Aftercare

Aftercare – What is it and why is it important?

It has been proven that addiction treatment is most successful when treated on a continuum of care. Continuum is defined as something that keeps going however changes slightly over time. Levels of care generally refer to the intensity of services received by the client. When treating addiction we want to slowly lower the intensity of support surrounding the client to slowly allow the addict to develop the skills to live a recovered life after their go to coping mechanism (drugs, alcohol and various process addictions) has been removed. 

When in active addiction the person abandons abilities to develop healthy coping and life skills. Essentially, the addict has to relearn a new way to live. That does not happen overnight. 

The proven continuum of care for long-term recovery slowly shows the client how to develop and implement the new coping and life skills they are learning through the treatment process. As intensity of treatment transitions lower it allows the client to practice the new skills they are learning in a supportive way. 

When an addict decides they are ready to make changes in their life and work towards sobriety there is a proven continuum of care, which is as follows:

Detox – 5 to 10 days

Residential Treatment – 30 to 90 days 

Partial Hospitalization (PHP) – 30 days

Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) – 60 days

Outpatient Services – Up to 6 months

We continue to stand behind our current ideology: 

“Outpatient services play an integral part in the aftercare process, and if delivered effectively, directly contributes to improved treatment outcomes.” 

Definitions:

Detox – First stage for many addict and alcoholics to safely remove all traces of drugs and alcohol from their body. Oftentimes medical stabilization is required to remove drugs and alcohol safely. 

Residential Treatment (Inpatient) – For most addicts separation and monitoring is required in the early stages of recovery. Inpatient treatment is where the client lives on property, has 24/7 staff monitoring and is receiving clinical services 6-8 hours per day. 

Residential Treatment utilizes the therapeutic community model.  Resocialization is important because isolation is always included when defining addiction. Inpatient programs utilize the complete community – including other residents, staff, and the social context—as active components of treatment. Inpatient treatment focuses on developing personal accountability and responsibility as well as socially productive lives. Inpatient treatment is typically 30 to 90 days.

Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) – Clients participate in scheduled treatment sessions during the day and return to supportive living or home at night. PHP is not a replacement for inpatient treatment however in some cases can shorten a clients inpatient treatment stay to 30 days. PHP is an essential step when transitioning to lower levels of care. PHP is typically 5 – 6 hours of programming 5 days a week. Typically a client will not be back to working at PHP level of care. Drug/alcohol screening takes place on a weekly basis. 

Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) – IOP is typically 3 days a week 3 hours per day, for 60 days. IOP consists of 3 hours of programming per day and 1 hour of individual counseling sessions per week. IOP programs help the client go from active addiction to a fulfilling life of long-term recovery. IOP level of care consists of a mix of therapy groups, learning social skills, support groups and developing healthy life skills support. Drug/alcohol screening takes place on a weekly basis. 

Outpatient Program (OP) – OP is defined as less than 6 hours of programming per week. What OP level of care typically looks like is once per week – 2 clinical groups (1.5 hours each) and 1 individual session per week. OP can go for about 6 months. Essentially what we want to do is allow the client enough rope to learn lessons and practice what they have learned in a supported way.