Individuals who would like to maintain a lot of flexibility in their lives can engage in an outpatient rehab whenever they need rehabilitation for drug or alcohol abuse. Outpatient rehab enables the rehab client to take part in treatment services with the same commitment one would usually have to agree to in an inpatient or residential drug treatment facility. This doesn't often 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 a convenient option, it isn't for everyone. Those that do choose an outpatient rehab will usually show up at meetings and take part in therapy and rehabilitation services on a part-time basis on a daily basis or a few days weekly. This is helpful for individuals who have just completed a more thorough inpatient or residential program as a good aftercare or maintenance step, and for someone with only a brief history of drug use which is really a really small number of clients. For someone with more significant drug abuse and dependency problems, inpatient or residential drug and alcohol treatment facilities which offer rehabilitation on a long-term basis will be the more advantageous rehab choice.