AHS Views

Out-patient drug rehab programs are the least successful form of treatment. Over the past few years I have worked with many families who have tried various out-patient programs and the consensus is that they are short term fixes, but offer no real long-term results. The biggest problem seems to be that the addict is still very close to their home environment with easy access to drugs and drug friends. The amount of supervision required is not available like it is in an in-patient drug rehab program, and this burden often falls on the addict’s family members. Unfortunately, when the person then relapses this can cause the family to feel that they have failed to help and makes them less willing to try to help again when it’s most needed. For a change to actually occur, it seems that an inpatient drug rehab is required.

Most families I’ve worked with whose loved ones were unsuccessful with out-patient programs wanted to “try” that first, in the hopes that maybe the person wasn’t as bad off as the junkies they hear about in movies and TV. But it’s a big mistake to try to qualify the addiction based on stereotypes used solely for dramatic purposes. That’s not to say that addicts don’t get themselves into those situations and, in some cases, much worse than seen in the media, but the idea that there’s a quick fix for a problem that took a long time to develop is incorrect. Going a few nights a week to meet with other addicts from the same area does nothing but help the addict make more connections and possibly meet new people to get high with.

Couple that with the dismal success rates of most out-patient drug rehab programs and you get a pretty good idea why so many counselors in the addiction field push so hard for longer in-patient stays as the best route - it eliminates the around-the-clock pressure on the family to keep the person occupied and sober, and prevents cravings and potential relapse by removing the person from the environment where they’ve been taking the drugs. For this reason, I never recommend out-patient programs. If a person truly wants to be successful, in-patient drug rehab is the only viable solution.