programs provide a support network for clients in the form of support groups so that clients are still not alone in their recovery.
Clients receive a strong network of peer groups and sponsors to support them.
How Does Outpatient Treat Addiction?
People dealing with drug abuse and addiction can be treated as outpatient clients in hospitals, local medical health centers, the counseling offices, and in outpatient care facilities. Throughout treatment, however, they can remain in their homes.
Clients are required to check regularly for medication and counseling with therapists and addiction experts at treatment centers. Check-ins vary from program to program, but many of them enable evening and weekend check-ins to help work with clients’ schedules.
Clients considering outpatient therapy must know that addiction therapy is essentially the same as inpatient but with less intensive treatment. The duration of the program varies depending on individual needs.
Outpatient therapy varies greatly. The range of programs offered varies from low to rather intensive.
Low-intensity services include classes in drug education while high-intensity services are comparable to what a residential inpatient client might experience.
Several factors can be used to determine the appropriate level of treatment for each patient, but especially how well a patient works alone. The client’s family and friends support structure has always been a factor.
Intensive outpatient therapy is also called partial hospitalization and covers multiple weekly intensive therapy sessions. Generally speaking, the number of sessions will decrease as the treatment progresses. Clients may switch to less intensive outpatient treatment after partial hospitalization. This involves a few sessions with a slightly less intensive focus per week.
The goal of all rehabilitation types is to help the person maintain sobriety. Addiction is a chronic disease which means treatments need to be ongoing in order to prevent a return to use. But over time, the intensity of therapy may wane.
As the recovery of the patient returns to normal and enhances, a reduction in therapy intensity allows more freedom and less sessions for the patient.
Starting with inpatient treatment and later moving to intensive outpatient therapy is not uncommon for a patient. The patient could then reduce the intensity after progress at that level and move to every week and finally monthly.
Who Does Best with Outpatient Treatment?
For clients with employment, college courses or other commitments, outpatient rehabilitation is an excellent choice. These services work greatest for engaging motivated people.
Also, strong contenders for this type of treatment are those clients with helpful families and friends. Outpatient rehabilitation is suitable for individuals who need the support of family and friends to improve their chances of progress. To some it can be harmful to be away from home.
Outpatient rehabilitation is also often the best choice for clients who must keep working to feed themselves and their families.
Outpatient rehabilitation allows individuals working towards college graduation to keep going to their classes while seeking treatment. Many facilities give adaptable check-in hours, as well as counseling services.
This type of rehabilitation is typically cheaper than residential rehabilitation while offering quality counseling for addiction.
Medical insurance is welcomed at outpatient treatment centers and covers most treatment costs.
Like all options for treatment, outpatient rehabilitation is confidential, and by reducing a need to justify an excused absence from school or work, confidentiality can be enhanced.
For a follow-up to much more intensive treatment programs, like inpatient, outpatient has an established record of continued abstinence.
Potential Issues with Outpatient Therapy
The big downside to outpatient therapy would be that the patient would not be completely removed from those in the daily compulsion to use.
For this purpose, outpatient treatment usually works better for a person whose addictions aren’t quite as severe.
Individuals may keep living at home in high-intensity outpatient services. A substantial attempt should be made on a constant basis for such a circumstance to be successful.
Some clients may still not be able to go to work due to the amount of time and energy necessary to overcome addiction, and they might not have the time to concentrate on caring for children or any other everyday tasks.
Another potential issue is that clients might find in the evenings or on weekends they have unstructured free time that can bring them back to poor life choices.
Some low-intensity initiatives tend to offer far less therapeutic interaction. But clients with a low-intensity program will be appointed to a therapist and attend multiple sessions each week and may engage in the evening group sessions.
For work and daily responsibilities, this provides the opportunity for more time. This enables a more ordinary life for the patient.
Again, this tends to leave a lot of spare time for the patient that could result to destructive behaviors. This is why outpatient programs are therefore better suited for clients with a considerate family and community structure. However, it is a necessity to have a deep desire for recovery.
There a so many outpatient treatment programs in the United States. No matter where you are, finding treatment will not be hard. Programs like Gateway Outpatient, Springfield, IL offer services from regular to intensive outpatient treatment.
Also, much like other programs, Gateway provides services that include residential care and various therapy methods.
If you need outpatient treatment for addiction, finding a place for care is easier than you think. You or your loved one can find recovery from addiction sooner rather than later.
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