What is Mental Health Rehab and Why Would Someone Go?
In this article, Riverwalk Recovery will answer the question as to what is mental health rehab and much more. If you or someone you love is living with a mental health disorder, it is wise to become informed abou the treatment options. Mental health issues don’t usually solve themselves. But there is good reason to have hope. Millions of people with diagnosed mental health disorders lead healthy, happy productive lives. This is entirely possible as long as you’re willing to avail yourself of the help that is out there.
Even if a person sees a therapist or psychiatrist regularly, they can reach obstacles to progress. Other times they simply plateau. Progress in made in the beginning, but then they seem to be just getting by. The breakthroughs and epiphanies of the early days of treatment seem like a distant memory. If you’re asking what is mental health rehab, you’re on the right track here. Mental health rehab can serve not only to stabilize someone and get them started in recovery, but to help someone who is already in treatment get past roadblocks to progress. It is an invaluable tool for mental health wellness and recovery.
OK, I Know What Rehab is, But What is Mental Health Rehab?
When most people hear the term ‘rehab’ they almost always thing of one of two things (or both). They imagine drug and alcohol treatment at an addiction treatment center. Or they think about physical rehab, like the work someone might do with a physical therapist following surgery or recovery from an accident. To many of us the idea of mental health rehab doesn’t even come to mine. We’re hoping to change that by giving you some valuable information so you can see the inherent value in intensive treatment for psychiatric rehabilitation.
Simply put, it is similar to drug and alcohol treatment at a center. It usually consists of day treatment at the Partial Hospitalization (PHP) or Intensive Outpatient (IOP) level while a patient lives in residential housing nearby. In some more serious cases a person may need to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital for inpatient treatment. The PHP & IOP model with residential housing offers a pleasing alternative for people who would prefer to avoid the feeling of being “institutionalized” that can come with an inpatient psychiatric rehabilitation stay. It also tends to be significantly less expensive.
To recap, here are some features of mental health rehab at the PHP and IOP levels:
- You stay in a residential home setting, not a hospital or institution.
- More freedom of movement is allowed.
- Arranging scheduled visits from friends or family is easier.
- It tends to be much less expensive than inpatient psychiatric treatment.
- In many cases, your insurance will allow a longer length of treatment than you would have inpatient.
How Do I Know What Kind of Help We Need?
If you’re considering the question what is mental health rehab, chances are you may be close to making a decision. Riverwalk Recovery wants you or your loved one to get exactly the right kind of care. In some cases that can only be found by going to a psychiatric hospital or inpatient facility. It all depends on the person. Give our admissions department a call for a confidential evaluation, or just to ask some questions and we will be happy to explain the options for care.
Why Would I Go to a Rehab for Mental Health?
The entire point of mental health rehab is to help foster recovery so you can live your best life. We believe the best way to do this is by gaining a full understanding of your condition and gaining the knowledge and tools to manage it.
Here are some of the advantages mental health rehab has over simply seeing a therapist once or twice a month:
- You get a full day of treatment and therapy, 5 days a week to start.
- Opportunities to practice new recovery skills in a safe place are plentiful.
- Immersion in therapy tends to lead to breakthroughs and progress that would take months or years otherwise.
- If you are already in therapy, but you feel stuck in a rut, mental health rehab can really help jump start your recovery.
Conclusion
We hope this article was informative and answered your questions about mental health treatment. Now you should know the answer to the question “what is mental health rehab”. If you or someone you love is living with mental illness or an eating disorder, Riverwalk Recovery can help. Give us a call at (423) 264-2600 or reach out to us via our contact page here.