Residential vs Outpatient: Which is Right for Me?

When you’re making the decision of which kind of treatment center to begin, it can be hard to sift through all the different options. Since addiction is such a wide spectrum, there is no particular one-size-fits-all for everybody. There are many ways you can get help, and one of the first decisions you should make in the process is deciding on residential vs outpatient treatment. Once you have made that decision, you can drill down even further on location, treatment type, and facility options.

Residential Treatment

One of the best ways to get treatment for addiction is to enroll in a residential treatment center. This is a great option for most people, but it isn’t realistic for many. If you’re trying to decide to enter residential vs outpatient, here are some reasons that residential treatment might be a great option for you.

Better Chances of Long-Term Success

When you enroll in a residential treatment center, you have much better chances of long-term success in your recovery. In fact, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, residential programs have a 65% completion rate while outpatient has only a 35% completion rate. This is because outpatient treatment allows people the opportunity to fall back into old habits, give in to their triggers and more easily fall away from treatment. When someone is in residential treatment, it is much easier to focus on only that.

Removed From Triggers

One of the major characteristics of addiction is that the person is not able to stop or slow down their use on their own. This is because of the intense drug cravings, dependency and feeling triggered. One of the major components in recovering from addiction is learning how to deal with drug cravings and triggers. This means that once treatment is complete, the person knows how to face them in a healthy way instead of turning to substance abuse.

If a person is able to be removed from their triggers by entering residential treatment, they will be less likely to stop treatment. They will learn new, healthy coping mechanisms and how to navigate their triggers without using. Some people with a more severe addiction would not be able to handle outpatient treatment for this reason, as they may be more likely to give in – no matter how much they truly want to quit.

Individual Plans and Aftercare

One of the most important benefits of residential treatment is that it is a much more immersive, individualized experience. Usually, inpatient rehabs will tailor a custom plan for you and help you coordinate your aftercare. This can include speaking with your family to establish healthy boundaries for your return, what to do in a relapse situation and if you may need to enter sober living for a period of time. Outpatient rehab isn’t as immersive and customized as residential treatment is, and this can be difficult for someone with a severe addiction with particular needs.

Outpatient Treatment

While residential treatment is always an ideal option, there could be many reasons it isn’t realistic for someone to enter one. If you have a less severe addiction, are budget-conscious or have a lot of work and family responsibilities, outpatient treatment might work for you.

Cost Friendly

While there are many payment options and insurance coverage options, residential treatment can be costly and many people may not be able to make it work. If you are budget-conscious and your addiction is fairly new or mild, you may still be able to find success with outpatient rehab.

Able to Live at Home

Outpatient treatment allows people the benefit of being able to live at home. Some outpatient treatment programs are immersive, up to 8-10 hours a day, so being able to go home at the end of a stressful treatment day can seem ideal for many people.

Access to Support

Addiction treatment is only successful if the person has a strong support system, and this is especially true for outpatient treatment. If you have people that can help keep you accountable and make sure you’re staying on track, then you may find success in outpatient treatment. For many people who have a close and strong support system, it can be hard to leave them behind for residential treatment.

About Pinelands Recovery Center

Trying to decide between residential vs outpatient treatment can be difficult, but it is extremely important to be realistic. If you do not have a strong support system at home, have a severe addiction and find that it is hard for you to resist your triggers, then you need to be honest with yourself in knowing that you might be more successful at a residential treatment center. Whichever you choose, the fact that you chose to get help is a life-saving one.

Pinelands Recovery Center of Medford is widely known as one of New Jersey’s finest, most respected addiction treatment facilities. With comfortable 30-bed accommodations and 24-hour professional staff, we can offer clients a serene, relaxing environment amid the lush piney woods. This stress-free setting with its sense of warmth and welcoming enables you to feel comfortable and confident about your clean and sober life ahead.

We will establish clear goals, both general in nature and specific to your needs. We continue to monitor those goals, to make sure that our clients are progressing and buying into their recovery plan. We thrive on assisting clients in feeling connected to the recovery community, share and demonstrate effective coping techniques, help clients to modify attitudes and patterns of behavior and everything else you will need to be happy and productive living a sober, healthy life.

We ensure that clients complete their planned concrete tasks, encourage hope, optimism and
healthy living. Our recovery program is not a revolving door treatment program; it is a recovery model designed to help clients go on to lead productive, happy lives. For more information, visit pinelandsrecovery.com