Beginning your recovery journey by choosing to seek addiction treatment is the first step towards a life free from the challenges of drug and alcohol addiction. Although completing a thirty, sixty, or ninety-day comprehensive addiction treatment program is essential to attaining sobriety and improving your chances of long-term recovery, it is not the last step on your journey. But once treatment is complete, what are the next steps? Successful treatment requires a comprehensive, well-planned continuum of care process that provides support and guidance throughout all stages of the addiction treatment process.
What Is the Continuum of Care Process in Addiction Treatment?
One way to understand the continuum of care is to think of a hiking path. At the bottom of the path, you begin your hike with detox. As you progress up the mountain, you start and progress through therapy and end your hike at the top of the mountain with aftercare and beyond. Your journey is an all-encompassing and comprehensive journey that addresses each of your addiction treatment needs and goals.
The ideal continuum of care program will include various services and specialty treatments designed around your unique treatment needs. Some important examples include:
Detox
The first step in treatment for many is detox. During detox, you will work with your treatment team to rid your body of substances in a safe and supported setting. Depending on your specific detox needs, detox services may include medication-assisted therapies to help reduce the severity and intensity of withdrawal symptoms.
Inpatient Residential Treatment
Residential or inpatient treatment options can last from 28 days to one year or longer. During residential treatment, you will stay on-site at the treatment center and attend daily therapy sessions while working towards sobriety. At a residential center like Rise in Malibu, care is provided on a 24/7 basis from highly trained addiction treatment staff. During treatment, you will learn and explore the issues that lie at the root of your addiction. You will also learn safe and healthy ways to evaluate and change the negative thought and behavior patterns that continue to propagate addictive behaviors.
Intensive Outpatient and Outpatient
Outpatient programs are often used as a “step-down” or intermediary step between inpatient programs and the transition to home. It is difficult for some addicts new to recovery to transition directly from a heavily supported inpatient care setting to an unsupported environment. In these cases, participating in an outpatient program can help to provide a high level of ongoing care and support.
Aftercare
Proper aftercare will help someone recovering from addiction slowly and safely transition back to their daily obligations and responsibilities such as work, academics, or family, with a high level of support. Aftercare programs are designed to create a supportive and comfortable environment where recovering addicts can speak openly about their feelings, struggles, temptations, and strengths throughout the recovery process.
Transitioning out of treatment can be challenging. When care services are not in place, addicts new to recovery are at a greater risk of relapse. Some studies indicate only 20% of those who transition without a proper continuum of care will successfully remain sober after one year. Ensuring a complete continuum of care process increases the potential for ongoing sobriety by 50%.
Reach Out To Us Today at Rise in Malibu for Help With Addiction
At Rise in Malibu, we ensure our programs bridge care at every stage, beginning with detox and continuing throughout treatment and aftercare. Before returning home, we ensure each of our patients has a compressive care plan in place, including resources they can use while transitioning back to their day-to-day lives. If you are ready to begin your sobriety journey, contact us at Rise in Malibu today to learn more about how we can help you through each stage of recovery.
