The Best Drug Rehabilitation Programs For Drug Abusers

Drug rehab centers offer a variety of programs that meet the needs of potential patients. A drug rehabilitation program may include inpatient, outpatient, residential, and some short-stay options. Patients or their relatives get to choose the place based on certain criteria one of which is whether the need matches the services offered.

Studies show that any drug addiction treatment will always have side effects that it very challenging for the drug dependent patient. This further stresses that addiction requires a long process to heal and cannot be seen as an overnight thing. These problems identified with drug treatment have encouraged scientific and well-thought out drug rehabilitation programs to help a patient get away from his physical and emotional dependence on drugs, by moving him into a prohibited environment where he can undergo (or endure) a series of needed therapies.

An inpatient drug rehab program is provided by a licensed hospital. This is much like a residential program which usually takes a more specialized treatment approach maximizing the benefits of location to aid recovery. The short-term residential programs approach usually requires a patient to stay for three to six weeks (for an inpatient treatment). It is usually followed by an extended outpatient therapy period or participation in 12-step self-help groups. The residential program structure is not as strict as the ones set by the medical standards followed in inpatient programs.

Outpatient programs, on the other hand, may be in the form of a residential program but require a limited period for hospitalization. A patient does not spend 24 hours inside the facility but comes for scheduled classes, visits, or meetings with health experts. This program is more long-term and the patient does not strictly follow a limited time period. The treatment continues for as long as he is assessed to still be in need of the program.

Another popular rehab approach is the Therapeutic Communities (TCs) Program that allows patients to stay at a residence for a minimum of 6 months. Individuals who have long been drug dependents and involved in criminal activities are usually the ones advised to get into this program. The TCs Program is designed to assist patients re-socialize in such a way that they no longer depend or use drugs as part of their lifestyle.

Another specialized rehab program is the Prison-Based Treatment Program that targets offenders. Although inside the prison cells, prisoners who are drug dependents can still get treatments like didactic drug education classes, and self-help programs. Studies showed that this program (using the therapeutic community model) have reduced the rate of drug use as well as criminal behavior. In this program, the patient is isolated from the general prison population so the prison environment wont affect his recovery. It also requires a continued treatment even if the patient goes back to the normal community.

The Delaware Model that follows prison-based treatment in a therapeutic community setting has shown significant results in decreasing the probability of re-arrest as well as the probability of these addicts going back to drug use and dependency.

Although rehab centers offer different kinds of programs, a patient or any of his family members must seriously and carefully select the right program to match the needs he has. This would mean careful consultation with health professional experts, undergoing the appropriate exams, and strictly following program rules and regulations.

Drug Rehab