Open Ended Addiction Treatment Program Offers Successful Balance

Open Ended Addiction Treatment Program Offers Successful Balance

One of the primary reasons drug rehab programs fail is time. Some of the most effective treatment programs require an incredible time commitment from patients, the ability to remove themselves from their day to day lives for months at a time. On the other end of the spectrum are the “miracle clinics” that promise patients a quick stay of a few weeks that will end in a full cure. Both of these options are unrealistic, at least for many people. There are few patients who can simply drop out of their life for three or more months; not only is doing so disruptive, but it can be incredibly expensive as well. And as for the two week option, while it may not leave a patient financially reeling, that’s hardly sufficient time for detoxification, let alone treatment.

An option that’s been receiving considerable attention in recent years finds the middle ground between these two extremes. Frequently referred to as “open ended rehab,” this method combines the best of both traditional options, offering the comprehensive treatment and success rates of long term programs with the lower cost and faster reintegration of the short term clinics. The average stay of a patient in open ended rehab ranges from 30 to 90 days, making this a much more realistic alternative for many drug and alcohol addicts.

How did the practitioners of open ended rehab find the balance that works? Key to achieving success was retaining the tools that have made longer-term programs successful (and that were frequently missing from the rapid treatment clinics), essentials such as detoxification, counseling and education. At the same time, patients are not kept out of public circulation for an unreasonable amount of time, so the impact to their family and professional lives is significantly lessened. What makes this all work is a critical component: follow-up support.

Open ended drug treatment programs must compensate for the fact that patients will be exposed to the temptations that brought them down much sooner than if they were isolated from society for six months. In order to help them to deal with temptation and the struggles of adapting to everyday life, ongoing counseling and follow-up support is crucial to preventing relapse. For a patient who has gone through detox and treatment and is preparing to face the real world once again, knowing that they will have regular counseling sessions to help them as they adjust, as well as immediate help should they feel that they might be in danger of falling into bad habits, is a tremendous benefit.

Open ended drug rehab appears to offer the optimal balance between thorough and accelerated treatment.

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