Drug addiction is an illness that is at once physiological and psychological. It is a disease that leads to the compulsive use of substances even when the user knows the drug use is harming their health, destroying their relationships, and overtaking their life. In order to master cravings and withstand triggers, people need professional drug addiction treatment.

Rehab facilities all work to help clients achieve sobriety and learn to maintain it, but they do this in different ways. The needs of the individual play a big role in the type of interventions used and the length of treatment provided.

When you are considering entering rehab, you are confronted with a lot of information. Instead of providing a clear path through the recovery process, such information overload can lead to even more uncertainty and confusion. It’s unlikely to help you to understand what you should expect from drug addiction treatment, what being in treatment feels like, or how long you may be required to remain in treatment.

While the specifics of your treatment plan will be determined by your individual needs and the services available at the rehab, there are a number of general guidelines to help you understand what the recovery process typically entails.

Length of Typical Rehab Programs

The type of rehab you choose is one key factor in establishing the duration of your treatment. The two primary categories of care are inpatient and outpatient. People who choose inpatient care commit to living at the facility for the entire length of their treatment. People who choose outpatient care are only required to enter the facility for formal, scheduled treatment activities. Each type of program has its own set of advantages.

How Long is Medical Detox?

The process of medical detox will vary significantly depending on the type of substance your body is withdrawing from. Some substances require more intensive medical supervision and the more frequent use of FDA-approved medications to ease withdrawal symptoms and prevent potentially serious complications.

Detoxing from alcohol and heroin, for instance, is typically best done in an inpatient setting. Other substances, such as some opiates, may be withdrawn on an outpatient basis, often with daily appointments in an outpatient clinic for a period of several consecutive days.

Whether your medical detox is performed in an inpatient or outpatient setting, however, most can be completed within 14 days, at which point you will step down to an inpatient or outpatient rehab program for continuing care.

How Long Does Inpatient Rehab Take?

Inpatient treatment tends to be more intensive, as all distractions are removed from a patient’s life. This allows total focus on recovery, which can speed up the process. A person who is completely engaged in their rehab program may spend less time in a program because they have so much time and attention to dedicate to it. These short term, high-intensity programs may last anywhere from two to four weeks.

However, most people spend more time in inpatient care because they have such a severe degree of addiction that they need long-term intensive care. Many moderate-intensity inpatient rehabs offer 30, 60, or 90 day options.

For clients requiring more robust support, a variety of long-term inpatient programs are available. These may include residential care for up to six, 12, or even 24 months.

How Long Does Outpatient Rehab Take?

Outpatient treatment is great for patients who need or want to continue working and living at home while receiving addiction treatment. Outpatient programs enable them to fulfill obligations to their job and family while they establish their sobriety and learn to manage it long-term. Outpatient programs also provide ongoing care for clients who have completed inpatient treatment but require additional support as they reintegrate into their home, workplace, and community.

Some participants in these programs need a longer period of care because they have to balance their treatment with other responsibilities and they can’t devote all of their energy to recovery from drug addiction. Outpatient care may continue for weeks, months, or even years, depending on the frequency and intensity of care.

Partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs are the most intensive levels of care in an outpatient setting. These are typically short-term programs, lasting only a few weeks or up to one or two months. Clients in these programs generally receive as few as nine and as many as 30 hours of treatment per week.

General outpatient care, on the other hand, is for clients who are further along in their recovery and are more medically stable. General outpatient care may consist of as few as one to two hours of treatment weekly, but clients may continue receiving general outpatient care for months or years, depending on their individual needs.

If a truly lengthy and high-intensity treatment program is warranted, outpatient care might not be a good fit.

Popular Addiction Treatment Lengths

Most people are familiar with 28- to 30-day programs because these are the ones depicted in popular culture and the ones that most people find themselves in. But, there are many other treatment lengths to consider. Many people benefit most from remaining in an addiction treatment program for 60, 90, or 120 days. However, many outpatient programs tend to be shorter in length.

The Popularity of the 28-Day Rehab

Just because something is the most used doesn’t mean that is the most effective. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to addiction recovery, and that includes the 28-day stay. Military residential drug and alcohol rehab was established in the 1970s. Patients in programs run by the United States Air Force had to follow existing reassignment rules, which stated any person who was absent for more than 30 days would be reassigned. To keep members of the Air Force from entering the difficult reassignment process, treatment stays were limited to 28 days.

Though programs of this length are often effective, it is important to remember that no medical or scientific evidence went into establishing this length of treatment. Now, the popularity of the 28-day stay remains because it is the period most often covered by insurance policies.

Long-Term Rehab Programs

Any program that lasts for six months or longer is considered long-term and these can be great because they give patients time for their brains to heal, chances to practice recovery behaviors, and room for relationships to begin mending. Long-term rehabs are typically inpatient and take place in non-hospital settings. For example, therapeutic communities have planned stays of between six and 12 months.

Though there is no magic number of days that guarantees a person will be free of addiction, numerous empirical studies have been performed to compare the recovery outcomes of various treatment lengths.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse studies a group of 1,700 addicts and the ones who were in rehab for 90 days or longer experienced much lower rates of relapse (17 percent) when compared to those who attended for less than 90 days (35 percent). The link between longer treatment lengths and reduced rates of relapse has been borne out in other scientific research as well.

Factors That Play a Role in Treatment Length

As mentioned earlier, the type of treatment you choose will have an impact. But so will other factors.

Severity of Addiction

The severity of your addiction has a big impact on treatment duration. If you have a severe addiction, you will generally require a lengthy detox and that cuts into your formal treatment time, meaning a shorter stay may not be adequate to get to the roots of negative, drug seeking behaviors and correct them. Further, more work needs to be done to facilitate long-term sobriety when an addiction is severe.

Co-occurring Mental Conditions

If you have a co-occurring mental condition on top of your addiction, both will need to be treated simultaneously. That can extend the duration of your rehab stay because the impact of each on the other complicates both diagnosis and treatment, especially if medication needs to be prescribed. Finding the right medication and the proper dose takes time.

Substance Being Used

The length of your stay in rehab can also depend on the kind of substance you are addicted to, particularly if you are experiencing polysubstance addiction, meaning you have become addicted to more than one chemical.

In the case of polysubstance abuse or dependency on “harder” drugs, such as heroin and amphetamines, longer-term inpatient treatment is likely the best option.

Conclusion

The addiction recovery process doesn’t have to be mysterious and scary. Professionals are available 24/7 to help you find the recovery program that is right for you. Reach out today to take the first step on your own unique journey toward the healthy, happy, dependency-free life you deserve.