Benefits of Choosing Local Drug Rehabs for Inpatient Treatment
Drug rehab can seem like an overwhelming experience, with so many unknowns and so much at stake at this point in a person’s life. Having to choose between all the available treatment options and programs doesn’t make the process any easier.
Drug rehab treatment comes in a range of different forms with each program designed to address different stages and severities of addiction. While most programs all work to accomplish the same goal (stopping drug use and maintaining abstinence), program approaches vary according to specialty. Someone with a long history of drug abuse or someone who’s also struggling with medical or mental health problems will likely want to consider the benefits available through inpatient rehab programs.
Considering the overall unease that comes with embarking on the recovery path, finding a local inpatient drug rehab may help make this transition period easier. Likewise, when it comes time to leave drug treatment, transitioning from a local inpatient rehab back into the real world won’t require getting reacquainted with “home turf” all over again.
Ultimately, the benefits of choosing local drug rehab for inpatient treatment lie in the convenience and familiarity that comes with local drug rehab as opposed to going through the treatment process in a faraway place.
Inpatient Treatment Approach
As a general rule, the longer a person engages in drug abuse the more difficult it’ll be to stop using and maintain abstinence for any length of time. Inpatient rehab programs employ an intensive treatment approach designed to address any and all conditions that aggravate a person’s addiction problem as well as treating the addiction problem itself.
Inpatient drug treatment can help treat the addiction as well as associated conditions.
People coming of long-time addictions often enter treatment with medical and/or psychological conditions that developed as a result of chronic drug use. Under these conditions, not treating associated conditions only leaves a person that much more susceptible to relapse and ongoing drug use.
According to Perelman School of Medicine, inpatient drug rehab programs offer a range of treatment services designed to address a person’s individual treatment needs. Services commonly offered in inpatient drug rehab include –
- Medical treatment
- Psychotherapy (individual, group and family)
- Drug education counseling
- 12 Step support groups
- Medication replacement therapies
Inpatient programs can run anywhere from one to three months long depending on the severity of a person’s addiction.
Making it Past the Withdrawal Stage
The discomfort that comes with withdrawal becomes a driving force in keeping a person hooked on drugs. Likewise, the dread of experiencing withdrawal effects often prevents addicts from any attempting detox and recovery.
Consequently, it’s not uncommon for long-time addicts to have gone through multiple rounds of drug treatment with little to no progress to show for their efforts. Inpatient drug rehab programs specialize in addressing the most severe of addiction problems, which makes this the optimal level of treatment for someone coming off a chronic or long-term addiction problem.
While detox withdrawal treatment only marks the first stage in the recovery process, making it past this stage is essential to breaking the hold of drugs over a person’s life.
Behavioral Treatment Supports
More than anything else, addiction in any form warps a person’s thinking and belief systems making it incredibly difficult to maintain abstinence without the necessary supports in place. Behavioral treatment supports help those in recovery undo faulty thinking patterns and develop the types of coping skills that make a drug-free lifestyle possible.
Behavioral treatment supports typically offered by local inpatient rehab programs include –
- Group-based therapy
- Individual psychotherapy
- Drug counseling
- Support group work
Inpatient programs conduct treatment sessions daily according to a set schedule. While intensive, the day-in, day-out focus on growth and recovery help addicts build a firm foundation in recovery.
Family Involvement
More oftentimes than not, people with a long history of drug abuse have lived within a dysfunctional home environment at some point in their lives. Likewise, friends and social groups may also be contributing to an addiction problem. Going from treatment back into a dysfunctional environment does not bode well for continued abstinence.
Inpatient drug rehab programs make provisions for friends and family members to take part in the addict’s recovery process. With an out-of-state treatment facility, family involvement becomes more difficult in terms of location and proximity. Getting treatment from a local inpatient rehab program makes it easier for family and friends to take an active role in a person’s recovery.
Medication Therapy Options
Medication therapy options can provide much needed relief from the types of drug cravings and withdrawal effects that long-term drug abuse leaves behind. Medication therapies can be used as a treatment for both opiate and alcohol-based addictions.
People recovering from chronic addiction problems stand to benefit the most from medication therapy options considering how drugs weaken and sometimes damage critical neuropathways in the brain. According to the U. S. Department of Health & Human Services, medications most often used in alcohol treatment include –
- Antabuse
- Vivitrol
- Naltrexone
Medications used in opiate addiction treatment include –
- Clonidine
- Methadone
- Naltrexone
- Buprenorphine
Since inpatient rehab addresses both detox and post-detox treatment needs, these programs have ample experience in administering medication therapy treatments.
Aftercare Options
While an inpatient rehab program does employ an intensive and sometimes lengthy treatment approach, at some point the program will end. Once treatment ends, it’s essential for a person to stay engaged in the recovery process or else risk falling back into the addiction lifestyle.
Both local and nonlocal inpatient programs make it a point to develop aftercare plans for people completing treatment, oftentimes referring a person to community-based agencies. In this regard, a local inpatient rehab program will likely have established connections with other community agencies and can better match a person’s individual treatment needs with available community resources.
Considerations
For the most part, anyone in need of inpatient rehab treatment is likely struggling with a severe addiction problem. Under these conditions, ensuring a person spends the needed amount of time in drug treatment is essential to a successful recovery process.
Since the duration of any one inpatient program will likely have a bearing on whether a person chooses a local-based program over a nonlocal one, the need for in-depth, ongoing treatment should tip the scales towards local inpatient drug rehab. In this respect, it’s easier to spend three months in drug treatment in one’s hometown rather than miles away in another locale.