Many experts disagree on whether certain types of addiction treatment are more effective for alcoholism than others. Some people believe that everyone should enter a residential rehab facility, while others claim this is not always necessary for recovery. Research studies that have compared residential rehab facilities and outpatient treatment centers have come to different conclusions, which fuels the debate.

Most people agree that more intense addiction treatment options work best across the board. This way, there is a much reduced risk of relapsing into full-blown alcoholism in the future. However, inpatient treatment may be overkill for those who have only suffered from addiction for a short time. Living in an addiction treatment center is probably not necessary for every addict to recover.

One of the studies comparing treatment programs found that alcohol detox in outpatient and inpatient treatment centers was equally effective. However, this only evaluated the alcohol detox period and not long-term success. This study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, was called “Comparative Effectiveness and costs of inpatient and outpatient detoxification of patients with mild-to-moderate alcohol withdrawal syndrome.

Other research in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol showed that the outcomes of addicts at an outpatient addiction program in a hospital and those in a residential treatment center were the same. Also, studies have shown that rehab centers are generally more effective than using only support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous. A support group can be a wonderful help during and after a more intense treatment program, however, and it may be enough for less sever alcoholism problems.

However, others argue that it’s very important to know what the long-term effects of a treatment program are, not just what happens during treatment and immediately after. Many people agree the chances of relapsing in the future are much more likely when a short-term or outpatient rehab center is used.

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