Levels of Care
Levels of Substance Abuse Treatment
Starting recovery from substance abuse takes a lot of time and dedication to a sobriety plan. There is no quick and easy way to start to escape the grasp of addiction. The process of overcoming addiction can be a long road, full of challenges and difficulties. Recovery and clinical recovery treatment are processes that take patients through several levels of substance abuse treatment before they have mastered the tools they need for a successful sober lifestyle.
The Steps to Starting Your Road to Recovery
The clinical journey portion of the road to sobriety takes several steps. First, you have to detox from the substances you were taking. Residential care is often the next step and sets you up for initial success.
A partial hospitalization program builds on the success and breakthroughs in residential treatment and keeps the forward momentum developed there going to help you continue to heal. Intensive outpatient care helps you continue to build on your therapeutic success and helps start to rejoin your community. General outpatient helps you maintain your success.
Our dedicated staff here at Silver Linings Recovery Center is here to help you successfully transition through each level of care while you start to build your new sober lifestyle.
The Detox Process
Detoxification from substance use is one of the most important experiences in addiction treatment. Medically assisted treatment (MAT) is available at most clinics to help your body naturally cleanse itself of toxins from drugs and alcohol.
MAT uses medications to wean you off the ones you were abusing before you came to detox. Detox will still be uncomfortable but in many situations, MAT can make the process more comfortable. Whether or not MAT is used, detox is a necessary part of recovery.
Residential Treatment Program
Residential treatment is also an important part of treatment for most people who are struggling with an addiction disorder. It is an intensive program during which the client lives at the clinic. Therapies such as group therapy, art therapy, and individual therapy go on throughout the day. At night the residents are in a safe environment away from the presence of drugs and alcohol.
If the client doesn’t have anywhere safe to stay in the area of their chosen treatment facility and/or they are reluctant to return to a safe environment, residential treatment gives them a safe place to start to heal.
Partial Hospital Program (PHP)
A partial hospitalization program (PHP) is a step down from a residential treatment program but it is sometimes the first step in treatment. During a PHP, individuals return home every night. Therapy during a PHP goes on for around 6-8 hours a day for 5-6 days a week. This may include some of the same therapies that are included in residential treatment such as art therapy, recreation therapy, individual therapy, and family therapy.
Some of the benefits of a PHP include having time to start looking after young children and other vulnerable loved ones, the opportunity to start to ease back into their community, the ability to gradually start putting strategies from family therapy into motion, as well as other benefits.
Intensive Outpatient Programming
An intensive outpatient program (IOP) is a step down from a PHP. Therapy included in an IOP lasts for 3-4 days a week for 2-3 hours a day.
One of the biggest tasks in an IOP is reintegrating into the community. While in an IOP, clients continue to work on their recovery. Some clients have the time to resume jobs, take full-time care of children and other loved ones, and otherwise start to operate more fully in their own community and family’s lives.
All IOP patients have access to all of the treatment options they had from the start of their clinical recovery journey. This includes MAT if needed. MAT is available to clients for a short term, long term, or lifetime use.
General Outpatient Programming
After the IOP, clients go may through a general outpatient program. During the general outpatient program, the client will complete their clinical care. Treatment occurs for 1-2 sessions a week as well as individual therapy. After the general outpatient program, the client will be fully reintegrated into the community and their family’s lives.
Aftercare
Aftercare is provided by most addiction recovery programs. Aftercare is a group of optional programs such as recreational activities like cookouts and continued support. The reason for social aftercare activities is to help graduates of the program make new friends and even engage in new hobbies that can take the place of people who might destabilize their road to sobriety.
Treatment for Co-Occurring Disorders
Often, those on the path to addiction also suffer from trauma and/or another mental health condition. These conditions and experiences often occur before the addiction disorder starts. They may cause people to self-medicate to ease their pain. This self-medication often becomes a full-blown addiction and a problem in itself.
When someone suffers from at least one mental health disorder as well as an addiction disorder, they are suffering from a condition called “co-occurring disorders”, or a “dual diagnosis”.
Not all clinics are equipped to help people with co-occurring disorders. It is important that you find a qualified medical professional who will assess you before you enter into the care of a clinic.
Medication Management
The temptation to abuse or to try to abuse prescription drugs prescribed by a doctor during a craving can be overwhelming. During medication management, you can receive guidance regarding methods to use these medications properly and avoid substance misuse.
Addiction Treatment Therapy
Addiction therapy during treatment is intense and it can be stressful at times. It is important to remember that you are here for you and the best way to take care of yourself and love yourself is through your road to sobriety. As people in the grips of addiction know addiction is a very powerful condition and it can ruin not only your life but the lives of those you love. Some of the most important tools you can use to start your road to recovery and start healing are:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Instead of looking for past traumas that might have encouraged you to start down the path of addiction in the first place, CBT takes a different route. This therapy is designed to help you alter negative actions by helping you develop more positive and productive thought patterns.
Unlike other therapies, CBT is a short-term therapy. Some people occasionally need refresher sessions. However, people who have completed cognitive behavioral therapy are often able to successfully use the strategies that they learned in CBT long term.
Individual Therapy
This type of therapy helps those who are suffering from addiction to become more comfortable discussing their challenges. Individual therapy sessions consist of a recovering individual and a therapist or counselor. During these sessions, those in recovery can safely and freely talk about their experiences without fear of judgment or discomfort.
Therapists can use various methods and techniques to encourage their clients in recovery. These approaches can assist individuals in opening up about their challenges and experiences. Individual therapy promises confidentiality and facilitates comfort throughout the treatment process.
Group Therapy
This therapy takes a different direction than individual therapy. Generally, people in group therapy are not required to actively participate even if they are required to attend the meetings. During group therapy, clients often come to the realization that they are not alone. They can also use group therapy as a sort of sounding board to bounce ideas off. They might feel more comfortable discussing some issues with others who are in the same place in their recovery that they are in rather than discussing them with a professional right away. An addiction disorder can feel very isolating even when the person is starting treatment with others. Group therapy can often offer a sense of community.
Family Therapy
During family therapy sessions, family members work on the healing process between themselves and family members suffering from addiction. The path of addiction can hurt both the struggling individual, as well as the family members of that person.
Loved ones may be confused as to why their loved one is acting this way. They may not fully understand what their family member is experiencing. It is hard for many people who do not suffer from an addiction disorder to comprehend the full power of addiction. But family therapy can help family units to better understand and work through the effects of addiction.
Family therapy is also a good place for the recovering individual to tell their side of the story more completely than they were able to while suffering from active addiction.
Recovery Meetings After Treatment
Sobriety meetings are very beneficial in helping people stay on their road to recovery. Some of the most famous of these meeting are Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), and SMART meetings.
AA and NA offer a 12-step program that helps people who are in recovery. AA and NA are group meetings that rely heavily on sponsorship. In AA and NA, a sponsor is someone who has either completed the twelve steps or has made significant progress.
The sponsor mentors and otherwise helps the person they are sponsoring navigate the steps and stay on their road to recovery. Members may also be encouraged to contact their sponsor outside of meetings if they need help staying on their road to recovery.
AA and NA are generally meant to be attended regularly throughout the person in recovery’s life in order to help them stay on their road to recovery as well as provide fellowship in healing from a serious condition. Both AA and NA are structured around a religious core.
SMART is another post clinical recovery group. Unlike AA or NA, SMART does not include a religious core. SMART also provides many meetings are resources. There are many AA, NA, and SMART meetings scattered around the United States from small towns to larger cities. People who are looking for meeting as they travel will probably be welcome at a local meeting where they are staying.
Contact Us for Substance Abuse Treatment
If you are ready to take a step toward recovery from addiction, please contact us here at Silver Linings Recovery Center! We are willing to assist you as you move forward, leaving addiction in the past.
Patients who dedicate themselves and stick with our 3 levels of substance abuse treatment have the best chances of staying sober long-term. For more information on how to enroll in our levels of treatment, call our admissions department today.