When people make the decision to seek out a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, they find themselves faced with a score of decisions. Many of these decisions, like how to fund the treatment or whether or not to stay in a local facility, are fairly expected questions. Some of the questions are more obscure, demanding that the individual have a more nuanced understanding of how addiction rehab works.

The largest, most defining question of all is whether to attend inpatient or outpatient rehab. Both naturally have benefits and drawbacks, as all things do. And, ultimately, you will weigh these against each other and consult your personal needs and the addiction situation that is specific to you. In comparing and evaluating, you will decide which type of program is most likely to help you transition into and maintain your recovery.

The following discussion covers various benefits of alcohol addiction treatment, so that you can make a fully informed decision. Keep in mind every facet of this topic won’t be included; you are encouraged to keep researching while you make decisions.

How Inpatient Treatment Is Defined

Before you get into benefits, it’s good to establish the basic definition of inpatient treatment.

Traditionally, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the “residential treatment model consisted of a 3- to 6-week hospital-based inpatient treatment phase followed by extended outpatient therapy and participation in a self-help group.” Many programs do deviate from this established norm.

The only true absolute of inpatient care is that you live at the facility during treatment.

The traditional model occurs in a “hospital-based” environment. And, yes, there is a medical model that describes many inpatient programs, which maintain a medical staff and conduct treatment in a medical setting. However, for example, there is a social model of treatment that eschews the medical approach in favor of a community support model, where peers and caring staff serve as sources of strength and motivation to patients.

If you decide inpatient care is for you, you will need to determine what sort of model will work best for your individual case.

Benefit: Treatment Free of Temptation

One of the major benefits of inpatient care is that it gets you out of the environment where you used to engage in substance abuse. Drug and alcohol abusers are victim of environmental cues that trigger intense cravings for drugs and can, according to the NIDA, actually prompt another cycle of abuse. This is one reason so many people in outpatient care relapse; they can’t separate themselves from their environmental cues.

Environmental cues may take the form of:

• Drug use
• Friends or family members with whom you used to use
• Places where you used to use
• The presence of somebody using
• Stress or other triggers that incited your initial use

Inpatient care takes you out of a context where these cues exist. Of course, due to the chemical nature of drugs and the impact they have on your brain and habits, you will still experience some cravings. But, you will not be confronted with as many and you will be shielded from relapse while you remain in the facility.

Benefit: You Are in a Healthy Environment

It seems obvious to observe that drug use is not healthy. However, that statement seems to refer just to the act of abusing a substance and the impact it can specifically have on your body and mind. However, the health repercussions actually extend beyond that an include effects like poor diet and exercise, as well.

As for the direct toll that drugs and alcohol take on your system, you can depend upon a professional, structured rehab facility to tend to those issues. For instance, the medical model of inpatient care includes round-the-clock oversight of patients and direct medical care to treat addictions and accompanying conditions, like anxiety or depression, as well as conditions like heart disease and stroke complications.

In addition, the facility will provide opportunities for healthy physical activity and a nutritionally balance meal plan rich in important vitamins and minerals.

Benefit: Higher Rate of Success

Studies demonstrate the longer a patient remains in treatment, the more successful their recovery will be. Inpatient care tends to create stronger engagement and retention, which leads to longer stays. Further, due to the other benefits, those in inpatient care are less likely to relapse during alcohol addiction treatment because they are free of cues and unable to access substances to use.

If inpatient rehabilitation seems like a good fit, you are encouraged to continue evaluating its benefits and drawbacks. Always make the effort to make an informed decision.