Alcohol rehab centers function to wean an alcohol addict away from the habit of alcohol and to help him or her to stay sober for the rest of their life. Alcohol rehab centers could be exclusively for the treatment of alcohol addiction or they could be centers that offer treatment for other substance addiction too.
Though consulting a doctor as an outpatient for an addiction problem is not wrong, to successfully eradicate an addiction problem, getting enrolled as an inpatient in an alcohol rehab facility is a must. While a doctor might suggest drugs to overcome the initial, painful withdrawals, he or she might not be able to help the addict to stay sober for a long period.
A short term outpatient treatment mode will not work for alcohol addicts because an addict needs to have the support system in place to help him or her cope with the emotional pressures they face immediately after their withdrawals. Not only that, an addict needs an environment which does not offer them any sort of temptation or reason to start drinking again.
In an inpatient alcohol rehab facility, the addict is first cleansed of the harmful toxins by detoxifying, and then guided through the withdrawal period (the most delicate period in addiction recovery) by trained and knowledgeable around the clock. This way, an alcohol addict has less of no chance of accessing alcohol. While there is no set time period of inpatient alcohol rehab programs, as the period is determined by the centers and might vary from person to person depending on the intensity of the addiction, a short term inpatient alcohol rehab program usually lasts around 30 days.