Outpatient Drug Treatment
Outpatient drug treatmentis often the preferred method for individuals who are not yet ready to commit to a residential drug rehab program. But, the comfort of familiarity can be a double edged sword. Often times, some of the addict's family members have enabled the individual's addiction and some of their best friends may be drug dealers. In these types of situation, it is best for the addict choose a drug treatment center that is not close to home. With outpatient drug treatment, an individual can go home every night, but in doing so, they risk experiencing familiar triggers that may make the recovery process that much harder.
Outpatient addiction treatment programs are for individuals who are employed, have extensive social support systems, and can maintain abstinence for up 72 hours. Individuals attending outpatient addiction treatment programs generally live at home. They attend the outpatient drug program several days or evenings during the week. While most people with substance abuse or alcohol problems would rather attend outpatient drug treatment, it is not suitable for everyone due to the limited level of care. In order for a person to be considered for outpatient drug treatment, an extensive assessment must be completed, to determine if this type of outpatient drug treatment would be the best fit for them. The length of these outpatient drug treatment programs varies, but most of the time it is approximately six weeks; they generally meet several times a week for three or four hours each meeting. The goal for outpatient drug treatment total abstinence from drugs and alcohol, and sometimes drug tests are randomly administered as a part of treatment. When an individual leaves each, it is expected that they will not use any chemical or mind-altering substances. Outpatient behavioral treatment includes a wide variety of programs for patients who visit a clinic at regular intervals. Many of the programs include individual or group drug counseling.
Partial hospital or day addiction outpatient treatment programs are sometimes considered to be a step above regular outpatient addiction treatment. In these outpatient drug programs they meet five days a week for approximately four hours every day. These programs were originally designed as a "step down" program for individual after they completed residential drug treatment. Patients generally live at home or in another structured setting such as a half way house, and attend these outpatient drug treatment programs during the day.
There are pros and cons to every type of drug treatment, but for those who choose the outpatient drug treatment route, there are definite reasons why they feel it is the right fit for them. Life is more than just one plan, with family, career often needing to be taken into account in the matter of choosing the right drug treatment program. Listed below are some of the pros and cons of outpatient drug treatment programs:
Pros of Outpatient Drug Treatment Programs:
Work: If you have a job, and there is a chance you could lose it if you were attending an inpatient drug treatment program, then outpatient drug treatment may be a good choice
Family: This can be a pro or a con, depending on the individual's family circumstances, but an individual does get to return home every day when they are enrolled in outpatient drug treatment.
Flexibility: You can set the times for all of your appointments and decide how fast a pace you want to maintain in outpatient drug treatment. This can be a blessing or a curse to an addict; depending on how committed the addict is to the outpatient drug treatment program.
Cons of Outpatient Drug Treatment Programs:
Temptation: The biggest problem addict's face when trying to quit is the constant temptation of being around the same places and faces as they were everyday when they were using drugs or drinking.
Procrastination: Most people tend to procrastinate, and if you’re not looking forward to any part of the outpatient drug treatment program, chances are some appointments will be missed.
Lack of 24/7 support: Breaking an addiction is tough. Especially at first, many people find that they feel much stronger when they have access to around the clock support. With outpatient drug treatment, this support is limited to the number of hours that you attend the treatment center.
Lack of complete treatment: Addiction controls a person’s entire life, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. In outpatient drug treatment, normally only the physical aspect of addiction is treated, due to the limited time restraints.
There is no doubt that a person addicted to drugs or alcohol would like a close supportive network around to help them. That is why outpatient drug treatment is usually the most attractive to many individuals seeking drug treatment. They feel that they need the support of family and good friends, and they often see work as something to focus on and distract them from the need for drugs. Being isolated from the world, as in residential drug rehab, would seem more difficult to handle .Despite the relative freedom afforded to patients, an outpatient drug treatment program still has a set structure to follow. An individual will usually be required to attend the outpatient drug treatment center so that their progress can be monitored. At the first meeting in an outpatient drug treatment program, a plan is developed, that take into account the patient’s work and family schedule. However, the individual enrolled in the outpatient drug program is given the responsibility to follow the plan, which can put a lot of stress on them.
Experts in the field of addiction highly recommend long term residential treatment for the highest rate of success in recovery from drug or alcohol addiction. It is up to the individual to decide which drug treatment program they wish to choose. For some few individuals, outpatient drug treatment could be the right choice. Regardless of which treatment program is chosen, recovering from an addiction of any sort requires a lot of hard work, but not as hard as being a slave to an addiction.
