Individuals who want to maintain a certain amount of flexibility within their lives can engage in an outpatient rehab whenever they need rehab for drug or alcohol abuse. Outpatient rehab will allow for the treatment client to take part in rehabilitation services with the same commitment you might ordinarily have to agree to in an inpatient or residential drug and alcohol rehab program. This doesn't always work in the rehab client's favor however, particularly for those clients who need to address substantial substance abuse problems. So even though an outpatient rehab might appear to be an opportune possibility, it isn't for everybody. People that decide on an outpatient rehab will ordinarily attend meetings and be a part of therapy and treatment services part-time every day or a few days each week. This is often helpful for many who have recently completed a much more comprehensive inpatient or residential program as a good aftercare or maintenance step, or for someone with only a brief history of drug use which is usually a really small percentage of clients. For an individual with more significant drug abuse and dependency problems, inpatient or residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs which provide rehabilitation over a long-term basis are going to be the more effective treatment choice.