When it comes to recovering from an addiction, it can be confusing to pick a treatment option that’s right for you. Usually, when looking for help at rehabilitation facilities, you’ll come across both inpatient and outpatient styles of addiction treatment.

But which of these is the right fit? If you’re weighing the options, it’s important to fully understand what these two choices mean. Here we’ll be outlining the definition and benefits of one of these choices: inpatient treatment.

Inpatient rehab can be extremely beneficial when treating addiction, especially for those struggling with substance abuse issues. Let’s explore what exactly inpatient drug rehab is and how it can benefit those seeking treatments.

What Is Inpatient Drug Rehab?

Those looking at different rehab options will often encounter outpatient rehab and inpatient rehab treatment options. Today, we’re looking at inpatient rehab treatment.

Inpatient rehab is sometimes referred to as residential treatment or residential rehab. That’s because, in this treatment style, participants will live on sight at the rehab facility during the course of their treatment program. They do not leave the rehab center until the course of treatment is complete.

Who Needs Inpatient Treatment?

Inpatient addiction treatment benefits those dealing with severe addiction. When you stay at an inpatient program, you are completely immersed in the rehabilitative environment. You will get to focus solely on treatment and, most importantly, have access to 24-hour inpatient care.

If you are dealing with a severe addiction, inpatient treatment is often the best course of action. It allows individuals to reprieve from their daily lives, so their entire focus can be on mental health and healing.

Inpatient rehab is especially beneficial to those struggling with alcohol addiction or drug addiction. Residential treatment centers will remove patients from the triggers of daily life and substances to lessen the risk of relapse.

It is also beneficial to those who are at high risk for detoxing. If a patient is in serious addiction, they can potentially suffer dangerous withdrawals in the detox process. An inpatient rehab program will give them the medical support they need to detox safely.

The Benefits of Inpatient Drug Rehab

There are a ton of benefits to choosing an inpatient course of treatment. Let’s take a look at all of the pros:

24-Hour Medical Care

The biggest benefit to inpatient treatment is the level of care. By staying within a rehab care facility, you will have access to your support team day and night.

In cases of severe addiction, processes like detoxing can be done safely, with round-the-clock support. Following detox, you will also have the team’s full support for any physical or mental health crisis you may encounter in the healing process.

Large Care Teams

Most inpatient rehab facilities have comprehensive care teams with a multitude of roles. You can expect the support of therapists, counselors, nurses, dieticians, and more, at an inpatient rehab center.

Life Focused on Recovery

Inpatient rehab allows patients to take a step away from daily responsibilities that can distract from recovery. Work, bills, substances, family, friends… These can all go on the back burner once you are doing inpatient residential treatment. It gives you the chance to make your focus solely on recovery and rehabilitation, with little distraction.

Build a Support Network

As patients cannot leave inpatient facilities, daily activities will often involve groups of residents. Group therapy sessions and activities can help a patient make connections and form a network of support. Integrating with a group that is focused on a common goal, addiction recovery, can be a motivation to change and can aid relapse prevention.

Highly Structured Programs

Depending on the individual, this may be challenging, but for some, the scheduled nature of an inpatient treatment center is widely helpful when approaching recovery. You are rarely alone when in inpatient treatment, with a busy schedule to adhere to.

Your day-to-day will be filled with group activities, individual therapy, medical check-ins, and other activities. Adhering to this schedule can be effective in helping people work through drug abuse issues and recover.

What Happens in Inpatient Rehab?

Going into inpatient rehab can be nerve-wracking, but there’s nothing to fear! Here’s what you can expect when you are admitted to average residential treatment centers. Please keep in mind that these experiences will vary, depending on the facility.

Step 1: Intake

When you first arrive at inpatient treatment, you will go through the intake process. This involves paperwork, outlining your medical history, and meeting with someone from the facility to pick the treatment option that’s right for you. Here you will have to share the issues you struggle with and what you want to treat to begin the healing process.

Step 2: Detox

If you are attending a treatment facility for a substance abuse disorder, the next part of the process will be detoxification. Here, you will begin drug treatment by ridding your body of addictive substances. This can look different from case to case, but the major benefit of inpatient treatment is the 24/7 medical support to help you through the detox process.

Step 3: Enter the Program

Once you have completed the detoxing process, you are ready to be fully integrated into the course of treatment set out for you.

Your daily schedule will depend on how you are being treated and the offerings of your facility. Typically, though, your day will feature controlled meals, group therapy sessions, individual therapy sessions, medical appointments, recreational activities, workshops, and more. And so will begin the road to recovery!