Which is Best for Drug Rehab: Short Term or Long Term Treatment?

When a family seeks addiction treatment, there are many choices that must be made. And unfortunately, there are few guides to direct those decisions. Families may make their best choices but the result of a drug rehab program may be relapse followed by another return to rehab.

Short-term recovery programs normally last 28 to 30 days. For many people, the only benefit they offer is a month free from drug use. They often fit the parameters of health insurance policies but they fit the needs of very few addicts. When a person is not heavily addicted and when a break gives him or her a chance to step back from the addiction and regroup, then a short-term program might help. But for most people, this is simply not enough time to recover from the assault addictive drugs make on the body and to restore the life skills that enable a person to stay drug-free after release. In many cases, the individual will relapse within days of going home as they are still haunted by drug cravings and don’t have the skills to deal with difficult situations including those created by their past drug use.

man having trouble in life

Long-term programs come in many forms, from a twelve step based program with a simultaneous diagnosis of secondary mental conditions to a therapeutic community. These long-term drug rehabs can range from a couple months to a year and a half or more for therapeutic communities. In many of these rehab centers, the discipline is imposed by the recovering members of the community itself, and a person works his way up to greater responsibility.

So How Long is Long Enough?

According to the US National Institute on Drug Abuse, longer-term programs of about 12 weeks are needed to give an addicted person enough time to recover.

Always an Addict? 

Some philosophies of addiction treatment rehabs believe that an addict will always be an addict and must receive continuing treatment or attend meetings for years or forever. The Narconon addiction treatment drug rehab has developed an effective drug rehab program that can be completed in ten to twelve weeks by most people. There are no long-term substitute drugs are used as treatment, there are no co-existing mental conditions diagnosed. A graduate of Narconon is not expected to attend meetings for years afterward. Yet in our five decades of helping addicts recover from addiction, countless individuals have been able to leave their addiction behind for good.

 free feeling young woman

What Makes the Narconon Program Stand Out from the Rest

The Narconon program is based on unique methods developed by L. Ron Hubbard, American educator and philosopher. This technology of learning, understanding, and raising one’s abilities is the basis for the Narconon philosophy. That a person can increase their ability to handle the issues in life that lead to drug use and therefore get back in control of their life.

Sauna Detoxification 

A key discovery of Mr. Hubbard is that drug residues become stored in the fatty tissues of the body and tend to not be eliminated unless the body is given the right support. The Narconon New Life Detoxification, a phase of the Narconon drug rehab program, guides each recovering addict through the moderate exercise, time in a low-heat sauna and generous doses of nutritional supplements that causes this elimination to take place. As the toxic residues are flushed, the recovering person becomes brighter and per reports of those completing this step, cravings are reduced and sometimes eliminated completely.

Life Skills Training

Add to this the thorough recovery of life skills that are needed for each person to build a new sober life. Life skills that help them repair the damage done to self-esteem and relationships, as well as how to communicate better and how to improve conditions in different areas of their life. Armed with these skills you have a person who knows how to stay sober.

Contact us to learn how this unique drug rehabilitation program can help someone you love who is struggling with addiction.


Additional Resources:

Important Aspects of Choosing a Drug Rehab

An Alternative Non-Traditional Program