Anyone approaching the idea of going into a rehab for a residential stay is likely to be fairly apprehensive about what is involved and what the outcome is likely to be. Many people have an idea that the regime in a rehab is fairly strict, and that people often talk about a rehab feeling quite like a prison in some ways, albeit a very luxurious and open prison.
This is a somewhat simplistic generalisation and tends not to be true of the majority of residential rehabs. This generalisation comes from a sense that most rehabs do have fairly strict guidelines across a whole range of areas that affect the individual whilst they are in rehab.
The approach of the majority of rehabs that a client enters on a residential basis will normally be for about a period of 30 days. During this time they are living in somewhat of a bubble, which can both be a safe and a threatening experience.
The intent of a rehab is to help individuals begin the process of accepting that they have a problem with alcohol or drugs or both, and to begin the process of recovery.
To this end a rehab will take a view on what is needed to help the individual in this process, and this is where the litany of dos and don’ts tends to come in. The approach taken by a rehab varies widely as to how structured the environment needs to be, and this should be a major consideration when deciding which rehab should be approached with a view to entry.
Some rehabs will take a view that the individual needs to be challenged in many ways in order to accept the fact that they are an alcoholic. This starts with a fairly strict regime of what they are allowed to bring into the rehab by way of cellphones, laptops, iPads etc.
It is likely that this approach will mean the individual shares a room with another individual during their stay, as a matter of principle, to help break down the center of isolation that they may feel. In addition a rehab that adopts this type of approach is likely to have a fairly strict regime about what the individual can wear and what they cannot wear during their stay in rehab.
It is also possible that the rehab will take what they termed a holistic view of addiction, meaning that things like smoking and drinking coffee are banned during the individuals stay there.
If all this sounds a bit grim, you’re not alone. Many rehabs have realised that this type of approach puts so many people off that it’s bad for business. To that extent you’re likely to find differing levels of regimen amongst different rehabs concerning these areas and boundaries.