An aftercare program for substance abuse is often the bridge needed to gap the separation long after treatment ends. Treatment helps you get sober, but staying sober is where the real work begins. Treatment helps you get sober, but staying sober is where the real work begins.
An established aftercare program for substance abuse plays a critical role in relapse prevention by offering support and ongoing resources to help keep recovery on track.
From support groups like 12-step programs to family resources and job coaching, an aftercare program for addiction provides scaffolded support for ongoing recovery. Because we know recovery is an ongoing process, not a one-and-done endeavor, the work continues. When pursuing life after rehab, be sure you’ve established a quality aftercare program. Contact Peachtree Recovery Solutions at 866.863.1129 to learn more about our aftercare programs.
About Aftercare Programs for Substance Abuse
What do aftercare programs for substance abuse involve? While the details may vary, an established aftercare program consists of a network of resources and healthful practices designed to bolster the positive work done in our Partial Hospitalization Program and Atlanta Intensive Outpatient Program. Regular support helps us apply lessons learned in therapy when triggers and challenges arise. Relapse prevention and behavior modification factor into recovery and aftercare programs, alongside positive ways to handle real-life stressors. Aftercare programs provide support in a variety of ways:
- Help clients establish a sense of purpose
- Provide ongoing care for mental conditions caused by substance abuse
- Augment efforts to reshape thought patterns that led to addiction
- Increase understanding of the transitory nature of feelings
- Empower positive action independent of negative emotion
Some clients ask, “Isn’t addiction therapy enough?” and “Do we really need aftercare?” Statistically, regular addiction treatment over a long period of time likely, a minimum of three months, yields more ingrained results. Likewise, a prolonged and recurring aftercare program supports ongoing success in achieving and maintaining sobriety.
After rehab, new skills and strategies feel top-of-mind, and clients have benefitted from their time and efforts. And yet, successful completion of an addiction therapy program doesn’t ensure a lifetime of sobriety. As many know, recovery is an ongoing process that requires ongoing support and positive, evidence-based input.
What to Look for in An Aftercare Program
The early stages of recovery post-rehab can be some of the most challenging. The support systems formed in addiction therapy don’t feel as established or automatic once we’ve returned to our own lives and are trying out new skills and schedules. Through a quality aftercare program, those who’ve completed addiction therapy find support and strategies for maintaining sobriety:
- Accepting and avoiding negative triggers or circumstances
- Establishing short-term and long-term goals
- Assistance with healthy and supportive living environments
- Regular support groups with like-minded peers
- Assistance with staggered commitments (focus on a few goals or tasks)
- Resources for new habits of exercise and healthy eating
- Job training and skills development
- Resources and help with family and childcare
- Development of an aftercare therapy plan, either individual or group
- Knowing where to turn and who to call when life or circumstances get challenging
Remember, no one goes at it alone. It’s essential to find the right people, energy, and programs to further your progress on the road to recovery. Before finishing any addiction treatment program, be sure you’ve established the next phase of treatment—an aftercare program. An addiction aftercare program in Georgia can maximize skills, strategies, and supports developed in therapy.
Find an Addiction Aftercare Program in Georgia at Peachtree Recovery Solutions
At Peachtree Recovery Solutions in Georgia, our medical and mental health providers know it’s crucial to provide a well-developed aftercare program. From career and family support to individual, group, and peer-based feedback, our therapists and your like-minded peers work together for everyone’s benefit. We strive to solidify our clients’ strong work through inpatient and outpatient programs. We work towards lasting results for a fulfilling and substance-free lifestyle. Call 866.863.1129 to establish an aftercare program support system that complements your recovery.