In Florida, outpatient rehab serves to treat and rehabilitate individuals with substance dependence problems without the person living in a facility. Clients who choose this pathway to recovery go from their homes to the outpatient treatment center for rehab sessions. They receive detox, counseling, personal therapy, and crisis intervention services. Then the client returns home after each session.
Outpatient rehab is an option for individuals who have not struggled with substance addiction challenges for an extended period. As outpatient programs tend to be flexible, they are suited for people who need addiction treatment but cannot afford to leave their families or jobs for a prolonged period.
The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) is the state authority on substance abuse. The agency recommends outpatient drug rehab for persons who meet placement criteria through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health (SAMH) program.
Outpatient treatment centers in Florida have three main types: day programs, intensive outpatient programs (IOPs), and continuing care. The choice of program is based on the client's schedule, the severity of the addiction, family support, cost of treatment, and the stage of recovery.
This non-residential program has treatment and rehab services scheduled into day sessions lasting at least three hours a day or 12 hours per week. Sessions have the following services:
IOPs are non-residential programs made for persons who have completed a short residential or inpatient program. Sessions last longer than day programs — at least nine hours per week — and the program runs for up to three months. This type of program is also recommended for clients with a severe or long history of addiction.
Here, the recovery specialist creates a personalized treatment plan with measurable milestones. While the program's structure varies by client, persons in IOPs also receive individual counseling, group therapy, peer support, and skills to combat addiction with addiction and mental health issues.
Continuing care is an aftercare plan developed for clients who have completed a treatment program but need long-term support for relapse prevention. This type of IOP typically involves weekly sessions that last for several months or even years. Clients may also make special arrangements in an emergency or crisis.
Clients attend scheduled sessions to receive counseling, therapy, and treatment for mental health disorders in continuing care. Furthermore, recovery specialists educate the client's family members on promoting a healthy living environment for their loved ones in recovery.
There are several reasons to choose outpatient rehab over other forms of treatment. Some of these reasons include:
Persons in recovery can get the help they need while staying active in their real-life commitments like raising a child, working, or getting an education. Clients don't need to take a leave of absence or outrightly quit their jobs. Their recovery specialist plans their treatment around the client's work-life and other obligations. Rehab sessions happen in the morning, night, or during the weekend.
Most outpatient drug rehab centers' services commit to maintaining the privacy of their clients. Also, individuals will not have to disclose the reason for taking off work as the rehab centers provide treatment around the individual's life.
Inpatient rehabilitation is expensive, and persons opting for outpatient rehab services can significantly reduce the cost of treatment, making it affordable to access a suitable outpatient rehab treatment.
Outpatient centers provide various forms of treatment tailored to the patient’s needs. The choice of an outpatient rehab center can afford the participant to apply lessons learned in real-life situations.
Outpatient rehab provides a community of individuals with similar substance abuse challenges. This grants the individual a safe space to heal and recover.
In Florida, most services offered in an outpatient center depend on the substance and the tendency for relapse. Generally, most outpatient treatment centers in Florida make available the following services to their registrants:
Outpatient centers provide weekly individual counseling, supportive counseling with the client's family members, and group counseling. These facilities also offer access to expressive therapies as an alternative means of resolving problems and self-expression. Expressive therapy may be recreation, music, dance, or art therapy.
Most outpatient drug rehab assists individuals with medical resources such as detoxification, drug screening, and mental health services. At the beginning of the outpatient treatment, the rehab facility introduces detox before transitioning to other treatment modalities.
Outpatient rehab facilities provide a wide range of educational and life-skill training services for persons with substance abuse disorders. Training includes recovery and substance-related education aimed at preventing relapse, enumerating problems associated with substance abuse, maintaining sobriety, and a substance free-lifestyle upon completion of the program.
Life skill training involves training patients on anger management, employability, problem-solving, communication, relapse prevention, relationship skills, decision making, and symptoms management.
If the rehabilitation facility deems that the individual cannot comply with the outpatient treatment, they can refer the person for inpatient treatment or the appropriate level of care.
According to the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) report for 2019, the average length of stay for outpatient rehab is two and a half months. However, the length of time a person takes during the rehabilitation process in Florida depends on various factors. These factors include the complexity of the addiction, the substance being abused, and whether or not a dual illness is detected.
Outpatient rehab typically lasts for several weeks or months, but it is not uncommon to continue for several years. Meanwhile, under the Marchman Act, there is no length of time an outpatient can stop receiving treatment. The act specifies the maximum weekly treatment until the rehab facility considers the individual fully recovered.
Individuals admitted with multiple or complex addictions are likely to relapse if their treatment program is below three months compared to those with milder drug dependency. Persons addicted to several drugs typically commit to IOP for a minimum of three months, with at least nine hours of treatment weekly.
Then, they ease into a day program or continuing care. The length of stay for persons with lower drug dependency typically lasts between two to three months, with treatment being three hours per day or twelve hours a week.
The length of outpatient treatment also depends on the substance. For instance, detoxification for heroin can take four to 10 days, two to eight weeks for benzodiazepines, and three to 14 days for alcohol.
Sometimes drug abuse and mental illness co-occur, and rehab centers must treat both illnesses. Treatment typically lasts anywhere from three to 12 months and may run for two to five hours daily, three to five days per week, depending on the client.
Inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation treatment serves the same purpose — to help persons with addiction achieve and maintain sobriety and avoid relapse. Knowing the difference between the two helps parties make informed decisions, as the overall goal when seeking treatment is to be free from substance addiction.
Inpatient rehab involves a residential treatment where the registrant lives within the rehab facility for an agreed period to receive access to medical care and supervision. The facility provides housing, feeding, recreational activities, surveillance, and emotional support through addiction recovery specialists. Inpatient rehabilitation offers an intensive, undistracted, recovery-driven treatment that may last from one to 12 months.
Florida outpatient rehabs are non-residential programs, but this does not affect the quality of care. Rehab centers consider the client's work, family, and home life in designing a recovery plan. This flexibility makes it a convenient option to treat addiction while allowing the patient to continue working and return home after each session.
Finally, outpatient treatment is cost-effective as the registrant does not have to cover the cost of lodging and feeding alongside treatment costs. Outpatient rehab services also allow the client to instantly apply what they learn during their sessions in the real world.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provides free referrals to recovery programs in Florida. To access this service, contact SAMHSA at (800) 662-4357. SAMHSA is a government-funded agency that provides referral and information services to people and families dealing with drug and alcohol addiction.
SAMHSA also has a treatment facility locator where interested parties may look for rehab clinics that have been assessed and rated by independent specialists. The locator displays the location of the facility as well as contact information, a list of various therapies, facilities, and payment options. SAMHSA is trustworthy, free, and will keep all communication confidential. In addition, the Administration's hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.