Inpatient or Outpatient Treatment: Which is Best for You?

Differences in Types of Addiction Treatment

With the multitude of different treatment options available today, it can sometimes be overwhelming when trying to decide which is the best fit for you, even when it comes to inpatient or outpatient treatment. To the uninitiated, scrolling through the thousands of different websites dedicated to treatment services usually reveals nothing except for the fact that there are treatment options in every state, in just about every city, and for just about every type of substance known to man.

But this information, while helpful to an extent, does little to actually help guide the individual’s decision on how to best go about seeking treatment and what level of care they should enter into.

Acronyms like PHP, IOP, and OP pop out on the screen like a foreign language, and without the guiding information behind what these services offer, or who they could benefit from, they become meaningless jargon and unintelligible. Not to mention that the moment that an individual decides to attend treatment is usually at a point of heightened anxiety and stress in their lives, and so having to do research on what treatment options best suit their needs is just about the last thing that they want to do.

Lucky for you, we are going to take a look at the two main types of treatment options offered in the substance abuse treatment field, inpatient treatment and outpatient treatment, and what sort of individuals could benefit from each. So if you are at that jumping-off point where you believe that you need help for your drug or alcohol addiction, read on, so that you can make an educated decision about what sort of treatment is right for you. And if you’d like more information on the entire continuum of addiction treatment and levels of care, we’ve got you covered!

What is Inpatient Treatment?

Residential treatment is a form of substance abuse treatment where the individual lives at the facility for the duration of their treatment. It is very often the second step in the treatment process, proceeding detox, and for individuals who have attempted to get sober in the past and relapsed, or individuals who have extensive addiction issues, this is usually the best choice in terms of treatment options.

Inpatient allows the individual to be removed from their daily living environment for a period of time, usually around a month, so that they can begin to experience a life without drugs or alcohol in a surrounding that is conducive to their recovery and offers them the support they need.

Many people who choose to go to inpatient treatment have tried outpatient treatment in the past and found that they needed more structure and that they needed to be removed from the pressures of life in order to recover. This is very often the case with people who suffer from addiction—that they need a period of rest where they can focus solely on their recovery without outside influences distracting them from the task at hand.

A normal inpatient treatment program consists of individual therapies and group therapies, with select holistic and ancillary services in order to round out the treatment programming. The clients of this sort of program will spend their days learning life skills that they may be lacking, get introduced to the 12 Steps and 12 Step meetings, as well as learn how to navigate inter and intrapersonal conflict and communication.

Once an individual completes the inpatient treatment, they very often go on to outpatient services, where they are given the ability to test their newfound skills in a less structured environment, all while beginning to assimilate back into society and their lives.

What is Outpatient Treatment?

Outpatient treatment is a form of substance abuse treatment that is sometimes used as a continuation of inpatient treatment but can be used as a standalone program on its own. People who attend outpatient are either coming from a higher level of care or are so situated in their lives that they are unable to get away for 30 days in order to attend inpatient treatment.

It is very often times suggested that an individual start at the inpatient level of care, but when this is not possible, outpatient can greatly benefit the struggling addict or alcoholic.

People who attend outpatient treatment as their first treatment option is normally either not that far into their addiction, or have familial, work, or other obligations that cannot be put off for an extended period of time. For instance, they may have young children to raise and as such, they cannot just up and leave for a month in order to seek treatment.

What outpatient offers is the ability to get the help they need without great interruption to their lives. They can still work or raise their children and attend groups and individual therapies within a schedule that fits into their lives.

The issue with starting at the outpatient level of care is that the individual will continue to live at home and so they will have to face all of the stressors of life and temptations that can come right off the bat, but with that said, this can sometimes strengthen a person’s recovery.

Choosing Inpatient or Outpatient Treatment

The most important thing to take into consideration when choosing either inpatient treatment or outpatient treatment is that you are honest with yourself. If you believe that living at home is going to be much freedom in the beginning then you probably want to explore inpatient programming, but if you believe that you can navigate living on your own in early recovery, and you really cannot get away from your obligations, then outpatient can work for you.

People get sober every day in both of these forms of treatment, so in the end, it is really just a matter of finding what works for you and makes sense given your current situation and history.

Freedom From Addiction

If you have found yourself or a loved one suffering from alcoholism or addiction, you are not alone! If you are ready to change your life and live free of addiction, then the team at Find Addiction Rehabs can help. We can give you the jumpstart you need in order to find a life of recovery, and our holistic program is unique in that it doesn’t just treat the addiction, it treats the whole person. For more information on rehabs across the country, levels of care, and insurance coverage that pays for rehab, please reach out to our dedicated recovery representatives any time of day or night!

Anna M.( Senior Content Writer )

Anna M. joined Find Addiction Rehabs with extensive experience in the field of addiction treatment. As a former Nurse Practitioner in Miami, she found her passion for addiction treatment when a family member was lost to his disease. With each article and resource, she hopes to save other families from experiencing the anguish of a loved one’s passing due to drinking or drugs.