Drug addiction treatment comes in different forms. The two most common are inpatient and outpatient care. Both of these have advantages and disadvantages. Where a person is in their life, what responsibilities they have, their financial situation and the severity of the addiction will play a big role in what type of drug addiction treatment they seek. Below, we will take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of these two types of drug addiction treatment, starting with inpatient rehabilitation.

Inpatient Rehab Drug Addiction Treatment: With this type of drug addiction treatment, the patient actually “lives” at the facility. They will eat their meals there, sleep there and receive their treatment there. Typically, these are ideal for people that have really serious drug addictions and may be at risk of death or relapsing if they return to their homes or wherever they live. This drug addiction treatment is very intensive and includes a lot of individual and group counseling, meetings and may even have a medical component.

The advantages are that it allows for around-the-clock care. Addicts can get away from those influences that may encourage them to relapse and the patient gets time to totally focus on themselves and getting clean.

Perhaps the biggest disadvantage to this type of drug addiction treatment is that persons are forced to move into the facility. This might mean that they are away from their spouse and children. They may also be forced to take time off for work or quit their jobs all together. If they can not afford to do either but insist on this type of care, they will likely end up with serious financial problems.

Another disadvantage is that inpatient care can be costly. Individuals that need it may not be able to afford it. Therefore, they might have to settle for outpatient treatment, though this might be inadequate.

Outpatient Drug Addiction Treatment: This form of rehab allows for the patient to live at home and visit the facility only when they have scheduled treatments. This might be once a week or several times a week.

The advantage to outpatient treatment is that individuals can continue to work and live with their family while going through treatment. There is no need to be away from one’s spouse, children or job.