Inpatient or Outpatient

Question

My son wants to go to rehab. I have paid or partly paid for residential treatment 2 times already in the past 5 years. He has a heroin addiction. I want to support him but I do not have an endless supply of money to fund these expensive treatment stays. What I want to know is is rehab really better than much more affordable outpatient treatment for someone in his position. He is 25 and he has been using alcohol and marijuana since he was a young teenager and heroin since he was about 18. It is hard but I have made so many decisions based on emotion that think I need to start making decisions based on logic and fact – not blind hope.

Jim LaPierre · Accepted Answer

The first issue to be addressed is always the medical. Detox and attention to any existing health problems is a must. After a 30 day detox your son can be assessed as to what the options are and what is most likely to be beneficial. There is no one size fits all answer. It's entirely possible that his needs can be met through outpatient treatment or intensive outpatient treatment (IOP) both of which are vastly more affordable than the average residential treatment facility. The first 7-14 days of withdrawal are the most critical. After that he becomes progressively stale and able to make healthy choices. My suggestion would be to have him in residential placement and then have him screened by an expert in addictions and consider treatment recommendations from there.

Best of luck to you and your son.

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