What if I Don’t Feel Like My Problem Is Bad Enough to Need an Inpatient Drug Rehab Center?

People who abuse drugs or alcohol usually end up dealing with the disease of addiction. While the word addiction carries with it the assumption the addiction sufferer’s life is in total disarray, it’s not always the case. Some people have an addiction but are still able to function fairly well out in society. While the presence of any level of addiction will typically require the addiction sufferer to get treatment, it doesn’t always have to end up with the individual needing to go through a residential treatment program. With that said, it is not always a good idea for the actual addiction sufferers to diagnose the extent of their addiction. Why? Well, there is this little thing called denial. Addiction sufferers are notorious for underestimating the extent of their addiction. It is a far better idea for each prospective client to show up at a rehab center and let the treatment professionals diagnose the extent of the problem. If you are willing to be honest with yourself and others, here are some signs you can use to determine the extent of your addiction:

  • Missing time from work or school due to recurring drug/alcohol use issues
  • Difficulty managing personal relationships
  • Continual financial problems due to the purchase of drugs or alcohol
  • Legal issues like divorce, DUIs, and encounters with la enforcement regarding criminal activity
  • Inability to handle very basic responsibilities
  • Problems with eating and sleeping
  • Unkempt personal appearance
  • Obsession with using drugs or alcohol

If you find yourself mired in multiple issues on this list, there is a good chance your addiction problem is worse than you think. For the purpose of this writing, we will assume you have a viable point about not needing to go through residential treatment. What then are your options? We will answer that question in the section below.

The Outpatient Alternative

In a day and age when rehab facilities are operating at capacity, we see more clients settle on outpatient treatment. It is not something we would recommend if someone has a significant addiction issue, but otherwise, outpatient treatment is a very viable alternative. To better relate to the outpatient treatment process, one would need to understand there are three primary outpatient options. These three options are delineated by the restrictiveness of the program itself. We will start with Partial Hospitalization or PHP. When taking part in a PHP, the most restrictive of the outpatient options, clients are allowed to stay at home when not in therapy. As far as therapy is concerned, clients are typically required to report for treatment at least five days a week for as many as eight hours of treatment each day. During their time in the treatment facility, they are expected to participate in individual, group, and family therapy sessions. Down one level is Intensive Outpatient or IOP. As part of an IOP, clients are put through the same levels of therapy. Where things differ from the PHP option is in the time the client has to invest in treatment. The typical IOP option requires the client to report for treatment between three to five days a week. Each of those days, they might spend between four and six hours in therapy. The bottom level option the General Outpatient option. To be honest, this option is generally available for people who have already been through treatment but need a little follow-up work. Regardless of what type of outpatient program a client uses, they still have to follow a very basic set of rules. The rules include:

  • Completely abstaining from the use of alcohol or drugs without a prescription from an informed physician
  • Must be willing to submit to drug testing upon arrival at the clinic
  • Must make a real effort to show up for every appointment on time, every time
  • Keep working hard with progress towards a lasting recovery

There you have it. If you are looking for an alternative to inpatient treatment, you might be fine selecting one of the outpatient options we described above. The point is you should be focusing on getting yourself into treatment while allowing us treatment professionals to determine the level of treatment you might need. If you would be willing to let us provide you treatment, you can call us at 833-846-5669 for more information about the facility and our addiction treatment services.