Rehab Centers can vary from outpatient counseling to inpatient rehab to residential care. The underlying philosophies at each type of facility can also vary, from those offered by Christians, such as the twelve-step program, to psychiatric facilities to hospital programs. Some alcohol rehab treatment programs even fall into more than one of these philosophical backgrounds. The important thing is that you determine which program fits with your life goals.
Inpatient rehab centers are a place you go to leave your normal routine while you learn how to live a drug free routine. You won’t have alcohol available to you, so you will, while you’re in the facility anyways, be sober. You typically check into an inpatient Drug and Alcohol Rehab facility for 4 to 7 weeks.
Your rehabilitation program does not usually end when you check out, but simply moves on to an outpatient phase for a period of time. The goal is for you to develop habits as a sober individual while in the facility, and then continue to develop those habits as you’re moved back into your regular living environment.
Outpatient rehab facilities attempt to treat addiction through regular sessions or meetings with counselors and other people going through the alcohol rehab program. This type of facility can be used successfully by many people, but others find that they cannot make it through the detox phase without constant monitoring, and possibly medications, provided by trained professionals.
Generally speaking, the longer the alcohol rehab facility treats the patient, the greater the odds of success. That is why inpatient treatment that requires several months is often the most successful.
Residential rehab goes even farther, having the alcoholic, and possibly other family members, move into the residential rehab facility for a year or more. After all, the average alcoholic has been practicing living the alcoholic life for years, it is going to take a long period of practice living the sober life before it becomes the more dominant habit.