Question by Paris: Can someone explain the inpatient rehab “level” system?
My boyfriend is in an inpatient rehab facility because of his drug use and threatened suicide. His mom told me he’s a “level 2” and I can’t communicate with him at all until hes a “level 3.” Can someone please explain what this means and what he has to do to be a “level 3” so I can talk to him again? I really miss him 🙁

Best answer:

Answer by Mattshark
It is a fairly common practice in institutional care to create a level system, although each facility puts its own spin on how it works for that unit. Generally, patients come in at a low level, like a 0 or a 1, and can increase levels depending on several factors. Generally, behavior is an important part of moving up levels, so the patient that attends treatment, stays safe and generally stays out of trouble earns points toward moving up. The other factor is often time. For example, a unit may require you to behave as they want for 24 hours before moving to the next level. Each higher level generally comes with more privileges, so by moving up levels the patient may earn phone calls, unsupervised time, time on the video game, etc. Finally, it is generally practiced in drug treatments in particular that time away from the environment the patient came from is a good idea, so they generally start the lower levels without family or friend contact and then allow it with good behavior and time.

The thing I would want to say to you is that this is probably a good thing, and that although I know it is hard on you, I also know you care about him, and so following the units rules is a good thing all around. Find some way to meet your emotional needs while he is out of contact, such as spending time with your family or friends, take walks, read books, knit, etc. The time will pass quickly enough, and hopefully you will get a boyfriend back who is sober and safe and working on his life in a positive way.

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