Inpatient Alcohol Rehab

You’ve heard of both inpatient and outpatient alcohol rehab treatment. So which one is better? Our preference for the chronic alcoholic is the inpatient programme because of the concentrated treatments it offers. For someone who is dealing with alcohol abuse or the early stages of alcoholism, outpatient programmes can be somewhat beneficial.

We will discuss both options here, but first there is a more important question: do you have a drinking problem? You may if you find yourself routinely:

• facing criticism about your drinking habits
• drinking as soon as you get out of bed in the morning
• planning your day around alcohol consumption
• worrying about where the next drink is coming from
• drinking greater amounts of alcohol to enjoy the same pleasure.

If you recognise any of these signs in your own life, you quite likely have at least an alcohol abuse problem. You may even be addicted to alcohol. For you, the first step is to admit your problem and agree to get some help. If you continue living in denial, your life will never change.

What Inpatient Treatment Involves

Inpatient rehab takes its name from the fact that the addict lives in a residential treatment facility for as long as he or she is being treated. That could be 6 weeks, 12 weeks, or even longer if necessary. The opposite is outpatient treatment – a scenario in which the addict leaves the facility to return home at the end of each day.

Inpatient treatment offers several advantages over its outpatient counterpart, including:

• More Treatment Options – A residential treatment programme allows a facility to offer the widest range of services to the addict and his/her family. By contrast, an outpatient programme is limited to whatever it can fit into a couple of hours per session. Usually that’s limited to only counselling and group support.

• 24-Hour Attention – Where outpatient programmes only last a couple of hours at a time, residential treatment is around the clock. The inpatient alcohol rehab centre has the alcoholic’s attention during every waking hour; whether he/she is eating, involved in group therapy, or enjoying recreational activities.

• Individualized Support – The inpatient alcohol rehab facility also offers the benefit of individualised support. Where an alcohol charity or the NHS might adopt a single approach for an entire group, the private clinic can address individuals and their needs accordingly. There is a lot more room for individualised counselling and strategy building.

• Life Skills Training – Part of any good inpatient programme is teaching group members the life skills they need to live alcohol-free after leaving the facility. These life skills may include everything from maintaining a household to learning effective strategies to combat future alcohol temptation.

The NHS and charitable organisations simply do not have the resources to offer as much as a private, inpatient rehab clinic. Inpatient treatment should always be the first choice if the alcoholic and/or his or her family can at all afford it.

Programme Admission

Being admitted to an inpatient alcohol rehab programme is straightforward. You can search for local and regional programmes one of two ways: looking online and making phone calls yourself, or utilising the free and confidential services we offer.

We make finding an appropriate programme as easy as it can be by doing all the research for you. As an independent referral service, we make it our job to know what every programme is offering at all times. That way we are always at the ready when a new client calls for help.

If you are ready to seek help for your alcohol dependence, just call us or send an e-mail. Here’s how the process works:

1. Initial Consultation – Whether you call us or your NHS physician, you need an initial consultation to determine whether you have a problem or not. If you do, it needs to be determined whether that problem is alcohol abuse or fully-fledged addiction. This assessment will determine what course of action should be taken.

2. Review of Options – Once we know what we are dealing with, we can review your options with you. You may be best served by an inpatient programme at a private clinic; you may do better with free services offered by the NHS. We will be sure to let you know our recommendations for your widest course of action.

3. Choosing a Programme – After reviewing your options and our recommendations, the next step is for you to make a choice. You can choose from among all of the programmes, services and facilities, be they local or across the country. We will honour that choice regardless of what it is.

4. Arranging for Admission – If you need help making admission arrangements, we can assist you there as well. We have working relationships with the best clinics in the country. We can even help arrange transportation to the clinic if that is an issue for you.

Once you have been admitted to an inpatient alcohol rehab programme, the final step is for you to show up and complete it. That may sound obvious, but you would be surprised how many people sign up for a programme and then never show. It is imperative you do not do that.

Treatment Duration

One of the questions we hear a lot is one of how long inpatient alcohol rehab takes. The average programme runs between 6 and 12 weeks of residential treatment, followed by three months or more of aftercare. However, all of this depends heavily on the facility you choose and the severity of your addiction.

Rather than worrying about the duration of treatment, perhaps it is better to consider living the rest of your life alcohol-free. Even if the programme goes the full 12 weeks, it is worth it considering you could enjoy several more decades of life well worth living. What’s 12 weeks if it adds another 30 or 40 years in which you can enjoy your children, grandchildren and everything else life has to offer?

Looked at in those terms, it does not make much sense to continue living as a prisoner to alcohol, does it? There is really nothing of value you derive from continuing to drink. We urge you, if you have any inclination at all that you might have a drinking problem, to get in touch with us right away. We want to help you get started on the road to recovery.