After months or even years of alcohol abuse, the only way you are going to overcome your addiction is by getting help from a reputable alcohol treatment center. Try as you may, you will find that any other option you might try as means of arresting your drinking problem will most likely fail.
How do we know that? There’s plenty of data that supports the fact that rehab is the only place that delivers consistent results for people who want to stop drinking. For a variety of reasons, some clients choose outpatient treatment over an inpatient treatment program. Assuming there are viable reasons for making such a choice, outpatient treatment is a viable alternative as a pathway towards recovery. As for the effectiveness of outpatient rehab in your case, it’s really predicated on your ability and willingness to fully commit to the process.
If you are not fully committed to working hard with your therapists on an outpatient basis, something is going to get missed. If anything were to get missed in treatment, there would be a high level of probability that you would relapse. As you go through the outpatient treatment process, it’s incumbent on you to be fully engaged given the level of responsibility you have for your own care. You have to make good decisions as an outpatient client because no one is going to be there around the clock, looking over your shoulder. The freedom you have as an outpatient client comes with the expectation you will behave responsibly and follow the rules of treatment.
As a point of reference, here are a few of the outpatient rules you should be following:
- Absolutely no drug or alcohol use
- Must be willing to submit to random testing
- Must show up on time for all scheduled appointments
- Must show progress at regular intervals
It’s not uncommon for clients to question the healing process. Some people go into rehab with high expectations for an immediate cure to their addiction problems. Unfortunately, that’s not how things work during treatment. It’s a process that takes time before things start getting better. To be clear, you do have the right to question your own progress. No one would tell you otherwise. However, any questions you might have will likely be met with your therapists encouraging you to be patient and let the process do its thing. If you still don’t think your Wilmington outpatient alcohol treatment is working, you do have other options. Please continue reading.
Your Options Should You Feel Outpatient Treatment Isn’t working
Before you decide anything, you should discuss your concerns with your therapists. They might have an entirely different take on how your treatment is going. The last thing you want to do is make rash decisions regarding your treatment. Every pause you take in the treatment process will serve to stretch the recovery process over a longer period of time. If there is an agreement that another option might be warranted, here are a couple of things that might be on the table.
Moving Up to a Higher Level of Care
Many times, the sense things aren’t getting better means the level of treatment you are getting is in some way inadequate. If you are in an outpatient program, you might have to commit to more hours of treatment. More hours would give you more accountability and more time to focus on your issues. If handling the responsibility of freedom during treatment is causing a problem, the solution might be you committing to inpatient treatment. That would shift some of the responsibility off of your shoulders in favor of more monitoring from the rehab’s personnel.
Trying a Different Program
What works for one person might not work at all for another person. If your progress has stalled, you might need to consider getting help from another facility. It’s not something we would encourage, but you would have the right to do whatever you need to do to ensure you are getting the care you need. Sometimes, a change of scenery makes a difference. If you have any questions about the addiction treatment process, you need to communicate your concerns. If there is something we can do to help you towards recovering from your addiction, we would be happy to offer you that help. If you want to discuss your current circumstances, you can contact one of our staff members by calling us at 302-842-2390.
