Addiction treatment centers provide two forms of treatment for patients. You can choose to sign yourself in for inpatient treatment services or you can choose outpatient services for your drug addiction. Here is how to determine if you need inpatient or outpatient services, and which will work better for you.
Inpatient Services
Inpatient drug addiction treatment centers include detox rooms, daily group therapy sessions and daily or weekly individual cognitive therapy sessions. When you choose inpatient services, you are acknowledging that you have a very serious problem that you cannot manage on your own, even with support at home. You are resigning to the fact that you will need to remain in the clinic or treatment center until such a time as you can resist temptation enough to leave the clinic or center. Hardcore drug use, such as the kind frequently seen with heroin and crack cocaine, need more intensive therapy, which is only provided via inpatient services. Less serious drugs and addiction to these drugs are also addressed in inpatient services if the patient feels he or she needs more focused treatment and/or protection from him- or herself.
Outpatient Services
Outpatient drug addiction treatment services are for patients who would rather be treated at home, and can afford to have therapists, doctors and counselors visit them there. Outpatient services also address treatment needs of patients who have shown the restraint needed to keep away from their drug of choice but need to see a therapist regularly, receive a substitute drug (like Methadone), and/or join weekly group therapy sessions to stay off of drugs and on track with their treatment plans. It is possible for some drug addicts to quit cold turkey, but they may still need outpatient services to stay clean and sober.
How to Determine Which of These Services Is Right for You
While you might think that one of these services is a better option, you will still have to meet with a psychiatrist and a medical doctor to determine the severity of your addiction. These medical professionals can assess you for relapse risks and overall physical health as it relates to your current drug use and what can happen if you continue to use outside the addiction treatment center if granted outpatient service status. If the medical professionals feel you can manage outpatient services, you can then choose either service option. However, if the medical professionals deem that you are a danger to yourself and others because of your recreational and/or habitual use of drugs, you may only be allowed to enter a treatment program via inpatient services.
Share22 July 2016
One day I was playing a game of basketball with a friend, and the friend I was playing ball with tripped and took a hard fall to the ground. He hit his head hard, but he insisted he was okay and just wanted to go home and take a nap. I knew in my heart that he was not thinking clearly, and I didn't feel right letting him go home. I talked him into letting me take him to the hospital, and after some tests, it was determined he had a bad concussion. The doctors told me that if I had let him go home and sleep, things could have taken a turn for the worse. I created this blog to remind everyone to look out for each other after injuries. Not everyone thinks clearly after a head injury, and just being a good friend could save a life.