Inpatient Drug rehab, is this the right choice for you?

Should there be a specific amount of time for a stay in an inpatient drug rehab center If so, for how long?

Is a minimum TWO-YEAR stay too long? (There are some centers that START at two years.) In other words, if a patient isn’t willing to come in with the understanding that he or she doesn’t leave for AT LEAST two years, then they don’t get in.

On the other side of the coin, when an inpatient drug rehab center does not require its patients to stay but a minimum of three weeks from the day they walk in the door until the day they leave, is that going to the opposite extreme?

Again, it depends on the individual. One person may be ready to leave one week after entering rehab, because he or she realized that the goal of becoming and remaining drug or alcohol free had already been accomplished the day the decision was made to do so. Another may need all the time that he or she can possibly be given, and it still not really have been enough.

Should the detox and withdrawal phases be counted as part of the time, or should the time be counted AFTER these phases have been passed through AND the patient has gotten over the effects? Probably not, as the patient more likely will either not remember or WANT to remember those experiences, preferring to instead think back over the times when he or she was aware that strides were being made.

No easy answers, really. Financial concerns that will surely come from a lengthy stay could pose additional stress on an already not-too-steady patient. But, if there is help in that area, then that won’t be a problem.

Anyone out there want to contribute any answers?