Individuals who would like to maintain a lot of flexibility within their lives can engage in an outpatient rehab whenever they need rehabilitation for drug or alcohol abuse. Outpatient rehab makes it possible for the rehabilitation client to take part in treatment services with the same commitment you might normally have to agree to within an inpatient or residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. This doesn't often work in the treatment client's favor however, particularly for those individuals who need to solve substantial drug abuse issues. So while an outpatient rehab may seem like an opportune possibility, it isn't for everybody. Those that decide on an outpatient rehab will typically show up at meetings and be a part of therapy and rehabilitation services part-time each day or a few days per week. This is helpful for individuals who have just completed a far more thorough inpatient or residential program as a good aftercare or maintenance step, and someone with only a brief history of drug use which is usually a very small number of clients. For an individual with more serious drug abuse and dependency issues, inpatient or residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs which offer rehab over a long-term basis will probably be the more beneficial rehab alternative.