Why are some people in rehab for alcoholism for so long? I know a woman

[raccoon]

who says her son's been in rehab for 5 months, and will be in for about 8 more months.

What's going on all this time in rehab?

[SharonAnn]

1. Several possible reasons: 1) his insurance hasn't run out yet, 2) he denies he has a problem

[mike_c]

2. my ex did three months in rehab....

Mainly because it was a safe and supportive place for her, I think, at a time when her life was coming down around her ears. She didn't go into rehab until she had no other choices, really. It took the first month to get her dried out, but her life was still a shambles and rehab was a refuge from some of her problems.

[sandnsea]

3. Outpatient? Probably aftercare

Outpatient is usally 3 mos of 4 nights a week, and then 6-9 mos of one night a week. It's to give him the best shot.

If it's inpatient, I've seen that in a few state programs that are kind of an alternative to jail time or a transition after jail time. Not saying that's the case here. Would be interested to know if somebody is truly in an inpatient setting for over 30 days.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

4. Some rehab is "mixed-diagnosis"

Substance abuse isn't always the only thing being treated.

Also, I have heard of people (with money) being in fancy Hazelton-type clinics for a year, but that's usually for multiple-addictions including opiates.

[gratuitous]

5. Because different people have different chemical reactions?

Some folks can imbibe without any problem at all, while for others, even a whiff of alcohol sets off chemical receptors in their system that quickly spiral out of control. Maybe the fellow in question has a particularly virulent addiction that requires a full 13 months to have a fighting chance against a lifetime of habit buttressed by a systemic weakness against alcohol.

[ret5hd]

6. There is one kind of "treatment center" i am aware of (usually court ordered)...

that in my opinion is not much more than slave labor. It is inpatient, but you work "outside". The owner has contracted to provide labor for a plant. The one I am aware of has contracted to provide labor for a chicken plant in Arkansas. The "patients" are paid a few dollars a day, only payable AFTER they complete the program. Leave early and you get nothing. Semi-private rooms, mandatory substance abuse meetings on your off hours.

The one I am aware of can last about a year.

[Demoiselle]

8. Can you get into the kind of "treatment center" you describe without paying for it?

Labor in exchange for treatment. Treatment that SHOULD be seen as medical. At a chicken processing plant. A solution for all our health care woes. (Sarcasm button on , please!) Words fail me.

[Clear Blue Sky]

7. Some argue that alcoholism is not "curable".

[Lance_Boyle]

9. It may not be, but it's treatable.

A lifetime regimen of antabuse will keep even the drinkiest drunk from touching the stuff.