According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Individuals progress through drug addiction treatment at various rates, so there is no predetermined length of treatment. However, research has shown unequivocally that good outcomes are contingent on adequate treatment length.” It is not recommended that any individual leave their rehab program early unless the decision is made between the patient and their physician. Even this possibility, though, is rare because leaving treatment early usually does no coincide with a safe and strong recovery.
Featured Rehab Center
What are the Normal Treatment Lengths?
Have a discussion with your doctor if you feel the need to leave treatment early.
“Generally, for residential or outpatient treatment, participation for less than 90 days is of limited effectiveness, and treatment lasting significantly longer is recommended for maintaining positive outcomes.” For certain types of rehab programs, like therapeutic communities or methadone maintenance, 6 months to a year are more adequate lengths, which has been proven through studies of the programs’ effectiveness. However, it often depends on the individual, and some programs can continue even longer than the ones mentioned here, if the patient is still benefitting from it.
Why Shouldn’t I Leave My Rehab Program Early?
It can be dangerous for an individual to leave their rehab program early because they have not received the full effect of the program. Though recovery is an ongoing process, a person needs time to be able to learn and process the tools they need in order to live with their addiction, and attending treatment for the necessary amount of time can help with this.
In addition, leaving rehab early can cause you to feel secure in your recovery when you are not. You may feel that you have been cured of your addiction instead of understanding that your recovery will likely continue for months or years after your initial treatment has ended. Because relapse rates for substance use disorders are so high, it is necessary for addicts to get all the help they can in order to safely recover and to continue rebuilding their lives.
Rehab centers are often built around keeping individuals in the program for the necessary amount of time, as “whether a patients stays in treatment depends on factors associated with both the individual and the program” (NIDA). But it is very important that patients stay in their rehab program for the necessary amount of time, as leaving early can be very damaging.
Sometimes this is a possibility, but it is hardly ever recommended, as most clinicians have a difficult enough time as it is keeping patients in treatment for adequate lengths of time. If you are curious about the possibility, talk to your doctor, but understand that it will almost always be better for you to continue your rehab program and to complete it than to end it early. The more help you receive, the better, and though there is still a possibility of relapse even after treatment has ended, this chance lowers considerably when one attends a treatment program to its completion as opposed to not going through the process at all or leaving early.
If you have more questions about the benefit of rehab centers and addiction treatment on recovery, call 800-481-6320Who Answers?. We would be happy to help you find a program that fits your needs.
Thousands of people suffer from addiction to drugs or alcohol and need help to stop using. Many of these same people have health insurance but are still unable to afford the cost of drug rehab or are unsure of what they have to do to get their insurance plan to cover the costs of drug….
Thousands of people need interventions in order to successfully overcome addiction and regain control of their lives. The fact is, interventions save lives, but it doesn’t always happen the first time around and in some cases, interventions do fail. If you’re not sure what an intervention is or what the steps are to intervening in a drug….
Michal Tibbetts, a 23-year old Massachusetts resident, was arrested Wednesday, March 21, 2018. He is faced with the charges of assaulting a child a running a drug manufacturing and trafficking organization out of his home in South Shore, which together, total 9 counts. The drugs he was distributing include marijuana, ecstasy, molly, Adderall, and potentially….
If you or a loved one are going through the struggles of drug addiction, this can be a very confusing and complicated time. It can be particularly severe if the addict is also facing a mental health issue as well, as the two together can present extra challenges and potential risks. What is Comorbidity? Comorbidity….
As one of the most commonly experienced mental health problems, depression can affect people of all ages and backgrounds diminishing one’s quality of life in distinctive ways. Depression can vary in severity and duration with some conditions taking so severe a toll on a person’s well-being as to bring on full-blown disability. Signs of depression….
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, lying is a part of addiction. It is one of the key characteristics used to identify an addict from someone who is merely dependent on a drug such as prescription medication. Most addicts lie to themselves and they lie to their loved ones. These are some of….
Heroin addiction results in many major health effects and can affect the brain both physically and psychologically. The drug addiction comes with various long-term effects that cannot be reversed as well as many different short-term effects. The affects of heroin on the central nervous system are felt nearly immediately after heroin is smoked, snorted or….
With world class treatment and a recovery coaching program that is unsurpassed, Palm Partners is proud to offer an addiction treatment guarantee. Although nobody can truly guarantee that addiction treatment will work as the fate of the addict is left very much up to the addict himself, Palm Partners can offer a limited guarantee that….
Many drug rehab centers have found that art therapy enables the individual to express their thoughts and feelings without saying anything at all but by painting, sculpting or using other forms of art as an expression gateway. Art therapy at drug rehab centers provides a foundation for expressing emotions that helps addicts to overcome difficult….
Many people face the challenges of working a 9-5 job that is both stressing and overwhelming. Unfortunately, many business executives find that the high level of responsibility and the extreme stress that comes with working in an executive position result in an increased risk of drug abuse which ultimately must be treated. Luckily, Seasons Recovery….
Calls to numbers on a specific treatment center listing will be routed to that treatment center. Calls to any general helpline (non-facility specific 1-8XX numbers) could be forwarded to SAMHSA or a verified treatment provider. Calls are routed based on availability and geographic location.
The RehabCenters.com helpline is free, private, and confidential. There is no obligation to enter treatment. In some cases, RehabCenters.com could charge a small cost per call, to a licensed treatment center, a paid advertiser, this allows RehabCenters.com to offer free resources and information to those in need. We do not receive any commission or fee that is dependent upon which treatment provider a caller chooses.
