Different Types of Detox Clinics

Detox clinics are often necessary for drug abusers who are seeking help with their withdrawal symptoms and eventual recoveries. But as there are many different types of detox centers, it’s important to choose the one that best fits your needs.

Inpatient Detox Clinics

Some withdrawal symptoms can be very severe. Withdrawal from alcohol can be life-threatening, “especially if delirium tremens occurs” (NLM). Other times, a person can have an extremely intense addiction to another drug or substance which can cause him or her to have strong symptoms and cravings. In these cases, an inpatient program is the best option.

Inpatient programs provide the individual with an environment that is controlled by medical professionals as well as a structured and safe place to undergo detox. Usually, there is also a therapy program included, and it is recommended that the patient continue the program after detox is complete, whether there or in another facility. If you feel your addiction is very severe or if the substance you’ve abused is known for high levels of uncomfortable, painful, and even dangerous withdrawal symptoms, consider an inpatient detox clinic.

Outpatient Detox Clinics

There are both inpatient and outpatient detox centers.

These clinics are the other side of the spectrum: you visit the clinic daily in order to receive your treatment and then leave the facility. According to the NIAAA, “the initial assessment, including intake history, physical examination, ordering of laboratory studies and the initiation of detoxification treatment, usually takes 1 to 2 hours on the first day.” After that, you can expect 15 to 30 minute sessions.

Outpatient clinics will usually have the same behavioral therapy sessions as inpatient detox clinics and will often require patients to attend them in order to receive treatment for their withdrawals.

Private Detox Clinics

Usually inpatient clinics, there are some detox facilities that are run by for-profit, private companies with the purpose of tending to patients’ privacies. Many people undergoing detox and rehabilitation don’t want everyone to know exactly what they’re going through, and these programs are meant for just that. They are rather expensive, but if it’s worth it to you, you can work through your detox in a more secluded facility.

Medical and Non-Medical Detox Clinics

Some clinics ascribe to the philosophy that the best way for a patient to detox from a substance addiction is to do it “cold turkey” or without the aid of other drugs. Many clinics, though, will use medications in order to ease a person through withdrawal symptoms. Opiate withdrawals, though not life-threatening, can be painful, and many detox clinics give patients other medications to soothe the more uncomfortable symptoms (like muscle pains and nausea). Depending on how you feel about medications as aids for withdrawal, you can choose either a medical or non-medical detox clinic.

Because of the wide range of possibilities, a person choosing a detox program needs to research the different types of clinics. SAMHSA lists detox centers all over the country that belong to all different classifications. Detox is not an easy process, and the decision to go to a clinic is a difficult one. But, if you want to get sober and end your dependency on drug abuse, detoxifying in the right clinic is a good way to start.