How long is treatment needed to be considered long-term?

To be considered long-term, treatment needs to last 90 days or more and can continue beyond a year, as some addiction treatment programs do, states Recovery.org. A study of patients suffering chronic pain defined long-term treatment as more than one year, notes the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Studies show that an addicted person needs to spend at least three months or longer in a rehabilitation program to reprogram the brain and overcome the addiction, explains Recovery.org. In treating chronic pain patients, a therapy intervention using opioids for more than three months to relieve pain was considered long-term, notes the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.