A Complete Guide to Inpatient Anxiety Treatment Programs

What Is Inpatient Anxiety Treatment?    

Anxiety inpatient treatment is also known as residential anxiety treatment because during your time in therapy, you’ll live onsite at the facility — a safe, trusting therapeutic space — so you can devote a full-time, daily focus to recovery.  

Unlike outpatient care, where you’d attend therapy appointments and then return home, an inpatient setting enables the staff at inpatient anxiety treatment centers to provide you with round-the-clock care without any interruptions or gaps in your treatment schedule.

Everyone responds differently to treatment, and your progress during inpatient care may see you able to segue into an outpatient setting, where 24/7 clinical care is no longer needed once you’ve graduated from therapy, managed your symptoms, and developed the coping skills to take charge of your anxiety.   

Signs Someone Needs Residential Anxiety Treatment 

It’s not always easy to know exactly when to seek inpatient treatment for anxiety, especially when your symptoms may change or vacillate with your mood, time of year, and life circumstances.  

So, when does anxiety become problematic enough to warrant professional help? Signs that you might need more intensive care might include:  

• Your anxiety has become so severe that you’re unable to care for yourself or perform daily functions, like going to work or school, eating, or maintaining basic hygiene. 

• You’re experiencing sudden, severe panic attacks that are becoming more frequent, disruptive, or dangerous (such as when you’re driving). 

• You’ve experienced thoughts of harming yourself or having persistent suicidal ideation. 

• You might start abusing drugs or alcohol to self-medicate your anxiety away. 

• You’re developing physical health problems due to anxiety. 

• Your home environment is contributing to or exacerbating your anxiety. 

How Long Is Inpatient Anxiety Treatment?    

The length of your stay during inpatient treatment for anxiety depends on your needs — the type of anxiety disorder you may have, the degree/intensity of your symptoms, and how well you respond to treatment are all factors. 

Generally speaking, expect to commit to anxiety inpatient treatment for a few weeks up to a month, where you’ll attend counseling and therapy for five hours a day, seven days a week. If your diagnosis also includes addressing an addiction to substances or alcohol, you may require going through detox, a week-long process to flush the remnants from your system.  

What Happens During Inpatient Treatment for Anxiety?  

There are a few components always in place at residential anxiety treatment centers: 

Individualized Treatment Plan 

No two people in rehab or treatment follow the same trajectory. Even though you might struggle with the same disorder, your separate needs, symptoms, and situations may create nuances in your therapy compared to someone else. When you sign up for treatment and talk to one of our admissions staff, it’s through this correspondence that you’ll both be able to determine that inpatient treatment for anxiety is right for you. 

When you arrive on your first day onsite, the first thing you’ll do after checking in is to meet with your therapist. They’ll be the ones to guide you through your entire time in inpatient anxiety treatment, starting with the creation of an individualized treatment plan. Top to bottom, start to finish, it’s tailored for what you need to get out of treatment — meant to reflect every facet of therapy that sets you on the road to recovery most effectively and efficiently.  

As you go through your time in anxiety inpatient treatment, you and your therapist may make changes to your plan depending on needs that may arise, such as incorporating medication into your regimen.  

Psychotherapy for Anxiety  

The backbone of any inpatient anxiety treatment program is psychotherapy, aka talk therapy. You’re likely already familiar with the clinical setting — in a comforting, quiet, plush space lit by natural light, you’ll sit one-on-one with your therapist as you talk through your issues. You might recount how anxiety affected you as far back as childhood, up to the details of the current day, as your therapist helps you make sense of how you feel, how to cope, and how to move forward. 

One common type of therapy you might try is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. CBT, for short, helps you recognize and reframe unhelpful thought patterns that may fuel anxiety. There’s also exposure therapy, where your therapist cultivates a safe environment for you to face your fears and desensitize yourself to them. “You’ll learn to attach new, more realistic beliefs to the things you’re afraid of” with exposure therapy, says the Cleveland Clinic. 

Holistic Therapy for Anxiety   

Alternative therapies meant to complement psychotherapy side by side are called holistic treatments. Holistic means “whole” and is designed to nurture your mind, body and spirit in tandem through a series of approaches that build your resilience mentally and physically. During inpatient treatment for anxiety, they might include:  

• Mindfulness and meditation to calm your nervous system taxed by anxiety and anchor you in the present moment 

• Yoga and breathwork therapy to release mental and physical tension, reduce your stress hormones, and let go of anxiety with each exhalation and pose 

• Expressive arts therapy, like painting, journaling or music as a creative outlet to process anxious emotions that may be difficult to articulate verbally during talk therapy