Residential Drug & Alcohol Rehab Centers

Residential rehab centers or treatment facilities generally offer both short-term and long-term treatment options. In most cases, residential rehab centers offer environmental settings that many find helpful in the healing process. For instance, many residential rehab facilities are located near the beach, on a ranch or in the mountains in a sort of "getaway" atmosphere, unlike inpatient rehab centers that are located in hospital settings. Also, as the name implies, residential rehab centers may be in residential settings in cities and suburbs as well.

Residential Drug & Alcohol Rehab Center

Like inpatient rehab centers, residential centers are for those with moderate to severe substance abuse issues who have struggled with sobriety over a long period of time. Residential rehab centers are less costly than inpatient centers, though they may offer most of the same services.

Some of the services that residential rehab centers may offer include a comprehensive medical exam, detoxification program, psychological testing, mental health counseling, psychiatric consultations, individual therapy, group therapy, men's groups, women's groups, pharmacological management and treatment, social skills, communication skills, recreation and exercise, job planning, relapse prevention and sober living skills. Residential rehab centers offer a chance to getaway from the daily pressures family, friends and coworkers on a temporary basis and focus solely on the task of recovery.

Most residential rehab centers use multidisciplinary approaches in treatment tailored to individual needs. Some of the approaches may include cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic or family systems therapy, re-socialization, education and pharmacological treatment using methadone, LAAM or naltrexone depending upon the particular addiction.

One of the most popular models for residential rehab centers has been the Therapeutic Community (TC) model. In the TC model, emphasis is on re-socialization by engaging the use of the community, treatment staff and other addiction clients. This approach emphasizes calling attention to attitudes, beliefs and behaviors associated with substance abuse and taking corrective action in both thinking and deed. A secondary emphasis on the TC model is on the idea of self-help, including primary personal responsibility for one's own change and partial responsibility for the change of others in the program.

While many residential rehab centers may not emphasis the 12-step model in their own programs, most centers encourage their participants to participate in 12-step programs once leaving the centers as part of their sober living commitments and an additional resource for community support.

Because residential rehab centers are more flexible than inpatient care, many specialized facilities have been developed, targeting specific areas of the population. For instance, some residential rehab centers focus specifically on children and teens. Others are geared towards women-only and still others may be affiliated with recovery through the guidelines of a particular a religion.

When seeking out the services of a residential rehab center, it is important to find out the geographical location, how payment is accepted (insurance or installments, etc.), if and when there are openings, and what services are available that address one's specific needs.