Learn how critical extended care programs are in BC and Alberta: What a person should understand about aftercare and continuing care – Options Okanagan Treatment Centers in Kelowna, British Columbia treating drug, opiate, fentanyl, heroin and alcohol addiction and recovery.
Learn Why Extended Recovery Programs Are So Essential
Recovery Is A Process That Never Really Stops
Rehab aftercare is something that helps individuals learn new living patterns, and this can include any and all follow-up care a person is a part of after they go through a primary substance abuse treatment program. All of this lets a person manifest new methods for coping with things, as well as develop fresh routines that guide them through their process of recovery.
Aftercare programs can include specific elements, such as 12-Step meetings, individual counseling, and group therapy. Beneficiaries of aftercare are not just those in recovery, but also their families and children.
Particular elements of aftercare programs that should be sought out include activities and outings, vocational training, and anger management classes.
After Rehab: What Happens Next?
When an individual finishes a program for their addiction treatment, they can be easily tempted to return to their life and just pick things up where they were beforehand. However, without a plan for continuing care and support, a recovery like this is not going to last long. That’s where aftercare programs come into play.
Just What Is Aftercare Then?
Aftercare is what helps keep individuals who have already finished a treatment program continuously engaged in their own recovery, helping them minimize the chances of a relapse. Rehab aftercare takes many forms, and so it is often tailored to fit the specific needs of the person in question. Therefore, no pair of programs are going to be identical from one person to the next.
So How Long Will Aftercare Take?
Since each person is unique, the time they spend in aftercare for addiction is going to vary. Due to this, rehab aftercare timelines can stretch from days to a person’s entire life. Aftercare programs are also something that a person can cease and resume if their life at the time dictates ongoing care and attention.
Long-Term Care Is Critical
The first 12 months someone spends out of their drug rehab is a critical period of time. The individual has to learn how to live differently, without using or relying on alcohol or drugs. New habits and patterns have to be created and tended to, and all of this is far simpler to accomplish when drug treatment aftercare is providing support.
An individual that comes straight out of a rehab program is going to be challenged with a lot of stress. Their life is going to be very different than it was previously, but they will no longer have a therapist in-house to converse with like they did in their treatment facility time.
Every situation and person is distinct from every other, and so the factors that cause a person stress run a wide gamut of possibilities, ranging from money and career to friends and family. The right addiction aftercare program helps reduce the impact of stress, which also reduces the possibility or risk of relapse.
No Aftercare Is A Risky Thing
Research into statistics has shown that individuals relapse at rates as high as 80 percent within the initial 12 months after rehab. Since anyone in recovery is at such a huge risk of relapse, having aftercare in their life is critical in any effort or attempt for them to stay sober or clean.
Longer-term aftercare is very successful in minimizing the chance of relapse, given that the risk rate declines with every year following the first. However, the real secret to success is initiating a program immediately and sticking with it.
Who Is In Need Of Aftercare?
Recovering Individuals
Individuals who are in recovery can start developing the various skills they are going to require to come back to real world life, rather than giving into the supposed need to go back to their addiction and its related behaviors. These skills include specific abilities like identifying health coping mechanisms for stress and managing the inevitable cravings.
Relatives Of Individuals In Recovery
When any individual with an addiction goes through a substance abuse recovery program, the right aftercare program assists them in transitioning to a routine life; however, the aftercare isn’t just something that assists them, but also helps out their family.
Relatives of an individual can get educated about tactics, techniques, and strategies that let them give a helping hand to their suffering loved one after release from rehab. Family members can find professional and personal support, find answers to questions, and learn what they should and should not do in helping someone they care about avoid relapse.
Recovering Teenagers
Teenagers going through recovery have additional stresses that are distinct to the age group they are in. They have to know how to deal with the many hormonal, mental, and physical changes that happen to people in this stage of life, so their need for a sound aftercare program is possibly higher than even adults.
Creative arrangements must sometimes be formulated in order to avoid interrupting a teenager’s academic schedule, since many recovering teenagers are in high school. Specific programs designed on a case by case basis helps a lot here.
What You Should See In An Aftercare Program
When anyone partakes of a good aftercare program for drug treatment, the most essential thing is that it meets their personal needs. Depending on that, there are a number of essential elements you should keep an eye out for:
1) Activities and outings
2) Alumni visits
3) Anger management seminars
4) Family sessions
5) Skills training
6) Vocational, job, or career training
7) Random testing for drugs and alcohol
It’s critical that any aftercare program has a plethora of choices so that regimens can be tailored to fit different personalities. It’s also just as critical that any individual is comfortable with the staff and professionals, so they are able to open to them.
Kinds Of Long-Term Aftercare For Addiction
Some styles and kinds of aftercare are more common than others, such as:
1) 12-Step programs like Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous
2) Programs linked with particular treatment centers
3) Individual sessions with a substance abuse counselor or therapist
4) Group therapy with individuals in similar chapters of their recovery story
5) Programs tailored to certain population segments based on gender, age, or other demographics
It is the responsibility of the recovering individual, their counselors, and involved family to find the right program that supports the person’s needs.
Educational and family programs can help those supporting a recovering addict as they move home and reintegrate into a family. Trust issues are usually expected, as previous underlying issues may require resolution. If you are looking for a good aftercare program for yourself or a loved one, call 1-855-335-0331 to talk to a treatment support specialist.
Options Okanagan Opiate and Alcohol Treatment Centers in Kelowna, Salmon Arm and Vancouver, British Columbia – Men and Women are recovering and healing from Alcohol and Drug Abuse at our treatment center here in the Okanagan right now.
Our unique and distinctive Opiate Drug and Alcohol treatment program allows men and women to come in from Calgary as well as Edmonton as we offer airport pickup.
Numerous clients come to us from Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton and other locations in Alberta and even other provinces for Opiate addiction treatment, heroin drug treatment, many other drug and alcohol addictions for rehabilitation because of the uniqueness of our treatment center.
Our Treatment Location:
Options Okanagan Drug and Opiate Treatment Center
551 Sherrydale Crescent, Kelowna, British Columbia, V1V 2E6
Toll Free Phone Number : 1-855-335-0331