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What is rehab?

Rehab is the shortened term for rehabilitation. There are many different forms of rehab service, but in this context we are referring to rehab for addictive illness.

In the UK, rehab usually refers to residential psychological treatment which teaches the patient new methods of interacting with others without the use of alcohol or drugs.
There are various types of rehab programme - twelve step rehab programmes, therapeutic community rehabs, religious based rehabs, and medical model rehabs. The commonest form of rehab in the UK is twelve step.

All rehabs tend to share a number of key features. Residents must be drug and alcohol free (apart from tobacco); rehabs provide a structured programme of psychological, educational and social therapy, which aims at preparing the alcoholic or addict to manage better an alcohol free life back in society; rehab programme lengths vary between 1 and 9 months. Many rehabs will provide detoxification in-house when this is necessary, in advance of commencement of the rehab programme.

Residential rehab versus community (home) rehab

As for in-patient detoxification, residential rehab appears to present a higher probability of successful outcome than does community based rehab. A 1996 follow-up study, conducted as part of the National Treatment Outcome Research Study (NTORS) indicated the following (Gossop M et al, 1999): When compared to the community services in the NTORS project, residential rehab services achieved comparable outcomes, but were treating clients with more severe patterns of addiction, thus indicating greater effectiveness of residential as compared to community rehab.

Duration of rehab programme

Also in the NTORS study it was found that compared to early leavers from rehab, those retained at least 28 days in short rehab programmes, and 90 days in longer rehab programmes were four times less likely to relapse than others. The issue of retention in rehab treatment is central to effectiveness, and can be seen as a function of how the service relates to its clients, rather than the reverse. Rehabs which actively engage with clients, provide supportive environments and well structured programmes, which are clear about their policies and their therapies, and which tailor their activities (or at least allow residents to do so) to individual needs produce better outcomes.

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