Individuals who want to maintain a certain amount of flexibility in their lives can take advantage of an outpatient rehab should they need rehab for substance abuse. Outpatient rehab makes it possible for the rehabilitation client to participate in rehabilitation services with the same commitment you might ordinarily have to consent to within an inpatient or residential drug and alcohol treatment center. This doesn't always work in the rehab client's favor however, particularly for those individuals who need to solve substantial substance abuse issues. So even though an outpatient rehab may seem like an expedient option, it isn't for everybody. People who decide on an outpatient rehab will ordinarily take part in meetings and take part in counseling and rehab services part-time each day or several days per week. This is helpful for those who have recently completed a more complete inpatient or residential program as an effective aftercare or maintenance step, and for someone with only a brief history of drug abuse which is really a very small number of clients. For an individual with more severe drug abuse and dependency problems, inpatient or residential drug treatment programs which provide rehab on a long-term basis are going to be the more advantageous rehab alternative.