There’s a huge gap between the number of people struggling with addiction and the number of people who actually receive treatment. 14 million people in the United States have an alcohol use disorder, yet fewer than 10% of Americans addicted to alcohol receive treatment. Approximately 10.3 million Americans misuse opioids and about 130 people die every day from an opioid overdose. The sheer number of addiction and overdose cases emphasizes the vital importance of addiction treatment.
There are more than 14,500 substance abuse treatment centers in the United States, each of which provides a range of care options including behavioral therapy, counseling, medication, case management, substance abuse education, and sober living activities. With so many options available, it can be challenging to determine which treatment program is right for you. The first question you need to answer is whether an outpatient addiction treatment program is appropriate for your recovery needs.
What is Outpatient Addiction Treatment?
Even though both outpatient and inpatient addiction treatment have the same end goal of recovery, the two programs use very different approaches. Inpatient treatment happens onsite and can be strict, structured, and highly regimented. Outpatient addiction treatment, on the other hand, allows people in recovery to work toward rehabilitation from the comfort of their own home or a sober living facility. Outpatient treatment offers the same treatment rigor as inpatient programs but in a less restrictive manner. Instead of spending all day every day in an inpatient program, clients in an outpatient treatment program set aside 10 to 12 hours a week for treatment. Clients in outpatient treatment undergo treatment, receive medication, learn about substance abuse, and participate in group and individual therapy just as they would in an inpatient program.
Despite some flexibility, outpatient treatment is not an easier alternative to inpatient. At Solution Based, our outpatient program is intensive. Clients are held accountable for showing up for daily sessions and are also assigned an individual counselor who they meet with on a weekly basis.
There are many reasons why you might consider outpatient rehab. Some of the most common include:
- Wanting continued treatment and care after an inpatient program
- Having a mild or less severe drug or alcohol problem
- Financial costs
- Needing to keep a job or attend school while in treatment
- Having supportive family and friends at home to help your recovery
- Not being able to “pause” your life for inpatient rehab
Outpatient addiction treatment places much of the responsibility for juggling everyday life and treatment on the client, but can also change their lives for the better. That’s why it’s often the best fit for a client who has already undergone some form of addiction treatment or is managing a mild or less severe addiction and still wants to maintain their career or educational goals in recovery. While outpatient treatment can be a great fit for many different circumstances, it’s not a perfect fit for everyone, so make sure you contact a treatment provider to determine if outpatient is the right choice for you.
The Benefits of Outpatient Rehab
Here are several reasons why outpatient treatment might be a good fit for you:
#1. You Can Continue Your Daily Life
One of the leading benefits of outpatient treatment is the freedom the program allows. With outpatient rehabilitation programs, you can receive treatment without giving up your everyday life. This is especially helpful if you have job, school, or family responsibilities.
Addiction is a chronic disease that puts an incredible amount of strain on relationships. Substance abuse changes the relationship you have with your family, spouse, children, friends, and even coworkers. Going away for a long period of time, even for treatment, can add more stress to your relationships. Outpatient treatment helps relieve some of that stress by allowing you to live at home while you work to rehabilitate your life.
Outpatient addiction treatment also helps you keep your job or continue attending school. Addiction can take a serious financial and emotional toll, and it may be critical for clients to keep working or pursuing a degree. If that’s the case, outpatient treatment can give you the flexibility to continue working (with a modified schedule.) You can work or go to school, attend to family responsibilities, and receive treatment at the same time.
Addiction is a debilitating disease that disrupts your life piece by piece. If you need to maintain your daily routine while getting help for your substance abuse problems, outpatient treatment is a good choice.
#2. Family Sessions Help Build Your Support Network
Another important benefit of outpatient treatment is the way treatment involves your family and loved ones. While most treatment programs address family relationships and counselors discuss family dynamics in individual or group sessions, living with your family while receiving treatment allows for better healing. When you’re living at home or near family while attending treatment, your family plays a significant part in your recovery success. Outpatient treatment coordinators know this. That’s why they emphasize family involvement.
During outpatient treatment, you will work with behavioral therapists and counselors to rebuild your relationship with your family. These sessions help your family develop a deeper understanding of addiction. The more your family understands addiction, the more likely they are to support your recovery process. At the same time, these family-oriented sessions allow you to come clean and develop healthier relationships with your family. The better your relationships are with loved ones, the more support you’ll receive. Affection and encouragement, especially from close family members, increases your chance of success and makes you much more likely to achieve long-term recovery.
#3. Program Flexibility
Outpatient treatment is designed to be flexible. While structured, outpatient programs recognize you have a life beyond treatment, an important benefit if you have outside obligations such as work or school. While inpatient treatment requires a carefully-planned daily routine with very little free time, outpatient treatment can work around your schedule. In fact, most outpatient programs offer counseling sessions on weekdays, evenings, and weekends to accommodate varied availability. This flexibility helps you maintain your outside responsibilities and can reduce stress.
For some, inpatient treatment can feel like a major life change, shifting your routines and reducing the amount of time you can spend with family and friends. While this is often a welcome change for individuals dealing with serious addiction, it may not be necessary for clients in the early stages of addiction. For those clients, outpatient addiction treatment might be a better fit.
#4. Immediate Opportunity to Apply What You Learn
Outpatient addiction treatment is an excellent way to transition into a sober lifestyle. Unlike inpatient treatment, outpatient programs provide you an immediate opportunity to apply what you learn in counseling and therapy. Outpatient treatment doesn’t keep you away from the real world, since you’re living in it every single day. That means you’re coming face to face with the tests, temptations, and challenges that come with the real world, too. As frightening as that might be, it’s one major advantage of outpatient treatment. Instead of simply learning healthier behavioral habits, you’re forced to apply them as you revisit old patterns, face triggers, manage relationships, and deal with stress. In other words, outpatient treatment helps you apply what you learn as you live your daily life. You don’t have to wait until you leave treatment. Ultimately, applying what you learn in therapy makes you more likely to reach long-term recovery.
#5. You Can Better Yourself While You Recover
One added value of outpatient addiction treatment is the freedom to better yourself while you recover. In many ways, inpatient treatment temporarily pauses your life. But when you’re in an outpatient rehabilitation program, your daily life continues. This means you’re able to continue participating in activities that help you better yourself. Some activities you may consider doing in conjunction with your recovery include:
- Finishing or going back to school
- Volunteering in your community
- Exercising
- Learning to cook nutritious meals (i.e. cooking class)
- Reading
- Learning a new language
- Yoga, pilates, or meditation
- Helping others struggling with addiction through 12-step groups and more
- Quitting a bad habit and developing a new habit
- Learning public speaking by joining Toastmasters
- Helping family and friends with their own goals
Outpatient addiction treatment gives you back some valuable time and flexibility into your daily routine. It’s up to you what you will do with that time, but most people who choose to give back to their communities and enrich others find that they have a more effective and lasting recovery. This may mean helping others who are seeking recovery by volunteering with a local 12-step group or community organization. Or perhaps it means helping your friends, family, and neighbors to reach their own goals or accomplish household tasks. Whatever you choose to do, whether focused on personal growth or community-building, you’ll find that putting your time towards positive tasks will better help you recover.
Offering You Flexible, But Effective, Care
Outpatient addiction treatment is an adaptable but effective opportunity to truly change your life. Though it offers some flexibility, don’t forget that outpatient treatment also requires discipline, time management, focus, and commitment. If you’re ready to start the recovery process while remaining committed to your personal and professional goals, you may be a good candidate for outpatient addiction treatment. Outpatient treatment allows you to keep your daily routine and build healthy relationships with your family. You can also go to work and school and continue to better yourself while receiving treatment. Outpatient treatment also allows you to immediately apply the techniques you learn in behavioral therapy. On top of that, outpatient programs provide you with an incredible range of third-party resources that can help you achieve long-term recovery.
If you or a loved one are living with an addiction, you don’t have to completely stop your life to receive treatment. You don’t have to quit your job, take a break from school, or leave your family for weeks to get your life back on track. Outpatient treatment lets you maintain some normalcy in your life while you receive treatment.
Our expert staff members understand what it’s like to battle substance abuse while maintaining a schedule. They have the tools, the knowledge, and the techniques to help you get on the road to long-term recovery, so reach out to them today.
Contact us today at 833.999.1941 if you have questions about outpatient addiction treatment. We’re available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to answer your questions.
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