What keeps patients from leaving inpatient behavioral addiction therapy?

What keeps patients from leaving inpatient behavioral addiction therapy?

Marc Kern (Addiction Expert, Director of Addiction Alternatives) gives expert video advice on: What is "outpatient care" for behavioral addiction?; What is outpatient treatment like for behavioral addiction?; How can recovering behavioral addicts reduce the risks in their environment? and more...

Nothing keeps patients from leaving inpatient behavioural addiction therapy. As a patient you need not worry if you go in and you decide you really can't stand it or you really don't want it. You do have the right in this country. I do understand there are places outside of the U.S. where there are laws stating you can incarcerate someone against their will. But for a behavioural addiction patient in the U.S. or really in most places, you can check out if you don't like it. You need not feel that claustrophobic feeling. I've worked with people with behavioural addictions who are scared of a residential because they feel like they're going to be locked up and the key's going to be thrown away. Their family wants them out of their life, and this is just a stepping stone. But again, I can reassure you, to the best of my knowledge, there are very few of those types of inpatient facilities in the U.S. or around the world for patients with behavioural addiction.