Returning to the real world after treatment can be overwhelming as you transition from the structure of rehab into everyday life. While it’s only natural to feel uncertainty and fear, a foundation of continuing care offers essential, ongoing support to help you adjust. With compassionate guidance and resources, a treatment facility’s aftercare program ensures you don’t face recovery alone—and have all the tools to forge a healthier life.
The Importance of Continuing Care
After you’ve completed the more intensive initial care for alcohol use disorder (<a href="https://greatoaksrecovery.com/alcohol-detoxification/">AUD</a>), substance use disorder (SUD), or dual diagnosis treatment, continuing care refers to the next phase. According to a study by Alcohol Research, there are two approaches to the process, which we provide verbatim:
- “As originally conceptualized, continuing care [is] a period of lower-intensity treatment following a more intensive initial period, such as residential care or an intensive outpatient program.”
- “Additionally, continuing care [is] synonymous with ‘aftercare’ or ‘step-down care’…to solidify and sustain the gains made in the initial phase of treatment, to establish abstinence if it was not already achieved, and to prevent subsequent relapses from worsening to the point that further acute treatment was necessary.”
Additional research points to the significance of “continuity of care” models for helping people with more severe mental health conditions, especially when part of a dual diagnosis. For example, individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder or who are struggling with schizophrenia and substance abuse benefit when there’s an opportunity to cultivate “an ongoing therapeutic relationship [that] fosters trust, knowledge, and stability, ultimately enhancing treatment outcomes. These research findings emphasize the substantial potential of the model to notably improve mental health services and outcomes.”
What to Expect With Continuing Care
Many people might find it difficult in early recovery to resist the temptation to use substances or feel they can handle stressors without professional support. Continuing care addresses these challenges right up front, providing necessary techniques, resources, and encouragement. The support you receive through such counseling and community-based programs fosters the development of healthier behaviors and thought patterns—essential for sustained recovery.
For example, if you’re preparing to leave Great Oaks Recovery Center’s residential treatment, our board-certified professionals get to work right away putting together your discharge and aftercare plan to make certain you have all the community and recovery resources for your specific circumstances and wellness goals. You might benefit from the following services:
Outpatient Therapy and Counseling
These sessions help you explore the underlying causes of SUD, AUD, and mental health disorders, develop coping skills, and address any emotional or psychological issues that may contribute to substance use. Outpatient services provide a lifeline to a structure while also encouraging your progress.
Relapse Prevention Plans
These directives are designed to equip you with strategies for managing triggers, cravings, and high-risk situations. The focus is on preventing relapse and ensuring that you always have a clear plan of action when faced with temptation. It’s a living document, too—meaning that as you continue to grow and heal, your needs change, yet you’ll always have techniques that help you move forward.
Sober Living Homes
If you don’t have a stable, supportive home environment, these facilities provide a safe place to live and continue your recovery. This step-down option offers residents a grounding foundation so that reentry into the real world doesn’t have to be so abrupt. Stays might be as short as six months or as long as two years. During that time, residents are expected to maintain sobriety, follow house rules, and participate in group meetings or counseling sessions. Yet they also have the freedom to work, volunteer, take classes, see family and friends, and continue to design a meaningful life.
Support Groups
Peer support plays a crucial role in addiction recovery. Whether you’re using mutual aid programs found through Mental Health America, participating in groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous, or finding critical support through Veterans and first responder resources, it’s vital to your continued well-being to be with other individuals who understand your experiences, gain insights from them, and help you stay accountable in your recovery intentions.
Community and Social Connections
Building a new social network is essential for recovery. Continuing care programs often provide you with opportunities to engage in healthy activities that help build a sense of belonging. For example, Great Oaks Recovery Center has an alumni program that reinforces many of the advantages of support groups while also helping people explore their healthier lives together. We frequently host Recovery Renewal weekends and a chance to stay in touch through our public and private Facebook pages.
Find Healing and Hope at Great Oaks
Recovery doesn’t end when treatment is over—it’s a lifelong journey. Continuing care provides the steady support needed to navigate this transition. With time, practice, and the right support, you can regain control over your life and continue moving toward a healthier future.
As a premier addiction rehabilitation and dual diagnosis treatment center, Great Oaks Recovery Center outside of Houston, Texas, our board-certified medical team provides you with various evidence-based techniques and therapeutic tools to make the most of your recovery journey. Our continuing care team also stays in touch with you through our Trac9 relapse prevention tool, which allows you to see progress in real time. If this is the dedicated care you or a loved one has been looking for, talk with our admissions team today to learn more.
