Aftercare Following Addiction Treatment: Why it is Essential

You have been to rehab. Finally, after battling your demons you stepped up, reached out and made a commitment to get help. One of the most important steps now is aftercare following addiction treatment. You went through detox and faced up to your fears in therapy.

Sorry, but there is no medal at the end.

Unlike women who wear baby on board badges on public transport, no one in the street is going to know you are now in recovery unless you tell them.

It is your choice, entirely, as to whether you tell people. You will have your network of supporters, which you compiled in treatment as part of your relapse prevention skills development.

When you leave rehab, you will have a new sense of renewal. You will want to make up for lost time. New business ventures, different profession, new hobbies. You will want to make up for lost time. As a reminder, maintaining aftercare routines following addiction treatment helps you move forward.

Leaving rehab doesn’t mean leaving the support behind. Aftercare following addiction treatment can help you maintain your progress.

Aftercare following addiction treatment: Use it

Just as your GP surgery would provide post op care following your discharge from hospital such as taking out sutures and checking on wounds so rehab centres provide a check in service as well as ongoing support groups as well as a dedicated support line if you are struggling. To ensure a smoother recovery, aftercare is a central part following addiction treatment in these facilities.

Telephone check in

All rehab centres provide a telephone check in service. These calls are an important element of the aftercare process after addiction treatment.

By arrangement, a therapist/trained support worker will call you to see how you are getting on. Telephone follow-ups help reinforce your aftercare following the challenges of addiction treatment.

Knowing that someone is going to call you can be an incredible incentive, should you need one, to stay sober and abstinent. The knowledge that you are not on your own is invaluable. This is yet another benefit of aftercare following addiction treatment.

Support Group

In rehab, you will have benefitted from group therapy, which forms a foundation of aftercare following addiction treatment.

There is no need to leave it there. You can continue to benefit from this after you return home. Support groups are vital aftercare measures for those who completed addiction treatment.

12 STEP/SMART or eclectic. It really doesn’t matter. However, regular group participation ensures sustained aftercare once addiction treatment has ended.

All centres offer a weekly aftercare support group. If you live close enough you can attend in person or you can attend via zoom/Teams, etc. The same rules on confidentiality apply as they did in rehab.

Contact line

If you find yourself struggling, your rehab centre will have a support line to call.

Dealing with cravings isn’t easy. One aftercare tip following addiction treatment is to use all the support available to manage those moments.

Your brain can take up to a year to fully reset.

Relapse happens, but not to everyone and it doesn’t have to be catastrophic. If you think you are going to relapse: Call for help. If you have relapsed: Call for help. No one is going to judge you.

Speak to an Experienced Addictions Clinician For Free Advice and Referrals

You can speak to an experienced addictions clinician on any aspect of addiction detox, rehab, therapy and aftercare.

We do not charge for advice or referrals.

It matters not to us if you choose statutory services, private care or to go abroad: We are only here to give advice.

We only signpost to legally registered centres.

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