Outpatient Rehab Inpatient Rehab

One of the most common questions I get is “Are there any alcohol rehabs or drug rehabs near me?”

The answer is yes.

First, let’s talk about the terminology and the different options available to you so you are more clear on what exactly you need.

Outpatient Treatment

Outpatient drug rehab or alcohol rehab is a regimented program where you attend groups and individual sessions for a set number of hours per week. You can attend as little as 3 hours per week, all the way up to 20 hours per week.

When you are doing 10+ hours per week we call this Intensive Outpatient (IOP). IOP only signifies that the program is more than 10 hours per week- it is still a combination of education, group, and individual sessions.

It is called outpatient rehab because you live at home and not in the facility.

Inpatient Treatment

Inpatient drug rehab can be a little more tricky. Inpatient means you are staying at the facility full-time. You attend your groups, classes, and individual sessions in the same place and you sleep there as well.

When a facility says they are ‘inpatient’, it is important you ask how long their program is. I learned this lesson the hard way.

Years ago, I did an intervention for a family and we were looking for inpatient treatment. For most of us, inpatient treatment and residential treatment mean the same thing. And for much of  my career I used those terms interchangeably. Then I learned these can be two different things.

Of course, my natural response to everything is to Google it. What I learned was the term inpatient can be used for short-term programs where you sleep in the same facility where you attend groups etc. And residential is more a term for long-term treatment (60-90 days) where people are residents for an extended period of time.

There was a facility  I used to refer people to for detox and ‘inpatient’ and I couldn’t figure out why all the clients would leave the facility after 10-15 days when they called themselves ‘inpatient’.

The lesson is, each state has different laws and regulations on what they call their programs and sometimes it can be extremely misleading. It is incredibly important to ask the right questions when talking to treatment centers to ensure you are clear on exactly what you are getting. You can find my list of treatment center questions here.

Detox

Detox is short for detoxification. This is where someone goes to be in a safe environment while they clear their body of all substances. Also known as: withdrawal.  The withdrawal symptoms can be dramatically different for each substance. Some are life-threatening, some are painful, and some you just sleep it off.

Alcohol is the most dangerous substance to withdraw from and it is always recommended you seek medical detox for alcohol withdrawal. Look at the facts of alcohol withdrawal here. A medical facility will oversee your vitals and make sure you are safe during this process, and sometimes they will admit you for a series of days to ensure you remain safe and healthy.

There is a non-medical detox option also. Often, this is referred to as a ‘social’ detox. All this means is you have a safe place to sleep and go through withdrawal but they have no medical capabilities.

Voluntary

Keep in  mind that any level of detox and/or treatment is done on a voluntary basis. Even inpatient and residential facilities are not lock-down facilities. When someone is over the age of 18, they can choose to leave whenever they want.

There are times a person poses a threat to themselves or others and the authorities can make a decision to keep someone for a short period of time until they are stable again. But treatment centers do not work that way.

There are several options for inpatient rehab, outpatient treatment kansas city, residential treatment, and detox in Kansas City. Sometimes, I choose an out-of-state option and we can help you figure that out, too. And in some situations I recommend a private and custom-made recovery plan.

The important thing is to know where you are in the process and decide exactly what it is you need. Read more about Addiction Help here.

Please get help making these decisions- it’s too important to guess and hope for the best.