Inpatient vs Outpatient Rehab: The Differences Explained

One of the most important decisions you can make as an addict is choosing the right type of rehabilitation for you. Making the wrong choice could mean failure, disappointment, and lasting negative effects. 

Rehab is hard work, only one in ten addicts that receive addiction treatment manage to recover. Make it easier for yourself by considering your options carefully right from the start. 

Here’s a snapshot of inpatient vs outpatient rehab to help you make the right decision when it comes to your rehabilitation and the rest of your life. 

What Is Inpatient Rehab?

Inpatient treatment is most suited to people who can afford to take time out of their lives to focus on their recovery. You’ll need to spend at least thirty days at the rehabilitation facility 24 hours a day.

Patients undergo extensive group, family, and individual therapy at the center. Your treatment usually follows an established formula such as a 12-step program or other holistic practices. 

There’s also a strong focus on health, wellness, and a positive mindset at these institutions. 

Depending on the treatment center, you could spend the first few days isolated from the outside world. If this sounds like a bad fit for you, don’t give up, outpatient therapy is a good alternative in most cases. 

What Does Outpatient Therapy Mean?

If you need to take care of family members or can’t take time off work, this type of rehab is better suited to you. 

There are many similarities between inpatient and outpatient substance abuse treatment. You’ll still get plenty of therapy to help you find your way towards recovery. 

The main difference is that you get to go about your daily life subject to these requirements. This type of intensive outpatient treatment usually occurs in the first stages of your recovery.

When your counselors feel you can continue in your sobriety, you’ll switch to a more relaxed form of outpatient treatment.

Detoxification: Inpatient vs Outpatient Rehab 

You could experience severe withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking your substance of choice. So, medical supervision is important. These side-effects of going cold turkey can lead to relapse or cause serious health complications.

For this reason, it’s recommended that people who are quitting alcohol, heroin, synthetic opiates, or benzodiazepines attend inpatient rehab. If you can’t afford to attend one of these facilities, outpatient rehab is still an option for you. 

The professional team at an outpatient facility assesses each new patient before treatment. Based on this, they’ll put together a customized plan to suit your needs.     

In some cases, you may need to check into a hospital to go through the withdrawal process in a safe environment. 

Finding Your Way in the World

Whether you’re looking for help for yourself or a family member, it’s vital to take your personal circumstances, personality, and budget into consideration while comparing inpatient vs outpatient rehab. The basic principles of these treatment types are similar. Yet, but inpatient rehab is more expensive, disruptive, and time-consuming.

Doing sufficient research is an important first step whenever you’re making decisions. Keep reading our blog for more information to help you make the right choices in your daily life. 

If you know someone struggling from drug addiction, heroin specifically, you can share this heroin addiction guide to them to help them recover.