In England and Wales, 811,000 adults aged 16-59 take drugs more than once a month. [1] Although no-one sets out to get addicted, 192,696 people in England received drug treatment in 2018-19. [2] If drugs take over your life and you want help to stop and change, what are your options for drug rehab?
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Inpatient and Outpatient Drug Rehab
Drug rehab is a catch-all term that describes a range of drug treatment services. There are inpatient and outpatient programmes available across the UK and abroad. From structured drug treatment in community settings through to residential drug detox and rehab, secondary care units and sober housing – there is something for everyone who wants to recover from addiction.
The length of treatment in drug rehab varies greatly. Some people choose a residential drug detox of a week or two, followed by ongoing therapeutic support in the community. Others stay in residential drug rehab for a month or longer, to build their addiction awareness and recovery skills before returning home. Outpatient programmes and drug counselling can run for months, as the treatment process is less intensive than inpatient rehabilitation.
Some drug rehab programmes are abstinence-based, where the goal of treatment is to clear your system completely of addictive substances, so you can learn how to live without drug dependence. Others involve medium or long-term use of substitute drugs, which can reduce some of the harm associated with taking illegal drugs, but can be very addictive themselves.
How to Achieve Abstinence in Drug Rehab
Jason Shiers, Psychotherapist at UK Addiction Treatment, says: ‘Whether you choose residential or non-residential rehab, it’s helpful to see addiction recovery as a process not an event. If you want to free yourself from drugs altogether, then there are three key stages – drug detox, drug therapy and recovery maintenance. You need to choose a treatment programme that supports you with all these phases. To give yourself the best chance of long-lasting recovery.’
If abstinence is your goal, then residential drug rehab offers the most supportive and recovery-focused environment. While you complete your detox and initial drug therapy. Good quality inpatient programmes have higher completion rates than most outpatient services. Mainly due to the intensive nature of residential detox and rehab. You can ask treatment providers for details of their success rates, as a measure of their effectiveness.
Non-residential services can also be effective – for example, attending a local drug treatment programme. Outpatient rehab might suit people who can’t take any time away from dependent children, for example. However, community-based drug rehab can be problematic for people who struggle to break addictive patterns in their home environment.
useful information to know – can affect anyone throughout life
It is something you hope to never experience or have a loved one experience. But having knowledge if it does happen is helpful