Finding Lasting Recovery at a Heroin Rehab Center

Written by: Editorial Staff

Last updated on May 25, 2021

For many individuals struggling to overcome addiction to heroin, a heroin rehab center is a facility where they can receive the full continuum of care. Options may include different treatment approaches, from detoxification and medication-assisted treatment to an integrated approach to rehabilitation designed to help individuals with a heroin addiction quit and get off heroin for good, as well as achieve personal growth and start to make healthier life choices.

Key Features of a Heroin Rehab Center

How do rehab centers treat heroin addiction? The heroin drug rehab process can vary greatly depending on the individual’s needs.¹ While the ultimate goal of helping individuals quit and get off heroin is commonly universal, the ways in which rehab centers treat heroin addiction can be entirely different.¹

Care plan components within a heroin rehab facility include:¹

• Assessment.
• Evidence-based treatment.
• Substance use monitoring.
• Clinical and case management.
• Recovery support programs.
• Continuing care.

Individuals struggling with heroin use should explore their rehab options to find a center for outpatient or inpatient heroin rehab that best matches their needs.

Generally speaking, rehab centers strive to provide patients with a range of care within a tailored treatment program and follow-up options so as to address all of their needs, not just their addiciton.¹ Rehab centers focus on helping individuals quit heroin in the long term by:²

• Treating withdrawal.
• Helping patients stay drug-free and in treatment.
• Preventing relapse.

Medication-assisted detoxification is used to treat withdrawal, and it is usually the first line of treatment.² The purpose of this stage in the recovery process is to help individuals get off heroin in a safe, controlled setting and prepare for the heroin rehab process, which focuses on helping patients stay drug-free and in recovery.¹ Detoxification alone without subsequent treatment is generally thought to lead to resumption of drug use.² 

Heroin Rehab: A Tailored Response to a Complex Issue

When implemented in stages and over an adequate period of time, a comprehensive heroin addiction treatment plan at outpatient or inpatient heroin rehab facilities has potential for long-term success. 

To understand heroin rehabilitation within a comprehensive plan and why staying in rehab long enough is critical to its overall success, we have to rewind and take a closer look at the processes which are put into motion when a person takes opioids such as heroin. Below is an overview of the mechanism that leads to heroin addiction and its effect on the brain and behavior:²

• Under the powerful effect of heroin, the brain’s reward circuit becomes filled with dopamine, a neurotransmitter that triggers a surge of happiness and relieves anxiety and stress leaving the person overwhelmed with satisfaction and relaxation.
• With repeated exposure over time, the sensitivity of euphoria and pleasure networks in the brain is diminished and the person requires increasingly larger amounts of heroin to experience the same level of pleasure and not experience the extremely unpleasant symptoms of withdrawal.
• Once the effect of the drug wears off, the person experiences cravings which gradually intensify with the increase of intake, making it increasingly difficult for them to quit heroin.
• The use of heroin becomes habitual, and users quickly develop tolerance which creates a pathway to addiction: as a result of their tolerance to the drug, users need higher and more frequent doses of the drug, which brings them into addiction, the final and most severe stage of Substance Use Disorder or SUD (formerly referred to as substance dependence or substance abuse).

Since each person struggling with heroin addiction is unique, they need to be assigned an individualized treatment plan and have a unique rehabilitation experience. Additionally, it is important to differentiate between detoxification and rehabilitation services.³ 

While treatment in inpatient heroin rehab centers combines both of these services, some other programs focus on one or the other. Detoxification is only the first stage of the heroin drug rehab process which lasts a lifetime, but when successful, rehabilitation enables the person to regain independence and control over their life. 

Find Comprehensive Care and Support in a Heroin Rehab Center

There are many dimensions to heroin addiction. It is a destructive force that can take a toll on a person’s health and wellbeing and disrupt their life. For this reason, heroin addiction rehab should incorporate multiple components and address all the needs of a person, not just their substance abuse and addiction. 

Patients at heroin rehab centers should have access to a range of services aimed at helping them modify their attitudes on drug use, adopt changes in behavior, increase healthy life skills and persist with other forms of treatment, such as medication.¹

What Happens in Heroin Rehab?

The purpose of rehabilitation is not only to stop drug abuse and deal with addiction as a chronic disease, but also to provide the person with individualized care, support, and monitoring. The main goal is to enable the person to not only get off heroin permanently but also begin to function as a productive member of their family, workplace, or community at large.⁴ 

In order for a person with a heroin addiction to start meaningful recovery in a rehab facility, they must go through the detoxification stage before proceeding to rehabilitation. Instead of weaning off heroin gradually, patients undergo supervised detox to get rid of heroin. They also receive tailored Medication-Assisted Treatment which relies on buprenorphine, methadone or naltrexone.⁵

Rehabilitation, recovery, and growth are the desired outcome of the rehabilitation portion of the treatment individuals go through in outpatient and inpatient heroin rehabilitation centers.⁶

What Is Inpatient Heroin Rehab?

Inpatient heroin rehab is suitable for individuals who meet certain diagnostic criteria. However, due to changes in insurance coverage, state-funded inpatient rehab is no longer as common as it used to be.³

The severity of a person’s heroin abuse and history can determine the level of care someone needs. For example, someone with a mild addiction might benefit from a less restrictive outpatient program. On the other hand, someone with a severe addiction may need the 24-hour medical supervision and live-in care that an inpatient program provides.

What Does Inpatient Rehab Consist Of?

Treatment in an inpatient rehab facility consists of medically supervised detoxification and rehabilitation services provided 24/7 for a certain period of time.⁶

What Are the Benefits of Inpatient Rehab Treatment Centers?

Securing patient safety during detoxification is the number one benefit of inpatient rehab treatment centers. Namely, treatment starts with a medically supervised detoxification and takes place in a controlled environment. In such a setting, experienced and qualified professionals can supervise the rehabilitation process. 

Inpatient rehab programs are also beneficial for persons who also have a co-occuring mental disorder or another serious medical problem. Additionally, vulnerable groups of patients such as adolescents can benefit from the structure of inpatient treatment.³

What Are Some Common Obstacles in Heroin Rehabilitation?

The first attempt at rehabilitation may not be successful and patients may not be willing to cooperate and follow through. One of the main obstacles inpatient, outpatient, and residential rehab centers struggle to overcome is how to reduce the number of users who discontinue treatment at some point in the program.⁴ This is why inpatient heroin rehab centers need to put exceptional effort into keeping the patients motivated and engaged in their own recovery.

Overcoming the symptoms of heroin withdrawal may be a challenging experience. However, arrangements can be made to facilitate it and have users go through a controlled, medically-assisted detoxification process in a safe, controlled environment. Overcoming long-term drug abuse, on the other hand, is a lifelong battle, which is what heroin rehab centers strive to prepare their users for.

How Does a Heroin Rehab Center Work?

Heroin rehabilitation programs often entail medication-assisted therapy in a safe, controlled, and monitored environment. However, their key focus is the behavioral aspect. The desired goal of heroin rehab centers is to help individuals modify their behavior after they quit heroin in order to overcome their heroin addiction and start a drug-free life. 

Rehab should teach recovering individuals to acquire healthy stress and trigger management strategies and adopt new, healthy habits to stay off heroin in the long term. Throughout the process, the support staff at the center reinforce these individuals’ positive behaviors through a mindful action plan.

What to Look For in an Inpatient Heroin Rehab?

When looking for an inpatient heroin rehab program, it is important to find one that offers a full continuum of care and takes steps to implement personalized treatment options. A comprehensive tailored treatment program in a rehab center, whether in an inpatient and outpatient setting, consists of the following steps:¹

• Detoxification
• Behavioral counseling
• Medication as maintenance therapy
• Evaluation and treatment for co-occurring mental health issues
• Long-term follow-up care upon discharge

How Long Does Heroin Rehab Take?

When it comes to heroin rehab, good outcomes are contingent on the adequate length of program participation.⁴ It is impossible to predetermine the optimal length of a person’s stay in a rehab facility and the duration of their follow-up care. This is because everyone makes progress at a different pace, regardless of their history and other factors. Even if they are cooperative and want to quit heroin, they have a difficult journey ahead, which is why they need to be in a supportive environment such as an inpatient heroin rehab center which has the capacity for a full continuum of care recovering individuals need.

However, it is still possible to estimate the minimum period of program participation required for effectiveness and a positive outcome. This typically depends on the program and rehab facility type. 

For instance, heroin rehabilitation which incorporates the use of maintenance drugs should last a minimum of 12 months.⁴ Maintenance therapy combined with ongoing work on relapse prevention with the rehab center’s support can continue to be beneficial for years.

Upon a person’s arrival at a heroin rehab center, the staff will gather all the relevant information in order to make an accurate initial assessment and evaluate program duration.

How Long Is Inpatient Heroin Rehab?

Patients in an inpatient heroin rehab facility receive a high level of care 24/7, but every individual progresses through rehab at various rates. So, there is no predetermined length of treatment. 

Namely, how long the program will last depends on multiple factors: individual needs, medical necessity, level of progress, and others. Inpatient rehab can last for several days or weeks, whereas residential treatment programs, a type of inpatient treatment, can span months or even over a year.³

It may be possible to evaluate the duration of an inpatient heroin rehab program based on the initial assessment of an individual’s condition. However, the duration will ultimately depend on findings based on an ongoing assessment of the patient’s progress. Additionally, inpatient rehab is normally implemented with long-term follow-up care, which reaffirms that rehabilitation is a lifelong process.³

Even upon finishing their rehab process within the facility, individuals may need time to adapt to this new way of life. In some instances, individuals who leave inpatient heroin rehab centers may require transitional care. 

How to Help a Heroin User After Rehab?

It is important to understand that persons leaving a controlled environment such as inpatient heroin addiction rehab centers may still need to use either naltrexone or medication-assisted treatment (buprenorphine or methadone).⁵ 

As far as Medication-Assisted Treatment or MAT goes, addiction specialists working with recovering individuals will make a final assessment regarding the permissible take-home dose of methadone or buprenorphine.⁵ Balance must be reached between benefits and risks.

The purpose of this therapy is to support the individual on their road to recovery by helping them get off heroin and giving them stability without compromising their rehabilitation goals. However, the prerequisite is that they have demonstrated responsibility in meeting requirements and showed positive changes in behavior and commitment to recovery.

In addition to continuing their medication therapy, many recovering individuals will still need assistance. For instance, they may need guidance on relapse prevention and other specialized services from support representatives and heroin addiction professionals, as well as from persons in their immediate surroundings. 

How Much Does Inpatient Heroin Rehab Cost?

The cost of inpatient heroin rehab depends on:

• The treatment provider.
• The range of services included in the program.
• Facility location.
• Individual’s insurance coverage.

To receive a cost estimate, contact a support representative of your desired inpatient heroin rehab center.

How to Find an Inpatient Heroin Rehab Center Near Me?

Contact your desired heroin rehab center’s admissions navigator to find out more about the steps in the inpatient heroin rehab process and establish if it is the right choice for you or your loved one.

Let’s verify your coverage for treatment at an American Addiction Centers location. Your information is always confidential.