For many people, a hospital detox program is the first step on the journey towards getting sober. You may have entered a detox program involuntarily if you had an overdose or experienced an accident while you were under the influence of drugs. Or, you might have needed to choose a hospital to help you detox safely if you’ve had bad withdrawal symptoms in the past. Going to the hospital puts you in touch with medical services that help to protect your health, but your brief stay is not enough to help you avoid returning to your former habits.
Instead of just going home, most people are typically referred to an inpatient or outpatient program that ensures that they’ll have a better chance of avoiding a return trip to the hospital. While this is beneficial, it does come with the potential challenge of needing to avoid drugs before you make it to your treatment program. If you are worrying about whether or not an outpatient rehab does a drug test the day after hospital detox, then try to relax. You may be given a drug test, but the results are not meant to be used against you. Instead, your drug test results will be used to help determine your next phase of treatment.
What Happens When You First Enter an Outpatient Rehab Program?
Similar to when you went to the hospital, the staff at an outpatient rehab program will start the intake process. This typically involves taking an inventory of your overall health. You’ll be asked about what happened that led to you going to the hospital. The staff will also want to know if you are currently taking any medications along with how you are managing your cravings at the moment.
You can also expect that the rehab team will want to know about your current drug use. If you’ve done drugs since you left the hospital, then feel free to be honest. The information that you provide is confidential, and the treatment team will only use it to get a better understanding of what you may be dealing with as you enter the program. Your entry into the program will also likely include a drug test, just to make sure that you receive the right treatment services. For example, the staff will need to be prepared to help you deal with any new withdrawal symptoms if you did do drugs before you came to the center.
What Are the Benefits of Going to Outpatient Rehab After Hospital Detox?
Although the drugs might have left your system, you still face the possibility of having cravings that could lead to you doing drugs again. Hospital detoxes merely treat the immediate physical symptoms of withdrawal, but you are likely to have mental health conditions and other challenges that need to be addressed with further care. Going to an outpatient rehab gives you the best start on preventing relapse since you’ll spend time working on the things that led up to your drug use such as learning how to handle past trauma.
Drug tests during outpatient programs are typically used to support accountability. Knowing that you might be asked to take a drug test could serve as a deterrent, and even a so-called failed test can be an opportunity to talk about what happened so that you can find solutions to help you stay sober. If you worry about failing a drug test, then you can try these strategies to stay sober between your visits to the outpatient rehab center.
- Reach out to a sober friend
- Distract yourself with an enjoyable activity
- Try deep breathing exercises or meditation
- Take a nap or go to bed early
- Read supportive literature
What Happens If You Slip Up During Outpatient Treatment?
You are most at risk for having a slip up during the early stages of your treatment, but it could happen at anytime. Using your strategies can help you to avoid using drugs, but it is important to avoid letting one slip up stop you from getting help. Outpatient treatment programs won’t typically kick you out for making a mistake. Instead, sharing what happened with your counselor can help them to make changes to your treatment plan that help you to be successful. Major or recurring slip ups could indicate that you need inpatient care. However, most slip ups can be managed by adding more support for times when you are at home or increasing the intensity of your therapy sessions.
Are you wondering what happens when you transition to an outpatient treatment program? We’ll walk you through the process. Give us a call at 302-842-2390 today.