Residential treatment, also known as residential rehabilitation, describes a mental health or substance addiction program in which the patient is treated in a residential environment. Depending on the severity of the addiction, the length of treatment can be either short-range (30 days or less) or long-range (30-90+ days).
The term “residential treatment” refers to extended periods of time in which residents live together with other patients and therapists and explore their psychological dependence on a drug. It is commonly confused with treatments in centers and hospitals that specialize in physical or occupational therapy.
Why Residential Treatment?
It is a common misconception that medical detoxification by itself is enough to treat substance abuse and addiction. While detox removes the substance from your body, it is ineffective in treating the psychological aspect of long-term addiction. Medical detoxification is not recovery and without proper treatment after detox, drug addiction and abuse can easily develop again.
In the recovery process, make no mistake that medical detoxification is arguably one of the most strenuous and important steps to take. As a matter of fact, the success of our addiction treatment program is undoubtedly quite dependent on the detoxification stage. That being said, addiction detox without follow-up treatment is like cutting a weed without removing the roots; it will just keep coming back.
What Does Detox Do Without Residential Treatment?
Medical detoxification is the period of abstinence from a certain substance that you want to rid your body of. When someone that suffers from addiction engages in medical detox, they will suffer a number of uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, depression, nausea, and insomnia.
The purpose of medical detox is to ensure that all withdrawal symptoms are taken care of and that the patient is in a comfortable environment. When left unchecked, the withdrawal symptoms of substance abuse detox can easily result in relapse. Completing medical detoxification, but no further treatment, greatly increases the risk of relapse and developing addiction again.
Avoiding Relapse With Residential Treatment
We strongly encourage continuing your path toward complete recovery after detox. Though it should always be avoided, relapse is a common part of the recovery process. It may seem like the end of the road for you, but relapse is treatable, especially in residential treatment after detox.
To Provide Support And Information, We Made A Short List Of Things You Can Do To Avoid Relapse While In A Residential Treatment Program:
- Acquaint yourself with those that are successful in their recovery process. They will most likely have useful advice and can help you in your own journey.
- While relapse is treatable, thinking that it is acceptable and “happens to everyone” should be avoided at all costs. Relapsing after a period of abstinence can be deadly, especially if you attempt to go back to using the same way you did before treatment.
- Consider taking advantage of transitional living programs that can help you handle the stressors and triggers of returning to everyday life after treatment.
What To Expect From Residential Treatment Programs
At Arete Recovery, our residential treatment program utilizes clinically-proven methods and modalities to aid in your recovery process. Through the use of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing, we make your residence as comfortable, and as successful, as possible.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been well-tested and shown to be successful in treating certain types of psychiatric illnesses. As the most widely used evidence-based method for treating mental health conditions, CBT is often a staple in many treatment plans.
Even though it was originally used to treat depression, studies have shown that CBT is as effective as medications in solving less severe forms of mental health disorders such as anxiety, PTSD, borderline personality disorder, certain substance abuse disorders, and many more. When used in conjunction with medications, it can treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), major depression disorder, opioid addiction, bipolarity, and some psychotic disorders.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is used to help people that may suffer from personality disorders, but it has also been very successful in treating negative patterns of behavior that include self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and substance abuse, among many more disorders relating to mood.
DBT is a modified version of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and both of these methods are referred to as types of “talk therapy.” While CBT’s primary focus is on how and why all of your different emotions react to each other in certain ways, DBT is much more centered on emotional and social aspects as opposed to set-in-stone, technical therapy.
Motivational Interviewing
The idea of Motivational Interviewing came from an article by clinical psychologist William R. Miller in Behavioral Psychotherapy titled “Motivational Interviewing with Problem Drinkers”. In his article, Miller describes how the traditional idea at the time (1983) was that “the traditional model of motivation in problem drinkers attributes almost all motivational properties to the personality of the individual.”
Challenging traditional models, Motivational Interviewing (MI) asserted that through therapists’ influences, clients would consider making behavioral changes and resolve ambivalence (known in everyday use as “mixed feelings”). The point of MI is to examine and resolve ambivalence, and our therapists are very effective in doing so.
