Residential vs. Outpatient Addiction Treatment: What Does My Loved One Need?

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The decision to pursue addiction treatment can be one of the most important decisions that you or your family ever make. Unfortunately, it often comes at a time when you are overwhelmed, confused, and scared. How can you know that you are trusting the right facility with your loved one and their care?

The following information can help as you review your options for addiction treatment.

Residential Treatment for Addiction

If you have watched a loved one struggle with drug or alcohol addiction, then you probably know that environment can be a huge factor in substance abuse. That’s because of the impact of negative triggers and negative influences.

A negative trigger is an object, event, or emotion that evokes a harmful behavioral response. For example, seeing drug paraphernalia often triggers the desire to use drugs. Walking by a bar triggers the desire to have a drink. Even a stressful day at work can be a negative trigger.

Similar to negative triggers, negative influences are people who encourage or enable your loved one’s drug or alcohol abuse. Friends, coworkers, and family members can all be negative influences on someone struggling with addiction. You may not want to admit it to yourself, but you might be a negative influence on your loved one without even realizing it.

The beauty and benefit of residential addiction treatment is that it provides people who are struggling with addiction with a safe, peaceful sanctuary for healing — one completely free from negative triggers and negative influences. It gives them the opportunity to reset, renew, and eventually recover, without having to deal with all the stresses and pressures of normal daily life. They’ll have the time, space, and support to focus on healing.

In residential treatment, clients have a schedule for each day filled with activities that help them form healthy habits to aid in their recovery. They will participate in group therapy, psycho-education, classes on relapse prevention, classes on life skills, and opportunities for exercise and daily reflection. They’ll be fed with nutritious meals from an on-site chef, and be given everything they need to get better. Even experiential activities like fishing or yoga have a place in the healing journey. Every activity is carefully planned by the licensed professionals on staff, as each activity has purpose in identifying and healing past traumas

At the same time, choosing residential addiction treatment allows the family of someone struggling with addiction the space and time that they need to heal as well. Knowing that your loved one is safe and supported may allow you to sleep well for the first time in a long time. You also might want to pursue your own healing through counseling, 12 Step groups for the families of people with substance use disorder, and other methods of self-care.

Outpatient Treatment for Addiction

However, not everyone has the ability to go away to a treatment facility for extended periods of time. Many people who are struggling with addiction are holding on to a job by a thread; or, they have personal priorities that they are unable to leave unattended. In this case, there are outpatient facilities where people can receive addiction treatment while living at home.

When undergoing outpatient treatment, individuals go about their normal daily life and then attend scheduled counseling sessions and educational classes to help overcome their addiction. The outpatient treatment takes place at a special dedicated facility, where there also may be telehealth services on offer to aid those who are unable to physically go to the facility.

Typically, outpatient addiction treatment is the best fit for people who have a safe home environment and are generally able to function. Studies show that it is often most effective for people struggling with alcohol or marijuana addictions, in particular. Obviously, the level of support is less than the 24/7 treatment you get at a residential facility, but depending on your loved one’s situation it may be an appropriate fit.

Acqua Recovery Addiction Treatment

The best way to determine the right type of addiction treatment for your loved one is to ask. Call or chat with our kind and caring team to share your story and learn more about how we can help.

At Acqua Recovery, we offer a customized treatment program for each individual, with special focus on the trauma and/or mental health issues underlying their addiction. Throughout the program, we make small incremental changes in treatment, adjusting to our client’s needs and progress. We place great emphasis on developing a solid aftercare plan, so our graduates can continue their progress in recovery even after leaving our sanctuary for healing. Our robust alumni program is a great resource for people in early recovery as well.

In fact, several of our alumni are now members of our admissions team! They would love to talk to you and share their experience with the program and answer any questions you may have.Click here to contact one of the team members.

Residential vs. Outpatient Addiction Treatment: What Does My Loved One Need?

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Dr. Daniel Pickrell

Dr. Daniel Pickrell
Medical Reviewer

Dr. Pickrell is a board-certified psychiatrist with interests in addiction and psychiatry. He strives to identify the underlying cause of substance use. His understanding of addiction as the overlapping symptoms of biopsychosocial development is the foundation to his care model. He is committed to helping both patients and families understand that addiction is a treatable medical illness. He has been involved in the treatment of addiction for the last 17 years and completed his residency training at the University of Utah.

By: Acqua Recovery

Posted Date: Feb 1, 2023

Updated Date: Jul 10, 2024

The decision to pursue addiction treatment can be one of the most important decisions that you or your family ever make. Unfortunately, it often comes at a time when you are overwhelmed, confused, and scared. How can you know that you are trusting the right facility with your loved one and their care?

The following information can help as you review your options for addiction treatment.

Residential Treatment for Addiction

If you have watched a loved one struggle with drug or alcohol addiction, then you probably know that environment can be a huge factor in substance abuse. That’s because of the impact of negative triggers and negative influences.

A negative trigger is an object, event, or emotion that evokes a harmful behavioral response. For example, seeing drug paraphernalia often triggers the desire to use drugs. Walking by a bar triggers the desire to have a drink. Even a stressful day at work can be a negative trigger.

Similar to negative triggers, negative influences are people who encourage or enable your loved one’s drug or alcohol abuse. Friends, coworkers, and family members can all be negative influences on someone struggling with addiction. You may not want to admit it to yourself, but you might be a negative influence on your loved one without even realizing it.

The beauty and benefit of residential addiction treatment is that it provides people who are struggling with addiction with a safe, peaceful sanctuary for healing — one completely free from negative triggers and negative influences. It gives them the opportunity to reset, renew, and eventually recover, without having to deal with all the stresses and pressures of normal daily life. They’ll have the time, space, and support to focus on healing.

In residential treatment, clients have a schedule for each day filled with activities that help them form healthy habits to aid in their recovery. They will participate in group therapy, psycho-education, classes on relapse prevention, classes on life skills, and opportunities for exercise and daily reflection. They’ll be fed with nutritious meals from an on-site chef, and be given everything they need to get better. Even experiential activities like fishing or yoga have a place in the healing journey. Every activity is carefully planned by the licensed professionals on staff, as each activity has purpose in identifying and healing past traumas

At the same time, choosing residential addiction treatment allows the family of someone struggling with addiction the space and time that they need to heal as well. Knowing that your loved one is safe and supported may allow you to sleep well for the first time in a long time. You also might want to pursue your own healing through counseling, 12 Step groups for the families of people with substance use disorder, and other methods of self-care.

Outpatient Treatment for Addiction

However, not everyone has the ability to go away to a treatment facility for extended periods of time. Many people who are struggling with addiction are holding on to a job by a thread; or, they have personal priorities that they are unable to leave unattended. In this case, there are outpatient facilities where people can receive addiction treatment while living at home.

When undergoing outpatient treatment, individuals go about their normal daily life and then attend scheduled counseling sessions and educational classes to help overcome their addiction. The outpatient treatment takes place at a special dedicated facility, where there also may be telehealth services on offer to aid those who are unable to physically go to the facility.

Typically, outpatient addiction treatment is the best fit for people who have a safe home environment and are generally able to function. Studies show that it is often most effective for people struggling with alcohol or marijuana addictions, in particular. Obviously, the level of support is less than the 24/7 treatment you get at a residential facility, but depending on your loved one’s situation it may be an appropriate fit.

Acqua Recovery Addiction Treatment

The best way to determine the right type of addiction treatment for your loved one is to ask. Call or chat with our kind and caring team to share your story and learn more about how we can help.

At Acqua Recovery, we offer a customized treatment program for each individual, with special focus on the trauma and/or mental health issues underlying their addiction. Throughout the program, we make small incremental changes in treatment, adjusting to our client’s needs and progress. We place great emphasis on developing a solid aftercare plan, so our graduates can continue their progress in recovery even after leaving our sanctuary for healing. Our robust alumni program is a great resource for people in early recovery as well.

In fact, several of our alumni are now members of our admissions team! They would love to talk to you and share their experience with the program and answer any questions you may have.Click here to contact one of the team members.

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