Is Inpatient Drug Rehab Really Necessary?

While drug rehab programs do a good job at helping addicts gain control over addiction, severe addiction problems require a comprehensive treatment approach in order to give addicts a firm foundation in the recovery process. This especially the case for people who’ve gone in and out of drug rehab programs with little to no results to show for it.

According to the U. S. National Library of Medicine, the level of care provided by inpatient drug rehabs is designed to treat any and all conditions that contribute to drug addiction behaviors. Granted, not everyone recovering from addiction will require inpatient drug rehab treatment, but those who do stand a much better chance at ongoing abstinence.

Inpatient Drug Rehab

People with a long history of drug abuse face certain challenges and issues that people with mild and moderate addiction problems don’t usually encounter. The effects of long-term drug use essentially “rewire” the brain’s structures, the brain’s chemical processes and ultimately how the brain works.

Over time, these effects create conditions where other medical and psychological disorders can develop. Inpatient drug rehab programs offer 24-hour monitoring, care and support in an effort to identify and address each person’s individual treatment needs.

According to Perelman School of Medicine, other types of services offered by inpatient drug rehab include:

Support groups are a common method of treatment in inpatient drug rehab.

• Intensive psychotherapy
• Medical care & treatment
• Drug education counseling
• Case management
• 12-Step support groups

Addiction’s Aftereffects

Addiction stems from the effects of any one drug on a person’s psychological make-up. In effect, addiction acts as a psychological dependency in terms of the addict believing he or she needs the drug’s effects to cope with daily life.

The longer a person engages in drug abuse the more entrenched this belief system becomes. Where inpatient drug rehab differs from standard, drug rehab treatment has to do with the day-in, day-out focus on undoing the addiction mindset while treating any physical or medical conditions that aggravate a person’s desire to use.

Co-Occurring Conditions

After so many months or years of chronic drug abuse, the likelihood of developing a psychological disorder runs considerably high. In effect the brain chemical imbalances brought on by chronic drug use create optimal conditions for mental illness to take root.

The in-depth approach taken by inpatient drug rehab best equips these programs to treat both addiction and mental illness together. Inpatient drug rehab programs use an integrated approach when treating co-occurring conditions (like mental illness and addiction) as one condition tends to aggravate the other.

Lifestyle

Perhaps the best indicator of whether inpatient drug rehab is really necessary is the type of lifestyle a person has maintained since his or her last round in drug treatment. Addiction’s effects on a person’s thinking inevitably affect a person’s priorities and motivations from day-to-day.

People unable to maintain a healthy, productive lifestyle after going through a standard treatment program may well require the highly structured environment found in inpatient drug rehab. Ultimately, the more severe the addiction problem the more structured the treatment environment should be.