Treatment Options For Addiction: Understanding Your Options
For individuals suffering from addiction, there is a wide variety of options available, and knowing what type of treatment is right for you or a loved one helps ensure success in beating addiction. In this article, we will cover many different options for addiction treatment: Inpatient vs outpatient, intensive outpatient care, state vs private rehabilitation centers, medications, length of stay and support groups. It’s important that those seeking addiction treatment find a drug treatment plan that works the best for them, as everyone has different needs. If you are seeking where to get help for drug addiction or looking for a support group to stay sober, knowing your options is the best bet.
Inpatient Addiction Treatment
Inpatient care means the patient is admitted to a hospital. As opposed to outpatient care, inpatient drug treatment means the patient spends their time at a facility where they are carefully monitored and treated. An inpatient facility is often the best option for those suffering from addiction to hard drugs and alcohol. This is because inpatient treatment takes the patient out of the environment where they fostered their addiction, restricts the patient’s access to addictive drugs and alcohol and provides a place where withdrawal symptoms can be actively monitored and treated. Inpatient addiction treatment may also be referred to as a residential treatment.
Outpatient Addiction Treatment
Outpatient care means the patient is treated outside the boundaries of a healthcare facility. This means the patient can continue to live at home and fulfill their daily responsibilities, but they must check in regularly at a facility for medication and counseling. Outpatient rehab programs are often a better option for those suffering from a minor substance use disorder issue, as an inpatient rehab program can be necessary for detox and withdrawal symptoms. Outpatient programs vary in intensity, but most are heavily focused on providing a support network, providing education on addiction, and providing counseling for patients seeking addiction treatment.
Intensive Outpatient
Intensive outpatient programs, also known as IOP, are more involved outpatient programs that do not require detoxification under the watch of medical professionals. As with normal outpatient programs, intensive outpatient programs take place in the patient’s home and allow the patient to continue their daily responsibilities. As opposed to inpatient programs, the patient can build a support foundation for recovery in the long term at the start of treatment. The building of family and community support networks in inpatient programs usually begins after leaving the facility, but intensive outpatient programs allow it to be done immediately. Like regular outpatient programs, the patient checks in regularly to a facility for medication and counseling.
State vs Private Rehabilitation Centers
What is the difference between a state-sponsored rehabilitation center and a private rehabilitation center? At the very least, the difference between the two is that the former is funded by the government and the latter is operated as a private business. State-sponsored programs are cheaper but may require a waiting list and do not allow the patient to choose the length of their stay. As is the nature of public and private institutions, a private rehab center may offer a higher quality of care and a lower ratio of patients to the staff at an increased price. In general, a private rehab center will offer a higher quality of care than a state rehab center. Which type of treatment center is best may depend on what resources you have available to spend.
Medications
There are many types of medications that can be prescribed to help treat addiction. In many cases, patients seeking recovery from addiction may be prescribed a drug very similar to the one they are addicted to. This is because a treatment medication can lessen the withdrawal symptoms of addiction, lessen the risks of dangerous drug use behavior, and help keep patients in recovery programs. One of the most commonly referenced medications for treating addiction is methadone, a mild opiate used in the treatment of patients addicted to opiates. Naltrexone is another rehabilitation medication that blocks the euphoric effects of opiates and alcohol, reducing the risk of relapse and the urge to use.
Support Groups
Support groups are a way for someone suffering from addiction to maintain healthy habits, detox safely, and get long-term support for staying sober. A support group may consist of anonymous strangers in the community sharing their experiences with addiction and providing support, close friends and family helping someone overcome addiction or a voluntary group of people seeking to overcome addiction together. Support groups give patients a higher chance of recovery and may be religious or secular. Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotic Anonymous, Women for Sobriety, Yoga After Recovery and Secular Organizations for Sobriety are a few examples of official support groups, but a support group can also be an informal association of close friends and family. Whatever treatment option is used to treat addiction, support groups are crucial.
Don’t forget you’re not alone. We are available 24/7 to help you make sense of your treatment options, insurance coverage and the cost of rehab help is just a phone call away.
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