Does Alcohol Rehab Allows Visitors?

Yes, alcohol rehab visitation is allowed. But there’s a catch. You can visit your loved ones in rehab surely, but you must follow the rules and regulations.

Depending on circumstances and visitor policies, rehab officials will decide if you can meet your patient or not. 3 to 5.3 percent of violent crime is attributable to serious mental illness by alcohol and drugs. This shows the importance of rehab.

Why Visitor Policies Exist in Rehab

Visitor policies exist in rehab to provide guidance and support for patients and their families. Some of the reasons why visitor policies are important are:

Patient Privacy Protection

To protect your patients’ right to privacy, these rehab visitation rules are made. Addicted people may feel ashamed, embarrassed, or judged because of their issues. Most of the time, the patients don’t want anyone outside the rehab to know about their condition. These visitor policies ensure this right to privacy for patients and allow only the people favorable to the patients.

Uninterrupted Treatment Schedule

Interruptions are wrong, whether it’s rehab or anything else. Visitor policies are imposed to ensure patient progress and keep them on track. This limits how often and long anyone can come so patients can stay focused on their treatment goals.

Secure And Contraband-free Facility

Rehab is a drug-free environment, but there are many instances when outsiders have brought drugs for the rehab patients. This is entirely against rehab rules. And this can crash the whole treatment session. These rules are meant to stop people from bringing in anything affecting patients’ safety, health, and treatment.

Typical Alcohol Rehab Visitation Rules & Policies

Alcohol rehabs have strict rules and policies to ensure a sound patient environment. Some of the alcohol rehab visitation rules and regulations are:

Visitation Hours

Most of the alcohol rehabs do have specific hours for patient visits. Some rehabs offer 8 AM-10 PM, others may offer 10 AM-8 PM or 6 AM-6 PM. Visiting hours depend on the level and phase of treatment and availability of rehab staff, Yes, you can’t meet patients in rehab without an official team. They’ll provide personal space to talk with patients, but you’ll be constantly monitored.

Approved Visitor List

Rehabs do store a list of approved people for certain patients as per rehab visitation rules. For example, one or two of your family members, friends, sponsors, or other supportive people can be registered as approved visitors who can visit you at the rehab. This list is usually made after consulting with the patient, counselor, or therapist. This list can be updated anytime. Residential therapy might span months or years. So you might want to visit your loved ones at this time.

Supervised Visits

As I mentioned, if you visit someone in rehab, you’ll be constantly monitored by rehab staff. This is what is called supervised visits. Rehab centers provide these supervising officers to ensure the visits are beneficial and constructive for the patient’s recovery. This supervision can also minimize misunderstandings, miscommunications, conflicts, or arguments that could arise during the visit.

Length of Visits

Usually a 15 to 30-minute visit session is typical for rehabs. However, the on-spot staff could increase or decrease this, considering treatment progress, phase, patient’s emotional state, and readiness to interact with outsiders.

On-site VS Off-site

Rehabs offer both types of meeting facilities. On-site means you’re only allowed to meet patients within rehab facilities. This can be a rehab cafeteria, a garden, or a dedicated meetup space. On the other hand, off-site means this will be outside the rehab space.

Some rehabs offer meetups outside their boundary. This can be in a restaurant, park, or anything suitable. But remember, off-site visits require trust and responsibility from visitors to avoid messing up with patients and treatment.

Dos and Don’ts When Visiting Someone in Alcohol Rehab

Dos and Dont's when visiting someone in rehab

Meeting someone in rehab isn’t a regular cup of tea. Rehab visitation rules have some Dos and Don’ts while visiting, those are:

Dos

Respect rehab rules.
Communicate with empathy and compassion.
Listen to the patient without passing any judgment or criticism.
Encourage their progress by celebrating their achievement

Don’ts

Don’t bring any alcohol or drugs.
Don’t pressure the patient to quit the rehab program.
Don’t blame them for their condition.
Don’t expect something miraculous after going to rehab. It takes time to recover.

Benefits of Visiting Someone in Alcohol Rehab

Meeting patients in rehab isn’t only for communication or recreation. This can help with the treatments encouraging the patient for betterment. Some of the benefits are:

Connection and Support For Patient

Visit patients in rehab and support their journey. It can encourage them for betterment. They will feel safe and necessary to others and try their best to become sober again.

Increases Motivation For Recovery

Visiting patients can remind them why they are and what they have to do. They also have responsibilities and goals. It can also inspire them to keep working hard for what they’re striving for.

Visitors Can Learn About Addiction and Support

If you visit rehab, you’ll learn the nature of addiction, the challenges to recovery, and the ways to help someone in their recovery journey. This will help you to understand and encourage the patient more.

Opportunity To Rebuild Relationship

If your loved one did something wrong to you while they were in addiction, this will be a great opportunity to rebuild and reconnect. It can also give a chance to express feelings, apologize, forgive, and plan a better future.

The Challenges of Visiting Someone in Alcohol Rehab

Rehab days are hard to pass by. You may not want to witness the hardship with your own eyes. Challenges can include dealing with mixed emotions in alcohol rehab visitation. Some of the challenges are:

Witnessing Their Addiction

Visiting someone in rehab can be painful and difficult. You may see the physical and mental effects of addiction on your loved ones. In the long run, these memories can be horrifying and disturbing.

Dealing With Mixed Emotions

While you visit your loved one in rehab, their emotions can evoke badly, such as anger, sadness, guilt, shame, anxiety, or resentment. This can raise conflict between you and the patient.

Being Patient and Supportive

Patience is a thing that you may lose while visiting your patient in rehab seeing intolerable behavior as their actions aren’t in their control. As a visitor, you will have to cope with setbacks, relapses, or resistance from your loved one.