Anyone who has struggled with substance abuse and addiction, or supported a loved one through the process, knows that it’s no simple task. A patient needs to go through extensive steps to detox, struggle through withdrawal symptoms, build new life habits, resist urges to relapse, and more, in order to fully recover. This process is an intensive one, and takes time, effort, and support from counselors, family and friends.
Despite that, our society continues to have outdated ideas of recovery from substance abuse and addiction. In addition to the negative stigmas attached to addiction, the normalization of 30-day treatment programs has warped our perceptions of how long it takes to recover from addiction – and this has negative consequences for those trying to get their lives back on track.
Why 30-Day Treatment Programs Exist
Though 30-day treatment programs are a standard in the industry, there’s no scientific evidence that supports their effectiveness. In fact, these treatment programs have success rates in the single digits, which isn’t an encouraging number in the slightest. Yet, that’s what we continue to see throughout rehabilitation centers.
Part of this system reaches back to the 1970s, where 30-day programs started as a way for military members to receive treatment programs without needing reassignments for their deployments. With that standard in place, insurance companies then adapted it to their own means, only supplying coverage for 30 days’ worth of treatment.
In turn, because of the coverage standard, rehabilitation centers went on to create 30-day programs to match, and have continued to do so decades later. For many patients, paying for treatment outside of their insurance coverage may not be financially possible, making these short-term programs much more appealing - all while bolstering stigma about the acceptable time it takes for recovery.
Problems with 30-Day Treatment Programs
One of the biggest issues with 30-day treatment programs is in their origins: they’re the result of policies rather than proven methods and scientific evidence. Because they don’t consider tested rehabilitation techniques, they often fail in helping those who struggle with substance abuse and addiction take back control of their lives.
Prolonged substance abuse ultimately changes the way your brain and body functions. That’s why patients can have such severe withdrawal symptoms and why it’s so difficult to break out of a relapse cycle. Stabilizing your body and mind again can take months, even years – not a handful of weeks.
Ongoing support, which is essential to successful recovery, is also difficult in 30-day programs. While a patient is in rehab, they have a supportive environment around them that provides guidance, helping the patient keep their mind focused on their goals. Once a 30-day program is over, the patient heads right back into their previous environment – sometimes without any form of outpatient care – which can make relapsing even more likely.
With this sort of treatment, there’s hardly any time to receive the thorough support necessary. The first week of this session is often detoxing, while the next stage involves sessions with a counselor. By the third week of a 30-day treatment program, the patient is already discussing discharge with the last session committed to discussing risk factors.
None of this is enough time for a counselor to thoroughly understand the state of an addiction and help the patient develop new habits for long-term recovery success. For most who struggle with substance abuse and addiction, an underlying factor led to their initial use. Without understanding and working to overcome those factors, a patient can easily relapse after leaving treatment.
For as many as one-third of patients, the connecting factor which led to their substance use is a mental disorder, such as anxiety or depression. While medications can help with these conditions, the effect of drugs and alcohol on the brain may mean these medicines won’t work as they should. Trying to find the right medications and make other life changes for effective rehabilitation in the span of a month is nearly impossible.
Even worse, when a patient relapses after a 30-day treatment program, they can start to feel like a failure. These feelings can be especially strong if someone has gone through rehab several times but ultimately comes back to their substance abuse. These patients often find themselves on the negative end of social stigma, treated like failures for their relapse, even though the 30-day system is ineffective.
Changing to Effective Treatment Patterns
While 30-day treatment programs are the norm across many facilities, rehabilitation centers can provide help for much longer than that. They really should, since longer treatment programs are much more effective. Even 60 days can be an improvement, though closer to 90 is an even better timeframe for a patient to receive thorough treatment. Adding proper aftercare into the equation is another way to help bolster recovery rates.
Since finances can play a role in how long someone decides to stay in rehab, recovery centers should work to negotiate for longer coverage times for their patients. Even if there’s minimal coverage, patients should still consider paying for the extended treatment time. After all, while the cost may seem high, it’s worth the price to have a successful recovery and get their lives back on track.
However, the real changes need to come in how we think of addiction. There is no “one size fits all” type of treatment. Patients in rehab come from different stages of substance abuse, backgrounds, medical conditions, and mental states. All of this should be part of how we determine treatment patterns and timeframes. We can’t expect patients to undo such extensive conditions in such a short time.
While a patient needs to have the mindset and determination to improve themselves for recovery to work, there’s no doubt that longer treatment times significantly increase the chances of recovery and reduce the likelihood of a relapse. At Windmill Wellness Ranch, we recognize that there isn’t a fast track to help our patients. That’s why we offer longer-term treatment and do everything we can to help our patients walk the road to recovery – no matter how long it takes.
Created specifically for those who have loved ones that struggle with addiction.