Inpatient Drug Rehab

Drug rehab comes in many different formats to accomodate a wide variety of addictions and individual situations. One of the most commonly known forms of drug rehab is inpatient or residential treatment. In residential treatment, individuals will reside at the treatment center in a group or family home setting while receiving intensive crae through counseling, therapy and support group meetings. Often the therapy and counseling takes place on both an individual and group basis. The average stay at a typical inpatient drug rehab center is 30 days before program completion. This is considered to be short-term drug treatment. Even though 30 days is most typical in residental drug rehab, the time spent in these treatment centers can vary depending on individual needs. Some people require longer stays of several months to a year. In this circumstance, long-term treatment is provided. The only difference between long-term and typicl 30 day drg rehab is the length of time. The intensity of the rehabiliation process and the manner in which it is provided remains the same. In many addiction cases, long term treatment is recommended to extend the time allowed for rehabiliitation from long and more severe periods of addiction. It can be a hard task to decide what kind of drug rehab is best for each individual, but there are a few things that serve as good indicators for long-term treatment.

Has short term drug treatment been attempted one or more times with relapse occurring within 4 weeks of program completion?

If there has been a pattern of completing 30 days and returning home to almost immediate relapse, it may be a good choice to go with long-term drug rehab in the future. Often 30 days serves as a "dry out" period, where addicts have just enough time to get clean and temporarily free themselves from addiction, but not enough time or committment to embrace the meaning of recovery and truly understand the disease of addiction. One of the biggest parts of drug rehab is learning the tools neccessary to abstain from future drug or alcohol use, despite whatever pressures, stresses, or desires may be present. These tools are not easily attained and without the repetition of how to gain and utilize these tools, sobriety is at a huge risk.

Has addiction been a problem for several years or resulted in very severe abuse (compulsive use, overdose resulting in hospital visits?

Addiction is a chronic and progressive disease meaning it does not go away on it's own and it only gets stronger over time and with mire abuse, without proper treatment. If addiction has been a problem for many years, generally 5 or more, the disease has had more than enough time to completely infiltrate the brain and how it functions. Over several years of drug or alcohol abuse, thought processes, behaviors, reponses, lifestyle, and judgement are all surrounded by the influence of addiction, changing the manner in which an addict lives and conducts daily routines. In drug rehab, the goal is to reverse these behaviors and return the addict to a life of normal function with clear judgement and thoughts. In considering the time it takes for the average person to grow and mature from childhood learing responsibility, judgement, and ethics to survive independently of supervision, the most intensive 30 day drug rehab will have a hard time reinstating these characteristics after several years of adverse behavior. The same idea holds true for very heavy abuse of alcohol or drugs over a shorter period of time. The more these poisons are absorbed by the brain and body (whether over a long time period or over a short concentrated period), the further the addict gets from healthy behavior. Depending on the damage done, it may take longer periods of drug rehab treatment to return the brain to normal function.

Are there serious co-occurring mental health issues along with the Addiction?

Some addictions are coupled with co-occuring mental health disorders, such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks, bi-polar disorder, and manic disorder, along with a myriad of other mental health issues. Many times when this is the situation, the mental health disorders serves as a manjor contributor to drug and alcohol abuse and must be addressed in drug rehab as well as the addiction itself. With the recent increase in prescription medication addiction from use of legitimate prescriptions for disorders such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, and stress, dual diagnosis treatment demand is on the rise, This kind of drug rehab requires that treatment focuses on alternative means to nurture mental health and treat the addiction. The addition of mental health disorders complicates the addiction treatment process and often a term longer than 30 is recommended for completion of the comrehensive and complex nature of dual diagnosis treatment. While it is not indicated that all dual diagnosis addiction treatment take place in long-tern drug rehab, the longer stays in drug rehab have proven to be more effective, especially with this particular kind of drug rehabillitation.

Although research has proven that long-term residential drug rehab is more effective in overcoming addiction, long-term treatment is not for everyone. Short-term drug rehab, lasting 30 days is very effective as well. For many addicts, all that is required for recovery is a dry out period and aftercare consisting of meetings, support groups and possibly some outside counseling. Generally short-term drug rehab is recommended for addictions that have been severe enough to require removal of the addict from familiar surroundings, but not quite so severe as haing done extensive damage to the brain over a several year period. There is not one answer for all cases of addiction and the plethora of individual situations, so it is important to have all the information about the addiction and the type of drug rehab center that is best before making a decision. Different drug rehabs are dotting the globe with more methodologies and philosphies than ever before. Drug rehabs are becoming more and more specific about their own approach to addiction treatment as to accomodate each individual's specific addiction, mental health, social, and behvioral issues in settings that are conducive to specific geneders, ages, religous beliefs, lifestyles, and ideals. It may seem that all of these choices only make the task of finding drug rehab all the more daunting, but conclusive reasearch shows that more specifically targeted drug rehab has been more effective in treating addiction and maintaining sobriety after treatment.