How Long You Need to Stay In Rehab for a Successful Recovery?
If you know that you have a drink or drug misuse problem, often one of the biggest concerns is how long it will take to recover. Whilst this is a legitimate concern, your first priority should be conquering the disease, not putting a time limit on it.
The results we have recorded from our evidence-based programme have shown that a minimum of 28 days in treatment has meant more of our patients have achieved long-lasting sobriety.
Attending a treatment centre like Castle Craig will see you be in treatment for a minimum of 4 weeks.
Average Treatment Times for Addiction
There is no short, direct answer to how long rehab can take. Some may need more time in therapy than others, or some may need to be spending longer in a detox facility. In truth, it all depends on your unique condition and any other mental health difficulties we might be treating alongside your addiction.
Important considerations for timescales
- The severity of your dependency
- What type of substance you are struggling with (drugs can take longer)
- Any co-occurring mental health disorders or dual diagnoses
- How long you have been using
- Therapies prescribed for your recovery
Compassion & Respect
Common Residential Rehab Durations
Typically, a stay in a rehab facility can be anywhere from 28 days to 90 days. But in reality, it’s all down to the patient. In general, the more severe the addiction and the less determined you are to be to succeed, the longer it’s likely to take.
7 Days
This length of treatment is not something we would ever recommend here at Castle Craig, often in other facilities that are used by those with very mild addictions, or those who have had previous stints in rehab and feel in danger of a relapse.
There are even some dedicated detox facilities, which might offer 7-day treatments, again this might be good for those who have recently relapsed. However, it is our medical opinion that detox and therapy go hand-in-hand to treat substance misuse.
14 days
A 14-day rehab programme will work at getting you detoxed from drugs or alcohol and building the initial foundations of therapy. Again, we do believe this is too short a time frame to seriously address addiction and mental health as some people may still experience some withdrawal symptoms up until this point, which might make things more difficult.
3 weeks
Often the length of stay in a Treatment centre is dictated by the patient’s times availability or budget. Here at Castle Craig, we offer 3 weeks in our residential facility and then our continuing care package of online therapy for 24 weeks – this means we can get you in, assess your condition, get you detoxed, and then begin the therapeutic strategies to help you stay sober. We can offer a 21-day physical rehab stay followed by online therapy and continuing support.
28 days – 35 days
This is probably one of the most common rehab lengths, but it’s not because the programmes are seen to be the optimal amount of time.
In fact, 28 days are often the limit that insurance companies will cover you for, so over the years, it has become the most popular length of stay.
Through our independent research, we have found that 35 days provides strong results than shorter rehab stays. The main reason for this, which many are not aware of beforehand, is that detoxification can take a considerable amount of time.
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Depending on your addiction and its severity, you can spend up to 11 days or more in our dedicated detox facility, which basically makes up for half of your time in rehab.
Here at Castle Craig, we want to have an adequate amount of time to meet you, assess your condition, complete detox, engage in 12 Step therapy and individual therapy, and tackle your underlying mental health needs.
This means you get essential time with qualified addiction specialist therapists who can assess your condition and prescribe the best course of treatments to help you get better.
The few extra days mean you get more time in therapy and more time to become the best version of yourself.
6 Weeks +
Some facilities do not allow for a long stay or only allow patients to attend their facility for a certain period. Here at Castle Craig, we have no limitations on how long somebody can stay with us – it’s your journey and it can take as long as you need to recover.
Our psychiatrists would often recommend that 10-12 weeks, which is what we would describe as optimal as it can give the best chance of sustained recovery.
Our patients often stay for five weeks and they usually extend their stay because they (and their loved-one) see the changes that have been made and they begin to realise the extra weeks can help them progress even further.
Free Assessments
The only way to really answer your question of how long you should stay in rehab is to talk to an admissions expert about it. They have the skills and expertise to quickly assess your situations and advise you on what’s best for you, or for your loved one to do.
We can help. Book a free addiction screening here.
No two treatments will be the same
There will be countless considerations that can impact your progress, so there really is no point comparing yourself to those who have progressed through rehab quickly. Don’t measure your success against the success of others, rather, focus on you, your time, and putting things right!
