Aftercare Treatment Can Boost Addiction Recovery Outcomes
Detoxification is just the first stage in treating addiction, so aftercare treatment is necessary to stay sober for the rest of your life.
Addiction treatment is an ongoing process, with many people working to maintain sobriety for a lifetime after rehab.
However, there are some individuals who are tempted to think that they are “clean” as soon as they’ve detoxed from the substance they’ve been abusing.
Detoxification is simply the first stage of treatment and helps individuals to negotiate the withdrawal from drugs or alcohol and avoid relapse as they proceed through drug rehabilitation therapy.
Even individuals who spend weeks in residential or inpatient drug rehabilitation programs may still feel that they need more therapy before recovery can begin.
An aftercare treatment program provides continuing support for people leaving drug rehabilitation therapy and returning home.
Alternatively, aftercare can help individuals with milder forms of addiction as a primary source of treatment.
Whether a person attends residential or outpatient treatment programs, they are generally referred for aftercare treatment at some point in their rehabilitation journey.
Types of Aftercare Treatment
Aftercare treatment generally consists of the following components:
1. Therapy
Therapy is delivered in a number of ways according to the type of drug rehabilitation program and the services offered.
Elevate drug rehab treatment centers are focused on the combined approach of holistic and evidence-based therapies together with individual and group counseling.
2. Social Support Groups
Research into recovery rates after drug or alcohol addiction treatment suggests that people are more likely to thrive if they have access to a support network.
These groups are formed by people who are all fighting substance abuse and important relationships are made that are mutually supportive in recovery.
3. Complementary Therapies
A good aftercare treatment program offers a wide range of holistic treatments and therapies.
The holistic approach used by drug rehab treatment centers seeks to address all the aspects of an individual’s health that have been damaged by substance abuse.
By using multiple therapies to address various issues involving a patient’s emotional, physical, and psychological health caused by addiction illness, holistic drug rehabilitation therapy is very effective in promoting long-term recovery.
Does Aftercare Treatment Work?
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), almost 50% of individuals recovering from substance abuse relapse within the first 12 months to two years of attending rehab.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has reported that addiction illness has similar relapse rates as other relapsing medical conditions such as hypertension or diabetes, representing from 40-50% of cases.
The ultimate goal of aftercare treatment is to ensure patients are able to cope in the early stages of recovery as they transition from the safety of a rehab program back to their daily lives.
According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, the relapse rates shoot up for individuals leaving treatment who don’t pursue an aftercare program.
Those who do engage in aftercare treatment have far lower relapse rates and depending on the substance abused, these rates are well below the 50% figure quoted by the majority of sources.
There are several studies reporting that individuals committing to an aftercare program significantly increase their chances of achieving and maintaining sobriety for the long-haul.
These findings are compelling evidence that aftercare treatment programs work for most individuals leaving rehab.
Why Is Aftercare So Effective For Long-Term Recovery?
Addiction is an illness that develops over time and for that reason, it takes as long as it takes to recover from it.
For many people, it is a journey that continues for a lifetime but that doesn’t mean they don’t live rich and fulfilling lives.
Effective rehab should always offer an aftercare component to reinforce everything that is worked through in rehab and apply it to the individual’s personal circumstances.
No one can predict the future and so it is not possible to say that a person will leave rehab and never return to substance abuse again.
As mentioned above, addiction is a relapsing illness that continues to carry the risk of returning to addictive behavior often for the rest of an individual’s life.
When patients are attending an inpatient or outpatient treatment program, they are immersed in a new structured way of living that leaves them little time to obsess about substance use.
When the program is completed, and this structure is removed, there is the potential for them to feel derailed.
Aftercare treatment makes a huge difference to outcomes because it ensures patients are able to reach out for help whenever they are faced with a problem in early recovery.
They are able to continue with the most effective treatment components of the program they’ve just completed and learn how to incorporate them into daily life.
