How Is Long Term Addiction Treatment Better for Me?

If you are researching drug and alcohol treatment, you are probably looking at 28 day programs. It feels like the automatic response. Doesn’t everyone just attend treatment for a month? No. Different situations warrant different treatment lengths and recovery isn’t a race. It should take as long as you need to feel ready to return to your life and continue abstaining.

Inpatient care, treatment that requires you reside at the facility, extends for 28 days at the very least but there are situations in which a 120- or 180-day rehab would actually be more fitting. If you have a dual diagnosis, complex issues that underlie your addiction, or a particularly severe addiction, you may need additional time in treatment for it to be successful.

If you are interested in inpatient care of any kind, we can answer all of your questions, help you to find a facility that meets your needs, and discuss financing with you. Call 800-430-1407Who Answers? to speak to an advisor. Don’t wait to get the care that you need.

Long-Term Inpatient Care

Long term rehab will help you regain confidence and self-respect.

Inpatient or residential care emphasizes a long-term approach to rehab and recovery. The goal is to help you regain sobriety as naturally and effectively as possible. This should allow you to return to your daily life and be a productive citizen who abstains from drug and alcohol use. You will regain your confidence and self-respect and find a new sense of responsibility.

Long-term residential care achieves these goals by creating a therapeutic community—these have been shown to be an effective form of treatment; participants who showed improvement at one year continued to do so for the following five years.

Once you complete detox and the initial rehabilitation period, you gain additional freedom within the community. For example, young people may attend classes and adults may get a job within the facility. This allows patients to practice integrating themselves into a community.

Long-term inpatient rehab also offers a number of activities: outdoor, out-of-town, and outreach happenings. You may also find yourself participating in sports or skills training. If you have chosen a long-term luxury program, you may also have access to high-end services and amenities, like equine therapy and spa treatments.

Dual Diagnosis

Patients who have a mental disorder in addition to a substance use one have what is termed a “dual diagnosis.” Their co-occurring conditions impact each other. For instance, an individual may use marijuana to cope with anxiety. Over time, this may develop into a use disorder. But, when the marijuana is removed from their system, it may exacerbate the anxiety. The link between the two complicates diagnosis and treatment. So, both need to be treated simultaneously and in conjunction, and this is called integrated treatment.

It is also worth noting that a mental illness can also disrupt participation in treatment. A condition like ADHD, for example, can make it hard for a patient to sit still and remain focused in therapy.

These complications mean that people with a dual diagnosis take longer than the general population to benefit from treatment. But, successful treatment of one should enable treatment of the other as well. It just takes time. Long-term care may be the way to go.

How Long Term Inpatient Drug Rehab Reduces the Risk of Relapse

Complex Underlying Causes for Addiction

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the most commonly used technique in a traditional 28-day inpatient rehab stay because it fits well in that short period of time. It is a form of therapy that focuses on specific behaviors and developing strategies that enable you to respond to triggers and stressors without turning to drug use.

But, if you have more serious psychological underpinnings fueling your drug use, you will need more intense, long-term therapy and an extended stay at an inpatient rehab can provide you with the time needed to get sufficient care.

People who experience trauma often result to drug and alcohol use to process it. Dealing with the trauma allows them to develop healthier strategies for coping with the experience. Studies actually show that roughly 80 percent of women in drug abuse treatment have experienced sexual and/or physical assault, for example. In such an instance, 28 days isn’t enough time to work through this.

If you feel like you would benefit from treatment of any length, we can answer your questions and help you to find a rehab center that can help you through your recovery. Call 800-430-1407Who Answers? now. Don’t put off taking control of your life again.