California Residential Drug Addiction and Alcoholism Recovery Resources

Of the types of drug and alcohol addiction treatment available to Californians, residential drug treatment shows the best outcomes for addicts in terms of maintaining long-term recovery and decreased instances of addiction relapse. The greater success found in residential drug treatment programs is most likely a consequence of the combination of treatment components and the length of residential programs.

As the name indicates, residential addiction treatment requires that clients live onsite at the treatment facility, unlike outpatient treatment. By having a client onsite, the treatment center’s staff can provide 24 hour a day supervision and support. Residential treatment also allows the treatment provider to educate as well as treat the recovering addict in what is termed a therapeutic community. A therapeutic community involves the individual client, the community of clients and staff in each person’s recovery.

Another typical component of residential treatment is the development of life skills, like maintaining a structured schedule to pattern positive behaviour and developing personal accountability. As drug addiction and alcoholism are chronic diseases, the disease becomes part of every aspect of an addicts life; family, professionally, socially and physically. While most treatment programs offer physical recovery from chemical dependency, residential programs offer additional skills training to rehabilitate clients to help them cope with adjusting to their life of sobriety.

Residential drug and alcohol addiction treatment is typically divided into two segments: Long Term Residential and Short Term Residential. Long term residential treatment usually lasts between 3-12 months. Short term residential lasts from 3 to 6 weeks.