What Is the Success Rate of Residential Treatment?
There’s no single success rate for residential treatment. Programs measure success in different ways and treat different conditions, so their numbers can’t be compared directly. What the research consistently shows is that most people improve during a residential stay, and the care they get afterward has a big effect on whether that progress lasts.
Below, we explain how success gets measured, what the research shows, and how to read a program’s numbers.
What Does “Success” Mean in Residential Treatment?
A success rate depends on what a program decides to count. Here are the most common measures and what each one doesn’t show:
| Measure | What it tells you | What it doesn’t show |
|---|---|---|
| Finishing the program | How many people stayed through the planned treatment | Whether they got better |
| Symptom scores on standard questionnaires | How much symptoms eased | Whether the change lasted, unless it’s measured again later |
| Day-to-day functioning and quality of life | Whether someone can work, keep up relationships, and take care of themselves | Whether specific symptoms eased |
| Going back to a hospital or residential program | Whether someone needed intensive care again | Whether going back was the right call. Returning early can stop a setback from growing |
| Relapse, or symptoms coming back | Whether problems returned after treatment | How much progress someone kept, even if some symptoms came back |
| For eating disorders, physical recovery and stopping behaviors like bingeing or purging | Whether the body is recovering and the behaviors have stopped | How someone feels about food and their body |
Timing matters too. A score at discharge shows how someone was doing on their last day, and a score a year later shows whether that progress held. Many studies stop at discharge.
The group studied matters as well. Addiction, mental health, and eating disorder treatment are each studied separately, so a number from one says little about the others. That’s why we cover each one separately below.
What Are the Success Rates for Residential Addiction Treatment?
Most success rates you’ll find online come from addiction treatment, so it helps to know what they actually measure.
The most-cited figure comes from a national study of US addiction programs. It found that 64.5% of people completed residential treatment, compared with 51.9% in outpatient treatment (Stahler, Mennis, and DuCette, 2016, Addictive Behaviors). Finishing matters because it gives treatment time to work.
You may also see a figure like “about 70% stay sober.” It comes from a 2004 analysis of women in long-term residential addiction treatment (Greenfield and colleagues, American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse). Between 68% and 71% of them reported no drug or alcohol use 6 to 12 months later. It’s an encouraging result from one specific group, women who stayed six months or longer.
What Does the Research Show for Residential Mental Health Treatment?
Studies of residential mental health treatment generally find that people’s symptoms ease between admission and discharge (for example, Hawthorne and colleagues, 1999, Psychiatric Services).
What they don’t produce is one success rate. Each program tracks progress in its own way, so the results can’t be combined into a single number.
What Does the Research Show for Eating Disorder Residential Treatment?
The most complete look at residential eating disorder treatment is a 2020 review of 19 studies (Peckmezian and Paxton, European Eating Disorders Review). Every study found that people improved by discharge. Among people with anorexia, 39% to 80% reached a healthy weight range by discharge, depending on the study. In the eight studies that followed people after they left, progress generally held.
A separate study of 1,421 people in residential eating disorder treatment found that 89% of those who had been purging when they arrived had stopped by discharge (Fisher and colleagues, 2020, Frontiers in Psychology).
Keeping that progress going depends a lot on the care that comes next.
Does a Relapse Mean Treatment Didn’t Work?
When symptoms come back after residential care, it usually means the treatment plan needs adjusting. It doesn’t erase the progress someone made.
Depression, anxiety, and eating disorders can work like high blood pressure or asthma. They can improve with treatment and still come back later. Relapse has been studied most in addiction. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) puts addiction relapse rates at 40% to 60%, compared with 50% to 70% for high blood pressure and asthma (NIDA, Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction, 2020). NIDA says a relapse is a sign to restart or adjust treatment, or to try a different approach.
Eating disorder research shows a similar pattern. A review of 27 studies of anorexia found that between 9% and 52% of people relapsed after treatment, with the highest risk in the first year (Khalsa and colleagues, 2017, Journal of Eating Disorders).
Because relapse risk is highest in the first year, it helps to know what to do if symptoms come back. Catching it early and going back to more frequent care for a while is a normal part of treatment. That might mean adding intensive outpatient program (IOP) sessions or returning to a partial hospitalization program (PHP) for a few weeks. Our guide to preventing mental health relapse covers the early warning signs and how to make a relapse plan.
What Makes a Good Outcome More Likely?
A few things make a good outcome after residential treatment more likely, and you and your family can plan for most of them.
Finishing the Stay
Many people leave residential treatment early. Staying for the full plan gives your team time to help your symptoms improve and to set up your next step before you go. How long the stay lasts depends on how you’re doing. Our residential treatment FAQ explains how length of stay is decided.
Stepping Down Instead of Stopping
Going from round-the-clock residential care straight to one appointment a week is a big drop in support. Stepping down means moving to a less intensive program. Moving through a PHP and then an IOP lets you cut back on support gradually, while you practice new skills at home and at work. Our guide to moving to IOP after residential treatment explains why that step helps, and our comparison of IOP, PHP, and residential care shows how the levels differ.
Planning the Next Step Before Discharge
Before your last day in residential care, you should know which program comes next and when it starts, who will manage your medication, and who to call if things get harder. That way there’s no gap in care during your first weeks home.
Treating All Conditions Together
Some people in residential care have more than one condition, such as depression or anxiety alongside an eating disorder. When only one is treated, the other can make it harder to get better. A good treatment plan addresses all of them together.
Involving Family
Family therapy helps you and the people you live with agree on how to support you at home, like how often to check in and what to do if symptoms come back. For adults, it’s your choice whether to involve family.
How Should You Read a Program’s Success Rate?
A success rate only makes sense once you know who was counted, what was measured, and when. If a program shares a success rate, these questions will help you understand it:
- Does the number include everyone who started treatment, or only the people who finished?
- What does “success” mean in your numbers, and how do you measure it?
- Do you check in with people after they leave?
For example, a rate based only on people who finished will look different from one that counts everyone who started.
Accredited programs are required to track client progress. The Joint Commission requires the behavioral health programs it accredits to measure each client’s progress with a standardized tool. CARF, another major accreditor, has a similar rule. An accredited program should be able to tell you what it measures and how.
Residential Care and What Comes After at The Meadowglade
Everyone’s progress is different, so no program can promise a specific result. The research does show that most people improve during a residential stay, and that the care after discharge does a lot to keep that progress going. If you’re weighing residential treatment, a good next step is an assessment, which shows which level of care fits. You can also check what your insurance covers.
The Meadowglade’s residential program is on a 24-acre estate in Moorpark and serves people from Los Angeles and across Southern California. When residential care ends, you can move to our CARF-accredited PHP and IOP programs, including a PHP for eating disorders. You’ll keep the same clinical team, so the people planning your next step already know your history. Before you leave, we help arrange the outpatient care that comes after.
If you aren’t ready to go home yet, our supportive housing gives you a place to live during PHP or IOP. Family therapy can be part of your plan if you want your family involved.
To ask about residential care, call us at (888) 272-2062. Our admissions team is available 24/7 and can check your insurance benefits while you’re on the phone. If you’d rather not call, submit your insurance information online and we’ll check your benefits and call you back. If the assessment points to a different level of care or another program, we’ll tell you.
If you or someone you love is in immediate danger, call 911. If you’re in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It’s free, confidential, and available 24/7. For eating disorder support, you can also call the National Alliance for Eating Disorders helpline at (866) 662-1235 on weekdays.