Who is Best Suited for Residential Addiction Treatment?

Those with a History of Relapse

If you’ve tried to quit before and ended up relapsing, you likely go into rehab with a mindset that it isn’t going to work and you’re just going to fail. That can mean that you don’t even try – not even to get clean and sober to begin with. Going to a residential treatment facility means you’re forced into being clean and sober because you have no access to drugs and alcohol over the duration of the program. That duration can be 28, 30, 90 days or even longer. This means you’ll have plenty of time to detox and recover physically from your addiction – without having to navigate the hurdles of being able to just buy something and get drunk or high whenever you want.

However, if you do have a history of relapse, it’s important to talk about it with your counselor. That may result in preventive steps like ensuring you go into an aftercare program after you graduate, extra checkups, or a MAT (Medication-Assisted Treatment) maintenance program to ensure you can’t relapse once you’re back on your own.

People Without a Stable Home Situation

Addiction treatment relies on you having a comfortable routine and a good basis to build your life on so that you can work to rebuild your life and your behaviors. This means that if you have a tumultuous situation at home, if your friends and family at home also use, or if you don’t currently have a stable living situation, it’s better to go to an inpatient rehab facility.

Residential treatment can also vary from clinical settings to home-like settings with small groups brought together for treatment. They can offer all of the comfort and most of the privacy of home, although you will be asked to participate in social behavior, which typically means sharing a room, communal eating, and communal activities.

In addition, you can often move out of residential programs and into sober homes or halfway homes to benefit from that same level of stable home situation so you can maintain your recovery after you graduate the program.

Those Who Need Privacy

Many people don’t attend rehab or treatment because they’re afraid that other people will find out. In some cases, it’s important to learn to talk about your mental health and your substance abuse issues. In other cases, doing so could actually hurt your career or your study. In the latter case, it’s usually a good idea to travel to rehab and to attend treatment with full privacy. While that will cost more, it may be an important step for your career and your long-term well-being.

This can mean you get support for dual diagnosis, that you get extra help with something specific you’re struggling with, or that you have the full program tailored to your needs rather than being put in a general recovery program. In each case, it can and does improve outcomes.

Who needs intensive care? In most cases, anyone with a predisposition to substance abuse (e.g., family history of, family history of abuse, family history of trauma), co-occurring mental health disorder, repeated history of treatment and relapse, high substance abuse (e.g., blacking out using alcohol, risking overdose with drugs), etc. Of course, there are many other reasons you might need intensive care and personalized treatment, so talk to your doctor.

Getting Help

If you’re struggling with a substance use disorder, it’s important to keep in mind that any help is better than no help at all. If you can’t afford or can’t make time to go to residential addiction treatment, it’s better to go to an outpatient program and see what you can learn from it. Outpatient treatment can also add significant value to your recovery and may be enough to help you quit drugs or alcohol for good.

However, it’s also a good idea to talk to your doctor and your counselors to determine what is a best fit for you and your needs. People are often recommended into residential treatment when:

• They have a long history of drug or alcohol abuse
• They are heavy users
• They have no stable living situation
• People in their close friends and family also use
• Their family life is tumultuous
• They experience a high amount of stress in daily life
• They have significant complicating factors such as a dual diagnosis
• They have specific career needs that could negatively impact treatment
• Medical or mental health complications require extra medical or therapeutic attention

In each case, you don’t have to tick the boxes to benefit from residential treatment. Anyone can benefit from stepping away from day-to-day life and focusing fully on treatment and therapy. However, if this profile does sound like you, you are likely best suited for residential treatment.

Eventually, the best option is to get help. If you talk to a counselor at a treatment center or to your doctor, they can help you make the right choice to get the help you need. Good luck.

If you or your loved-one struggles from alcoholism or other substance abuse please contact us today and speak with one of our experienced and professional intake advisors about our detox, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment programs. 10 Acre Ranch also has specialty tracks like our pet friendly drug rehab and couples substance abuse treatment programs. We’re here to help you recover.