Making The Choice

One of the hardest choices I have ever made in my entire life was to choose to go to residential treatment. This is something that I fought for multiple years as I struggled to accept the severity of my illness and my need for a program like that as well as the feasibility of it. But when I made the leap, it made all the difference. So let's look at residential and short-term hospitalization, the benefits of both and what each has to offer and why residential treatment is sometimes necessary.

Residential treatment vs short-term hospitalization:

First, we will take a look at short-term hospitalization.

• Short-term hospitalization is usually for crisis stabilization. What this means is that this is what handles short-term major issues like suicide attempts, suicidal thoughts, and severe mania. Hospitalization is for people who pose a risk to themselves or to another person or who are extremely unstable. 
• Short-term hospitalization is just that, short term. People usually stay in the hospital for 5-10 days. 
• Short-term hospitalization is used to do things like make medication changes and provide group therapy and coping skills. 

Next, we will look at residential treatment. 

• Residential treatment is generally for a longer period of time, from 6 weeks to 6 months+. 
• Residential treatment looks at both core issues as well as coping skills.
• Residential treatment can be focused on one specific type of issue, like addiction or trauma. 
• Residential treatment is generally more personalized in nature. There are things like individual therapists, individual treatment goals, and personalized program tracks. 
• Residential treatment can include crisis stabilization and medication management, but some residential treatment centers require that patients be at some level of safety before entering their program. 

For me personally, I have had over 20 short term hospitalizations, most of them occurring over a three year period. The amount of hospitalizations that I had and the fact that they were over a short period of time indicated that I needed more intense treatment than just the short term hospitalization. 

For many people, the amount of hospitalizations, the severity of symptoms, and the frequency of symptoms can all lead to a decision of whether or not to consider residential treatment. Residential treatment offers many extra services and benefits that are not offered in short term stabilization hospitalizations. 

Part of the choice would also be insurance. There are some residential treatment locations that take different insurances and there are many that are self-pay only. It is all dependent on the specific treatment center and the specific insurance a person has. For me personally, I was able to attend a residential treatment center through my insurance. 

Another aspect of the choice would be whether or not the person is ready mentally for residential treatment. Many locations require some level of safety before admission (e.g. can be suicidal, but not actively). It is also important to look at the person's individual recovery and see if it is the right time for them. Are they willing to accept treatment? Are they going to put the work into it? Are they ready for the challenge that residential treatment presents? All of these questions have to be taken into consideration when making the choice for residential treatment. 

Overall, residential treatment centers can make a dramatic difference in someone's life. They can change a person's course of life and the direction that they are going. They are built for intense treatment to make differences in a person's mental health. Personally, I think if it's possible to go to one, then it's something to consider. It made all the difference for me.