Individuals who wish to maintain a certain amount of flexibility within their lives can engage in an outpatient rehab when they need treatment for substance abuse. Outpatient rehab enables the rehabilitation client to participate in rehabilitation services with the same commitment you might ordinarily have to agree to within an inpatient or residential drug rehab program. This doesn't often work in the rehab client's favor however, particularly for those clients who need to address significant drug abuse issues. So although an outpatient rehab might appear to be a convenient option, it isn't for everybody. Those that do choose an outpatient rehab will usually take part in meetings and be a part of counseling and rehabilitation services part-time on a daily basis or a few days a week. This can be very helpful for individuals who have just completed a more complete inpatient or residential program as a good aftercare or upkeep step, and for someone with only a brief history of drug abuse which is really a very small amount of clients. For someone with more significant addiction and dependency problems, inpatient or residential drug treatment programs which provide rehab over a long-term basis will probably be the more effective treatment choice.