Individuals who want to maintain a lot of flexibility in their lives can engage in an outpatient rehab should they need treatment for substance abuse. Outpatient rehab enables the rehab client to take part in rehab services with the same commitment you might normally have to consent to within an inpatient or residential drug rehabilitation facility. This doesn't always work in the rehabilitation client's favor however, particularly for those individuals who need to resolve substantial substance abuse issues. So even though an outpatient rehab may seem like a convenient possibility, it isn't for everybody. Those who do decide on an outpatient rehab will typically attend meetings and take part in counseling and rehab services on a part-time basis every day or a few days per week. This is often helpful for many who have just completed a much more comprehensive inpatient or residential program as an effective aftercare or maintenance step, or for someone with just a brief history of drug use which is really a very small percentage of clients. For somebody with more significant drug abuse and dependency problems, inpatient or residential drug rehabilitation programs which provide treatment on a long-term basis are going to be the more advantageous rehab alternative.