What is the difference between inpatient and outpatient rehab?
The primary difference between inpatient and outpatient rehab is whether you live at the treatment facility during treatment or return home each day.
Inpatient rehabilitation (also called residential treatment) means you live at the facility for the duration of your treatment — typically 28, 60, or 90 days. You receive 24/7 support and supervision, structured programming throughout the day, and are removed from environmental triggers that may be associated with your substance use. Inpatient is generally recommended for severe addiction, unstable home environments, or when previous outpatient treatment has not been successful.
Outpatient rehabilitation encompasses a range of intensities: Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHP) at 25–30 hours per week; Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP) at 9–12 hours per week; and standard outpatient counseling at 1–3 sessions per week. Outpatient treatment allows you to maintain work, school, and family responsibilities while receiving treatment.
Neither is inherently better — the right level of care depends on the severity of the addiction, the safety of the home environment, co-occurring medical or psychiatric conditions, previous treatment history, and insurance coverage.
Many treatment journeys involve both: starting with inpatient/residential treatment for the intensive initial phase, then stepping down to PHP, IOP, and eventually standard outpatient as stability increases.
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How much does rehab cost in Georgia?
The cost of rehab in Georgia varies widely depending on the level of care, the facility, and whether you have insurance coverage.
Medical detox in Georgia typically costs $500–$2,000 per day without insurance. A 5–7 day medical detox can cost $2,500–$14,000 out of pocket.
Residential treatment in Georgia ranges from $5,000–$20,000 per month at private facilities. Some luxury facilities charge significantly more. State-funded programs and non-profit facilities offer significantly reduced rates — sometimes sliding scale or no cost — for uninsured or low-income residents.
Outpatient programs (PHP and IOP) are significantly less expensive: $250–$600 per day for PHP, and $100–$300 per session for IOP.
If you have insurance: Under federal law, commercial insurance, Medicaid, and Medicare are required to cover substance use disorder treatment. Georgia Medicaid (now Georgia Pathways to Coverage) covers detox, residential treatment, and outpatient programs for eligible residents. Call your insurance company to verify your specific benefits and get a pre-authorization before beginning treatment.
For uninsured Georgians: The Division of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) funds a network of community service boards offering reduced-cost and sliding-scale treatment. SAMHSA’s National Helpline (1-800-662-4357) can provide free referrals to low-cost programs in your area.
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What is dual diagnosis treatment?
Dual diagnosis treatment — also called co-occurring disorder treatment — refers to programs that simultaneously treat both a substance use disorder and a mental health condition within the same integrated treatment team.
Research shows that more than half of people with a substance use disorder also have a mental health condition, and vice versa. Common co-occurring combinations include depression and alcohol use disorder, anxiety and opioid addiction, PTSD and substance use, and bipolar disorder with stimulant use.
Traditionally, substance use and mental health were treated separately — often sequentially — which led to poorer outcomes as the untreated condition would trigger relapse in the other. Integrated dual diagnosis treatment addresses both conditions simultaneously, with the same team, using coordinated treatment planning.
Effective dual diagnosis programs include psychiatric assessment and ongoing medication management, integrated individual and group therapy (using CBT, DBT, and trauma-focused approaches), case management, and peer support from others with similar experiences.
In the Southeast, dual diagnosis treatment capacity has expanded significantly. Most major treatment centers now offer at least some dual diagnosis capability, though the quality and depth of mental health integration varies widely. When evaluating programs, ask specifically about the psychiatric staff-to-patient ratio and whether both conditions are addressed in the same clinical team.
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What does detox feel like?
What detox feels like depends heavily on which substance you are withdrawing from, how long you have been using, how much you have been using, and whether you receive medical support during the process.
Alcohol withdrawal begins within 6–24 hours of the last drink. Symptoms progress from anxiety, tremors, and sweating to potentially severe complications including seizures and delirium tremens (DTs) in the most serious cases. Medical detox manages these symptoms with benzodiazepines, fluids, and monitoring. With good medical care, alcohol detox is uncomfortable but manageable.
Opioid withdrawal typically begins 12–36 hours after the last opioid use (sooner with short-acting opioids, later with methadone or long-acting drugs). It feels like an extreme flu — muscle aches, sweating, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, insomnia, and intense craving. It is rarely medically dangerous but profoundly uncomfortable. Buprenorphine, clonidine, and other medications significantly reduce these symptoms.
Benzodiazepine withdrawal is similar to alcohol in its danger — seizures can occur days or even weeks after stopping, making medically supervised gradual tapering essential.
Methamphetamine withdrawal primarily produces intense fatigue, depression, increased appetite, and prolonged sleep — the body recovering from stimulant exhaustion.
With professional medical detox, all of these experiences are made significantly more manageable. Most people find that detox was not as bad as they feared, and that professional support made a critical difference.
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How do I help a family member who refuses to go to rehab?
Helping a loved one who refuses treatment is one of the most painful and complicated situations families face. There is no single approach that works for everyone, but several strategies have evidence behind them.
Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) is a research-backed approach that teaches family members how to communicate effectively with the person struggling with addiction, reinforce non-using behavior, allow natural consequences to occur without enabling, and encourage treatment at the right moment — without confrontation or ultimatums. Studies show CRAFT is significantly more effective at getting reluctant individuals into treatment than Al-Anon alone or traditional interventions.
Al-Anon and Nar-Anon provide peer support for families and help loved ones set healthy boundaries, understand addiction, and take care of their own wellbeing — regardless of whether the person agrees to treatment.
Professional intervention, when conducted by a certified intervention specialist (ARISE Network, ARISE Intervention, etc.), can be effective when done compassionately and without coercion. The old-style ‘surprise ambush’ intervention model has largely been replaced by more collaborative approaches.
Ultimately, you cannot force someone to get better, but you can create conditions where getting help becomes more likely — and where you are not inadvertently enabling continued use.
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What is the difference between PHP and IOP?
PHP (Partial Hospitalization Program) and IOP (Intensive Outpatient Program) are both intensive outpatient treatment levels, but differ significantly in time commitment and appropriate use cases.
A Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) requires attendance 5 days per week for 5–6 hours per day, totaling approximately 25–30 hours of treatment per week. PHP is the highest level of outpatient care and is appropriate for people stepping down from residential treatment, or for those with high treatment needs who cannot do inpatient but need more than IOP.
An Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) typically runs 3 days per week for 3 hours per session, totaling 9–12 hours per week. IOP is more flexible and better suited for individuals who need to maintain work, school, or family responsibilities while receiving intensive treatment.
Both levels of care include individual therapy, group therapy, psychoeducation, and in many programs, family involvement. The choice between PHP and IOP depends on clinical assessment, the presence of co-occurring disorders, social support at home, and insurance authorization.
In the Southeast, PHP and IOP programs are widely available across major metros and increasingly available in smaller cities through both in-person and telehealth formats.
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What is medication-assisted treatment (MAT)?
Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) is the use of FDA-approved medications, combined with behavioral therapies and counseling, to treat substance use disorders — primarily opioid use disorder and alcohol use disorder.
For opioid use disorder, the three main MAT medications are: buprenorphine (Suboxone, Subutex), methadone, and naltrexone (Vivitrol). Each works differently — buprenorphine and methadone reduce cravings and prevent withdrawal by partially or fully activating opioid receptors, while naltrexone blocks opioids entirely and prevents any pleasurable effect if opioids are used.
For alcohol use disorder, FDA-approved medications include naltrexone, acamprosate (Campral), and disulfiram (Antabuse).
MAT is not ‘trading one drug for another.’ It is evidence-based medicine that treats a chronic brain disease. Studies show MAT reduces illicit drug use, decreases overdose deaths by 50% or more, reduces criminal activity, improves treatment retention, and decreases disease transmission.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) endorses MAT as the gold standard for opioid use disorder. In the Southeast, access to MAT has expanded significantly — including telehealth MAT for rural areas in states like Kentucky, West Virginia, and rural Georgia and Tennessee.
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What is the hardest drug to quit?
The drugs considered hardest to quit are opioids (heroin and fentanyl), alcohol, benzodiazepines, methamphetamine, nicotine, and cocaine. Each creates dependence through different mechanisms, making them difficult to stop for different reasons.
Opioids and heroin are often cited as the most difficult to quit because of the intensity of physical withdrawal, the psychological craving, and the high overdose risk — especially with fentanyl now contaminating much of the illicit drug supply. Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) with buprenorphine or methadone dramatically improves outcomes for opioid addiction.
Alcohol and benzodiazepines are unique in that their withdrawal can be medically dangerous — potentially causing seizures and death — making medically supervised detox essential. Despite this, their social acceptance can make it harder for people to recognize the severity of their dependence.
Methamphetamine withdrawal does not produce the same physical symptoms as opioids or alcohol, but the profound psychological depression and cognitive impairment during early recovery make it extremely challenging.
No matter which substance you or your loved one is struggling with, effective treatment exists. Professional treatment dramatically improves outcomes compared to attempting to quit alone.
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Is rehab covered by insurance?
Yes, rehab is covered by most health insurance plans in the United States. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) require that commercial insurance plans cover substance use disorder and mental health treatment at the same level as medical and surgical care.
Medicaid covers addiction treatment in all states — including medical detox, residential treatment, outpatient counseling, and medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder. This is particularly important in Southeast states where a significant portion of residents rely on Medicaid.
Medicare covers many forms of addiction treatment, including inpatient psychiatric care and outpatient counseling. However, Medicare generally does not cover methadone for addiction treatment (though it does cover buprenorphine prescribed in office settings).
The specifics of what your plan covers depend on your insurer, your plan, and the facility’s network status. Always call your insurance company and the facility before starting treatment to verify benefits, get a pre-authorization if required, and understand your out-of-pocket costs.
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How long is typical drug rehab?
Typical drug rehab programs range from 28 days to 90 days or longer, depending on the substance, severity of the addiction, and individual needs. Most residential programs offer 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day options. Research consistently shows that longer engagement in treatment produces better long-term outcomes — a 90-day program is significantly more effective than 28 days for most people with moderate to severe addiction.
Short-term programs (28–30 days) are often a starting point, but many clinicians recommend viewing them as the beginning of treatment rather than the whole treatment. Following residential care, most people benefit from stepping down to a Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) and then an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), extending the overall treatment period to 3–6 months or longer.
For opioid use disorder specifically, medication-assisted treatment (MAT) may continue for a year or more after initial detox and residential treatment. The goal is not to rush through treatment but to build the skills, support systems, and neurological changes needed for lasting recovery.