Deciding what to bring to rehab might be the last thing on your mind if you are grappling with substance use issues, but packing properly for a stint in residential rehab can dramatically improve your overall comfort levels.
With NIDA data showing around 2.5 million people seek addiction treatment each year in the US, and many of these people with severe addictions will head to an inpatient facility.
While all rehab centers will have detailed policies indicating what you can bring to the treatment facility. These policies will also stipulate any prohibited items. When you check into residential rehab, expect a luggage inspection to ensure you are compliant with the rehab’s policies.
You should only find minor variations in items allowed or prohibited in rehab, so today’s guide will help you quickly prepare to embrace sober living.
While these policies may differ slightly, most rehab centers allow and prohibit broadly similar items.
What can you bring to rehab, then?
What Can I Bring to Rehab?
The core essentials you need when you’re heading to rehab are as follows:
- Prescription medications (keep these in original bottles)
- Contact details of everyone involved in your treatment program (loved ones, healthcare professionals, 12-step sponsors)
- Cash in low denomination bills
- Debit card or credit card
- ID (driver’s license, passport)
- Insurance cards
- Journal/notebook
- Reading material
- Stamps, paper, and envelopes
- Radio alarm clock
Can you have a phone in rehab, though?
Can You Have Your Phone in Rehab?
Some rehab centers, especially upscale facilities catering to busy professionals, will let you bring in cell phones and laptops.
Even if you are permitted access to electronic devices, expect access to be strictly regulated. While you may need to remain connected to certain issues in your professional life, your primary focus should be on your recovery. Indiscriminate access to a smartphone in rehab would run counter to your treatment goals.
What To Pack for Rehab
Everyone will have different needs when it comes to packing for rehab. Although today’s guide can help you get all the basics in place, you’ll need to speak with the treatment center for clarification on their policies. Also, feel free to customize the packing list that follows, but make sure all the key elements are accounted for.
What Should I Bring to Rehab?
To allow you to personalize your packing list more easily for rehab, we have grouped the things you’ll need under the following five categories:
- ID and documentation
- Prescription medications
- Clothing
- Toiletries and beauty products
- Reading and writing materials
1) ID and documentation
Make certain you bring all the following ID and documentation to rehab:
- Driver’s license, passport, or state-issued ID
- Health insurance card
- Pharmacy card
- Prescription card
2) Prescription medications
Pack any of the following medications you are currently using:
- OTC medications
- Prescription medications
- Liquid medications
- Sealed vitamins
Ensure that all medications are in their original packaging. Liquid medications must be sealed and unopened to mitigate potential tampering.
Also, list any prescribed medications you are taking, along with the dosages.
You may find the rehab you are attending will prohibit some over-the-counter medications. All narcotic medications and medications containing alcohol will be prohibited.
3) Clothing
Most treatment centers have strict dress codes, so you should always check for specifics before deciding what to bring to rehab.
All good inpatient treatment centers will offer some access to laundry machines or laundry services, so aim for clothing for a week or so. Prioritize easy-care clothing.
Personalize the following list of clothing basics to suit:
- Underwear and socks
- Shower slides
- Slippers
- PJs
- Bath robe
- Comfy shoes
- Shirts
- Pants
- Sweaters
- Cardigans
- T-shirts
- Shorts
- Coat
- Jacket
- Belt
- Swimsuit
- Smart outfit
4) Toiletries and beauty products
Take enough beauty products and toiletries to last you between one and three months, depending on the duration of the inpatient treatment program.
Avoid toiletries containing alcohol among the three main ingredients, as well as aerosols.
Leave all toiletries unopened in their original packaging.
Customize the following toiletry packing list accordingly:
- Toothpaste
- Toothbrush
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Deodorant
- Shaving kit
- Feminine hygiene products
- Hair products
- Brush or comb
- Lotion
- Balm
- Moisturizer
- Sunscreen
- Makeup
5) Reading and writing materials
Even though the bulk of your time in rehab is accounted for with counseling, therapy, and group activities, you will still get some downtime.
Take some good books in line with your current mood and lose yourself in the pages rather than ruminating. Reading is a great form of escapism as well as a source of knowledge to help you on your journey to recovery.
Expressing yourself in writing, whether by journaling or writing about your recovery, can be highly therapeutic. Make sure you take sufficient supplies of writing material to rehab.
What to Pack for Inpatient Treatment
You will find that most rehabs prohibit all the following items:
- Drugs
- Alcohol
- Some prescription medications
- Weapons
- Pornographic material
- Food and beverages
- Products containing alcohol
- Nail products containing solvents
- Video games
- TVs
- Gaming consoles
- DVDs
- Revealing clothing
- Unopened OTC medications
- Unapproved OTC medications
- Sporting equipment
- Playing cards
- Games
- Candles
- Incense
- Aerosols
If you are in doubt about what to bring to rehab, contact the treatment center for specifics.
Alternatively, engage with rehab here at The District Recovery Community without needing to pack your bags at all.
Join Rehab at The District Recovery
Researchers have established that outpatient treatment is just as effective as residential rehab for the treatment of most mild and moderate addictions.
Here at TDRC, we specialize in the outpatient treatment of alcohol use disorder, substance use disorder, and co-occurring disorder. We offer the following gender-specific programs:
Regardless of the level of time commitment that best suits your requirements, you can access the following research-based therapies:
- MAT: Medication-assisted treatment can streamline the intensity of cravings and withdrawal symptoms and can also help encourage ongoing abstinence.
- Psychotherapy: Talk therapies like CBT and DBT supplement MAT. Your therapist will help you identify what triggers your substance abuse, and you will learn how to implement healthier coping strategies when dealing with stress.
- Counseling: Individual and group counseling will help you discover more about addiction in general, and about your addiction in particular.
To take advantage of all of the services you would expect in residential rehab without needing to pack your bags at all, reach out to TDRC today at 844.287.8506.
