What is the Primary Purpose of Salt Lake City Inpatient Drug and Alcohol Rehab Centers?
- Ben Pearson
- Jan 25, 2018
- 10 min read
Updated: Aug 11

When facing the complex journey of addiction recovery, finding the right information and resources is crucial. We understand the overwhelming feeling of navigating various treatment options, and we're here to provide clarity and guidance.
This article will help you understand the rehabilitation process, empowering you to make informed decisions about your path to recovery, especially in the Salt Lake City area.
What is the primary purpose of inpatient drug and alcohol rehab in Salt Lake City?
Inpatient rehab aims to remove individuals from their familiar environments, offering 24/7 professional care in a dedicated facility. This helps eliminate stress, remove temptations, and prevent relapse, especially for severe or long-standing addictions.
The information above is just the beginning of your journey to understanding addiction treatment. Keep reading to learn more about the different stages of rehabilitation, types of facilities, and what to expect during your recovery process.
Information About Salt Lake City Inpatient Drug and Alcohol Rehab Centers and Nearby Facilities
If you have a major addiction or even if you just think you do but you’re not sure, then the first step for you is gaining information. You need to know firstly if you have an addiction, secondly how serious it is, and then you’ll want to know all of the details pertaining to your addiction and what the choices are for you if you’re seeking recovery or rehabilitation in Utah or more specifically in Salt Lake City, Utah and the immediate surrounding area.
There are more than 60 organizations in the Greater Salt Lake City area that offer some kind of treatment or rehabilitation programs for recovering addicts. Each one is different in some way and offer a confusing menu of options for incoming patients. The treatment or rehab options offered in these programs depend a lot on the patient, his particular addiction, the seriousness or level of the addiction, and his willingness and ability to pay for his program or if he has insurance that will cover the cost.
The purpose of this article is to explain the entire process of a recovery and rehabilitation program, what it consists of, what the options are, and what to include and what to avoid. By the end of this article you should have all of your questions answered and be able to make a solid research effort into treatment offers and be able to make an informed decision about what is the best one for you.
What happens when you go into a rehab program for an addiction?
We’ll talk about the overall recovery and treatment programs in great detail but first we need to talk about two terms: Detox and Rehab, or detoxification and rehabilitation. People sometimes get confused and think that detox is the whole treatment and all they need. That’s not true… Detox is just a part of the overall treatment… a critical and an extremely important part.
Detoxification
Detox is an integral part of any treatment program for an addict. Whether it’s a substance abuse or alcohol, the body must be detoxified and all traces of the substance naturally removed from the body.
Because detox often involves withdrawal symptoms and can be quite uncomfortable, a medical professional should be involved as severe symptoms can often require medical care or special medications to ease the withdrawal symptoms.
Detox usually completes itself within a few days but in some cases it can take months to be completely free and those difficult cases require very close attention and care.
Rehabilitation
The noun rehabilitation comes from the Latin prefix re-, meaning “again” and habitare, meaning “make fit.”
When someone has a crippling addiction and their life is in disrepair and needs to be restored, they need rehabilitation. People seek relief from their addiction and look for a rehabilitation program to restore their health and learn to live without drugs or other addictive substances or behaviors.
Types of Rehab Facilities
Rehab treatment programs vary depending on their organization, structure, and beliefs. They can offer inpatient services only, outpatient services only, or usually you will find they offer combinations of both types.
The organizations offering the services can be anything from a private or family owned, Religion based and operated by a church or religious organization such as the LDS programs commonly found in Utah and the greater Salt Lake City area, a hospital or clinic, or a legitimate licensed business entity.
Any or all of these organizations will be licensed by the State of Utah and will have been carefully inspected and approved prior to licensing and will have licensed Professional staff and inspected and approved facilities.
Steps of the Addiction Rehab Process
Specific steps in an addiction rehabilitation process can vary depending on the type of addiction, the chosen treatment plan, and the addict seeking help.
There are some Key Elements that are common to most recovery processes:
Intake
Detoxification (detox).
Rehabilitation (rehab).
Recovery
Let’s explore these key elements.
Intake
Intake is evaluation. It’s the time for deciding if a particular rehab center is a good fit for you and also they will want to decide if you are a good fit for them. You will look at their facility and programs, maybe meet the professionals there, analyze their program details, and see if it works for you. They will be looking at you, your addiction, and your commitment to work hard to make the treatment successful.
Important Questions to ask a treatment center when evaluating if it is the right fit for you or your loved one.
This is where you get to ask the questions that are most important to you. Grab the free download above to get a list of the most important questions to ask. It’s a free download.
The rehabilitation and treatment center will have some questions for you too; they may also want you to take part in some diagnostic tests and a screening.
The Intake stage is where you will design a treatment plan and see how it can be custom optimized to you and your particular needs. They will want to understand the level and seriousness of your addiction, your personal abuse history, family history and any evidence of addictions within the family, and most importantly the financial arrangements for treatment.
Detoxification
The important first part of any drug and alcohol treatment program is detoxification. It’s not an option… it’s a necessity!
Detox is where all traces of the drug or alcohol are carefully removed from the body. It can happen gradually over a small space of time or it might take longer. It depends on the severity of your addiction. In some cases with severe withdrawal reactions and symptoms certain medications and treatments are needed to manage the withdrawal and keep you comfortable and stable
“Since detox for certain individuals and substances can be potentially very severe — and in some cases, deadly — it’s not advised for individuals to detox on their own at home.”
The severity of the detox process depends mainly on an individual’s unique physical makeup and health condition, the particular substance that was being used and for how long.
Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation is where you get to the core of your problem. You will dig down and discover the reasons behind your addiction and learn to address those issues so you can effectively move on with your life without going back to old habits and addictive behavior.
Make Sure the Program You Choose Meets Your Needs!
If you asked those questions we gave you and carefully picked the perfect treatment and rehabilitation program … one that fits you… you’re more likely to hang in there with that program all the way to its end and give yourself a great chance to rebuild your life and experience long-term health and stability.
Inpatient Treatment
The governing principle behind the Inpatient treatment program is to remove the addict from their old familiar surroundings and into a treatment facility… one that offers their particular rehabilitation needs and one that offers 24/7 professional care.
This in-house treatment eliminates unneeded stress, removes the patient from temptation, and eliminates the ability to relapse. An inpatient treatment program is frequently recommended for individuals with serious long-standing addictions or a dual diagnosis… coexisting medical and mental health conditions.
Inpatient treatments are usually offered at hospitals or residential facilities licensed for that type of program. The hospital offers a more intensive, around-the-clock access to professional medical services which are sometimes needed in serious cases. Salt Lake City Inpatient Drug and Alcohol Rehab Centers offer these types of intensive programs.
A residential facility usually will not offer around-the-clock access to healthcare professionals but they do offer 24/7 care from staff personnel. If required, access to various hospital-based services can be arranged.
If you can afford it there are some very nice Luxury or Executive inpatient facilities that offer luxurious hotel or resort style accommodations and a high-end environment that caters to celebrities, wealthy individuals or busy professionals. These custom tailored programs usually allow one to maintain some involvement in their work responsibilities while working hard with their inpatient addiction treatment program.
Outpatient Treatment
Outpatient programs are similar to inpatient programs but you are permitted to return home every night after the day’s treatment. If you have issues with job obligations or family requirements such as child care then, if it doesn’t interfere with your successful progress in your treatment program, an outpatient care allows you to handle some of those responsibilities.
Outpatient care can be an option for those with mild or early stage addictions. It’s definitely not a good choice for those with dual diagnosis conditions or serious and more long-term addictions.
Individual Therapy
This type of cognitive behavioral therapy addresses the thoughts related to substance abuse and also the thoughts they have about life in general. It helps individuals reorganize their thinking and make changes toward a healthier and sober life.
Patients can learn to identify drug use triggers and develop methods to deal with these situations when they happen.
Group Therapy
The addiction recovery and rehabilitation programs usually include group therapy. These group therapy sessions allow recovering addicts to interact with others with a common bond… they are in the same situation. It is powerfully therapeutic for recovering patients to know they are not alone.
Group participants benefit greatly when others share their stories. The common bond and the sense of support from others is critical in the recovery efforts.
Group Therapy sessions are always led by and managed by skilled and trained professionals who help participants to share and also manage uncooperative or unruly members of the group.

Recovery
Successfully completing a recovery and rehabilitation program doesn’t mean you are finished. Recovery is a lifelong process that will require your constant attention and management.
Lifelong recovery has a heavy sound to it and that’s exactly what it is… a lifetime of maintaining balance, withstanding temptation, monitoring our behavior and the behavior of those around us, and fighting the often times desire to relapse.
It’s a path we have chosen and it may sometimes seem very easy. Other times it’s like a ball and chain around the neck. It’s a road well traveled that might have some rough spots but usually a lot of wide open spaces with blue sky and white puffy clouds. We take the good with the bad and keep moving forward on a path that leads to a rewarding, satisfying, and meaningful life.
Before you leave your addiction treatment program you will meet with your advisors and talk about a plan for aftercare. Many rehab facilities have follow-up programs that assist patients in their return to their regular life.
You might be afforded an opportunity to live in a ‘halfway house’ for a period of time after your program completion. These are managed ‘recovery’ facilities where you may live, perform household chores, work outside at your regular work but return to the facility at night for group therapy and continuing support.
It’s like a stepping stone to a normal life after recovery.
Participation in Group Therapy in the form of a 12 step program is a wonderful method for maintaining your recovery and building a support system in your local area.
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) are a couple of well-known 12-step groups that many individuals recovering from addiction attend on a regular basis. Both AA and NA have meetings all across the country at easily accessible times.
There are also various offshoots of the AA model for a wide range of other addictions.

These AA offshoots for other addictions include:
Overeaters Anonymous (OA).
Pills Anonymous (PA).
Emotions Anonymous (EA).
Gamblers Anonymous (GA).
Sex Addicts Anonymous (SAA).
Cocaine Anonymous (CA).
Crystal Meth Anonymous (CMA).
it’s often said by participants that ‘you get what you give’ and you will be encouraged to interact with the group, share experiences, and add value to the group.
Challenges of Relapse
Like many things in life, recovery from addiction doesn’t always go as planned. Recoveries come with challenges, and sometimes include a period of relapse. Relapse is a normal but unwanted and hazardous phase of recovery.
Don’t let this scare you or discourage you at all. With hard work and a strong desire, coupled with a good positive attitude, Relapse can be avoided or totally overcome if it happens.
Frequently Ask Question:
• What is the difference between detox and rehab?
Detoxification is the process of safely removing substances from the body, often involving uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms that may require medical supervision. Rehabilitation is the broader process that follows detox, focusing on addressing the underlying causes of addiction, developing coping mechanisms, and learning to live a sober life. Detox is a critical first step, but not the entire treatment.
• Who should consider inpatient treatment?
Inpatient treatment is frequently recommended for individuals with serious, long-standing addictions or those with a dual diagnosis (coexisting medical and mental health conditions). It provides a structured environment away from triggers, with 24/7 professional care.
• Can I maintain work responsibilities during addiction treatment?
For some individuals, particularly those in luxury or executive inpatient facilities, custom-tailored programs may allow for some involvement in work responsibilities while undergoing treatment. Outpatient programs also offer flexibility for those with job or family obligations, though they are generally suited for milder addictions.

About The Author
Ben Pearson, LCSW - Clinical Director
With 19 years of experience, Ben Pearson specializes in adolescent and family therapy, de-escalation, and high-risk interventions. As a former Clinical Director of an intensive outpatient program, he played a key role in clinical interventions and group therapy. With 15+ years in wilderness treatment and over a decade as a clinician, Ben has helped countless individuals and families navigate mental health and recovery challenges.
Danny Warner, CEO of Chateau Health and Wellness
Brings a wealth of experience in business operations, strategic alliances, and turnaround management, with prior leadership roles at Mediconnect Global, Klever Marketing, and WO Investing, Inc. A graduate of Brigham Young University in Economics and History, Danny has a proven track record of delivering results across diverse industries. His most transformative role, however, was as a trail walker and counselor for troubled teens at the Anasazi Foundation, where he directly impacted young lives, a personal commitment to transformation that now drives his leadership at Chateau.
Austin Pederson, Executive Director of Chateau Health and Wellness
Brings over eight years of experience revolutionizing mental health and substance abuse treatment through compassionate care and innovative business strategies. Inspired by his own recovery journey, Austin has developed impactful programs tailored to individuals facing trauma and stress while fostering comprehensive support systems that prioritize holistic wellness. His empathetic leadership extends to educating and assisting families, ensuring lasting recovery for clients and their loved ones.
Zachary Wise is a Recovery Specialist at Chateau Health and Wellness
Where he helps individuals navigate the challenges of mental health and addiction recovery. With firsthand experience overcoming trauma, depression, anxiety, and PTSD, Zach combines over 8 years of professional expertise with personal insight to support lasting healing.
Since 2017, Zach has played a pivotal role at Chateau, working in case management, staff training, and program development.
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