In 2021, 281,362 Californians were diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder in the emergency room, while 230,308 were diagnosed in an inpatient hospitalization setting. Emergency rooms are often overcrowded and not well-equipped to provide long-term treatment for someone searching for stabilization due to a substance use disorder.
At Pacific Sands, we know that inpatient treatment is an effective option for individuals looking for help for any substance use disorder, not just alcohol. Today, we will explain how inpatient treatment supports long-term recovery for professionals.
Inpatient Treatment: What Is It?
Inpatient rehab is when someone lives at a facility for a certain amount of time to receive stabilizing care that helps them recover from a substance use disorder. This time could last for a few weeks to several months, depending on a person’s specific needs and progress through treatment. Inpatient treatment also provides people with medical support as they gain the tools they will carry throughout their recovery journey.
People can attend inpatient treatment at any point in their recovery. Many people attend inpatient treatment at the beginning of their journeys following detox, but they can also return to it as necessary. Returning to an inpatient treatment facility is not a sign of failure. Professionals will welcome you back with the continued support required for a successful long-term recovery.
The Benefits Professionals Receive From Inpatient Treatment
Many benefits are achieved by professionals who experience inpatient treatment for a substance use disorder. One advantage of attending inpatient is that you will be in a secure, substance-free environment. In your daily life, you frequently encounter many stressors and triggers in your home and career. These make it challenging to maintain your recovery. Potential triggers are removed during inpatient treatment, allowing you to focus all your time on your treatment.
A team of professionals will provide you with skills you can use once you have left treatment. These skills help prevent a return to use. They are found in different therapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT).
In CBT, you will discover how to identify stressful thoughts. Your therapist will also work with you to teach you coping and communication skills to help you change these negative thoughts into healthier ones. DBT provides additional skills, like mindfulness and distress tolerance, to help someone manage emotionally stressful situations. Like with CBT, it offers many coping skills that help prevent a return to use. Inpatient allows you plenty of time to practice these techniques, so you are prepared to use them once you have completed treatment.
Inpatient treatment also provides a dedicated time and space to focus entirely on your recovery. Professionals with substance use disorders typically have very little time to fit self-care into their schedules. They might barely have time to make it to a weekly outpatient appointment, especially if they are trying to start their recovery on their own. Inpatient forces you to take a break from those responsibilities and reflect on your substance use disorder and the goals you have for your recovery.
Inpatient treatment will connect you with peers. These peers know what you are going through and will provide motivation and emotional support during your stay at the facility. If you stay in touch, they also provide that support after discharge.
How Inpatient Treatment for Professionals Works
During inpatient treatment, people will sleep, eat, and acquire treatment for substance use and mental health disorders at a 24/7 rehab facility. Things to bring to inpatient treatment include books and magazines, a blank notebook, and photos of family and friends. When you arrive, you will be exposed to an initial blackout period where you will not be allowed to use any electronic devices that have WiFi.
Treating substance use and mental health conditions together is known as dual diagnosis. These conditions co-occur for several reasons, and treating them together prevents them from creating complications in your recovery journey. If you only treat the substance use disorder, the mental health condition may make it challenging not to return to use as a way to cope. Likewise, only treating the mental health condition doesn’t improve the substance use disorder, and it might result in your mental health worsening.
If necessary, you will have medical professionals who will manage your medications and ensure that you are taking them. These professionals also ensure you receive round-the-clock care and remain safe. You will also be introduced to different types of therapy, such as individual and group therapy. These therapy sessions will happen frequently and every day.
Individual therapy is when you meet one-on-one with a therapist. Your therapist will help guide you through your unique recovery journey as they help you uncover and understand what led to your substance use disorder. They allow you to recognize your emotions and achieve your goals through honest communication and collaboration.
In group therapy, you will interact with a group of people as you address challenges in your life. You will interact with people like yourself who offer unique perspectives and experiences. This therapy helps you learn understanding and empathy and develop communication skills and long-term connections to support you during challenging moments. Through group therapy, you will feel less alone in your experiences, which help give you confidence and boost your self-esteem.
Individual and group therapy will teach you many CBT and DBT skills described above. With practice, these skills will make it easier to continue along your recovery journey, and inpatient care provides several opportunities to practice before you return to your daily life.
How long you stay at an inpatient treatment facility varies from person to person. Some people only need a few weeks before they are prepared to return home and enter less intensive levels of care. Others might need more time and stay for several months. Your therapist may be able to give you an estimated timeline, depending on your needs, how long you have been taking substances, which substances you have been taking, and the support system you have in place outside of treatment. This is only an estimate and not a set-in-stone timeline. It can change depending on how well you progress through treatment. The length of time you are in inpatient treatment doesn’t matter. Everyone is different, and needing more time is not a sign of failure.
The Long-Term Recovery Impact of Inpatient Treatment
A recent study examined how many people return to use following inpatient treatment. The researchers found that 63% of the participants did not return to use. The people who did return to use in this study were young, had untreated co-occurring mental health disorders, and did not fully complete their inpatient treatment stay. All of these variables increase the chance of someone returning to use.
Completing your inpatient treatment increases your chance of a successful recovery. The researchers in the above study suggest this is the case because aftercare planning is often focused more toward the end of your inpatient treatment. Aftercare planning prepares you with the tools and plans to help you know how to keep yourself safe after discharge.
In addition, those who are actively involved in their recovery journey often receive the benefits mentioned above. Inpatient treatment provides a time and space for them to work on these aspects in an encouraging and guiding environment. This ensures that by the time you leave the facility, you are fully prepared and equipped with the techniques to make healthy lifestyle changes in your personal life, which promotes a successful recovery.
How to Know If Inpatient Treatment Might Help You
That said, not all people will benefit from inpatient treatment. Some can find recovery and success on their own or with an outpatient level of care. During admissions, specialists determine if inpatient treatment is the right choice for each potential client. However, below are some things that can help you know if talking with a professional about attending inpatient treatment would be helpful.
- You have been consuming large quantities of substances
- You have had a substance use disorder for a long time
- You have attended outpatient treatment before but have since returned to use
- You experience severe or life-threatening withdrawal symptoms when you have been without substances
- You have a co-occurring mental health condition
- You have a loved one who consumes substances
- You have a loved one who enables your substance use disorder
If you have any of the above signs, talk to your healthcare provider about possibly attending inpatient treatment for a substance use disorder.
Attend Inpatient Treatment in Santa Ana, CA
Taking that first step toward a new life is both terrifying and liberating. For many people, inpatient treatment gives them the space and time to focus on their healing. It promotes new ways for them to create healthier versions of themselves.
From executives to veterans, Pacific Sands offers inpatient treatment to professionals of all backgrounds. Because we are solution-focused, we will work with you to explore what has worked in the past and how it can translate to your future. For more information about our inpatient treatment options, call us at 949-426-7962.
Pacific Sands – The first step towards a new life.
