What Happens During Day Treatment for Substance Abuse?
Day treatment programs are part of the critical continuum of care necessary to successful recovery from substance abuse. While day treatment often follows a stay in a residential rehabilitation center, alcohol or drug abuse patients who do not require the 24-hour supervision provided by residential care may begin their rehabilitation program in a day treatment center.
Day treatment for substance abusers provides structured, monitored treatment and activities during the day. The patient returns home after each session to spend the night in his own home. Partial-day treatment is part of the ongoing continuum of care provided by comprehensive drug and alcohol addiction treatment programs to support recovering substance abusers. Partial-day care may be the first step in a patient’s recovery journey, but more often bridges the gap between residential treatment and outpatient care. Substance abuse day treatment provides a comfortable, safe, supportive environment where patients can continue their recovery from drug or alcohol abuse and addiction. Day care also allows the continued treatment of dual diagnosis conditions that may have exacerbated substance abuse.
The day treatment environment is structured to provide necessary guidance as patients move toward recovery. It is a less formal setting than residential care, and allows patients time to acquire and practice the skills needed for the independence of outpatient care, the next step in the road to substance abuse recovery. During day treatment, patients may receive individual care and therapy but generally attend structured group therapy sessions, activities, educational lectures and participate in 12-step support programs for up to 8 hours a day, 6 days a week in a secure treatment center. Treatment is customized to meet each individual’s specific treatment needs.
Substance abuse patients who are enrolled in day treatment programs have already begun to re-enter society. They are readjusting to home life and, in some cases, returning to work. Day treatment gives them critical support as they learn to handle daily pressures and demands without drugs or alcohol. It gives recovering substance abusers daily help and support in coping with the many difficulties they face as their re-enter normal life, face family members, neighbors and fellow workers, and learn to avoid the situations, activities and people that may have triggered or exacerbated their substance abuse. Day treatment programs provide the next critical step in a substance abuser’s ongoing journey to recovery.
