Woman leaning against wall wondering about residential treatment centers.There are two main forms of professional addiction treatment facilities–outpatient centers and residential treatment centers.

Professionals will push the idea that residential treatment is the optimal solution for all types of addiction. In actuality, this isn’t true for all patients. Both types of treatment have their own merits, and outpatient treatment is often superior for some.

About Residential Treatment Centers

The main difference between residential treatment centers and outpatient treatment facilities is how much time the client spends on campus. As the name implies, residential treatment centers will have patients spending all of their time on campus. They will have their own bed and accommodations where they will sleep. Sometimes, each patient will actually have their own private room, but most of the time, rooms are shared with another client.

Outpatient treatment centers allow individuals to stay in their own homes, continue their work or schooling and continue taking care of their family responsibilities. Naturally, this allows many more individuals who desperately need addiction help to still get the treatment they need even if they can’t just pick up and move into a residential treatment center.

Why Residential Treatment May Not Work for You

There are multiple reasons why residential treatment doesn’t always work to help someone recover fully from addiction.

First, it’s often not an option for individuals who need to continue going to work to pay their bills. It is also difficult for people with high pressure jobs or those who want to stay in their educational program. Furthermore, those who have children will naturally be required to take care of their kids, and they may not have family members or the means to find care for their children while they go to rehab.

The second reason why residential treatment doesn’t always work is that living on a facility’s campus full-time for the duration of an addiction treatment program does not help someone when they need to be able to live in the real world. The truth is that the environment of a residential treatment campus can be very peaceful. Of course, no drugs or alcohol are allowed on campus, so temptations don’t exist and cravings are dealt with right on the spot.

But when clients go home after treatment, temptations and cravings will inevitably come flooding back, and those who have never attempted to attend treatment while living at home may find this too difficult to handle after only experiencing inpatient drug rehab. These individuals may end up relapsing.

Choosing Steps to Recovery

Steps to Recovery can help you recover from any type of addiction with their patented two-step recovery program. The first phase is made up of a partial hospitalization program (PHP) and an intensive outpatient program (IOP). Phase two includes:

To begin drug rehab at Steps to Recovery, call us at 267.719.8528 today. We’d love to help you get back on track and reclaim your life from addiction. It’s never too late to start over.