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Why Is Continuing Care So Important To Recovery?

Continuing care is a vital part of the recovery process. Community members make incredible changes and progress in recovery and continuing care is the support system that protects that progress as members transition back into daily life. This extension of the core program is critical for your long-term success. In this article, our goal is to shed light on the benefits of continuing care, as well as provide relevant statistics and resources for you to learn more.

Pacifica Treatment Centre offers up to 18 months of continuing care services to community members that have undergone treatment at our facility. Pacifica’s continuum of care utilizes trauma-informed philosophy, emphasizing stabilization, safety, healing, connection, and growth. These methods can mean all the difference towards your future success and help you live a happy, healthy life.

Three Predictors of Long-Term Recovery Success

There are three main factors that predict whether or not someone will recover from a Substance Use Disorder and maintain their recovery in the long run. Those factors are:

  • Support and stability from loved ones
  • Participating in extended periods of care
  • Social and community support groups

 

The Transition Out Of In-Residence Treatment

After graduating from Pacifica, reintegrating into the world can be a challenging obstacle to navigate on your own. It can be a daunting task returning to work, openly communicating with others, and dealing with the challenges associated with everyday life.

You will be placed in an environment that will test your resolve. The real challenge is the way in which you may be confronted with substances and need to remain strong. In fact, the first couple of weeks after transitioning out of the program are the most demanding. You may need to resist cravings, remove yourself from temptation and use the skills and tools that were provided to you during your treatment program. The outside world may not know the battle you’re fighting and may tempt you at times.

Benefits of Continuing Care Programs

A continuing-care program provides the crucial support system that people need, reinforcing healthy habits needed to maintain a substance-free life in the long term.

Continuing Care Includes

Recovery Counseling: Having access to a professional counselor who has your best interests in mind is so incredibly valuable towards your success. These individuals are incredibly supportive, offering help from a place of compassion and understanding. These are professionals who you can trust because they want the same thing as you – to see you succeed.

Peer support: One of the most valuable support systems that community members have access to is their peers. Who better to empathize or understand the challenges and struggles you are facing than the people going through a similar situation? These individuals can help you when you’re struggling or be the confidants you share your successes with. It’s important to have a supportive social group, helping you avoid the tendency to isolate which can be a precursor for return to use.

Pacifica’s alumni group provides an opportunity to connect with others in a similar situation, who know the struggles and are there to support your recovery.

Accountability: This is a very powerful tool. Call it an emotion, a debt owed, or a promise. Being accountable to yourself and especially to others is a very effective way to remain true to your goals. Friends or family who keep you accountable for your actions are some of the most valuable people you can surround yourself with during your post-treatment journey.

These are only some of the many reasons why continuing care is so critical to community members on their journey to recovery. Ultimately, continuing care helps with the transition back into everyday life, it provides continued access to professional support and helps keep people connected within the community of support.

Does Continuing Care Really Help?

Research supports that continuing care is a critical part of recovery. The benefits that it offers, are increasingly important based on the severity of the Substance Use Disorder. Below is a short list of related statistics supporting the need for continuing care:

  • Continuing care programs of 12 months or more offer the greatest positive outcomes.
  • A combination of post-treatment services provides the most benefit.
  • There is a direct correlation between the number of attended continuing care sessions and the likelihood of long-term recovery.
  • Emerging Adults (aged 18-25) were 1.3 times more likely to abstain from substance use if engaged with 1 Mutual Help-Group (MHG) and 3.2 times more likely if engaged in 5 MHG activities.

 

What is a Mutual Help Group (MHG)? Mutual help groups are groups of peers that share a common problem, such as substance use, and help support one another. Mutual help groups may help you maintain sobriety or encourage harm reduction. Group sessions are almost always free and can be organized or moderated by a non-professional peer. Popular examples of MHG’s include:

 

Continuing Care at Pacifica Treatment Center

At Pacifica Treatment Centre, our team understands the tremendous importance of continuing care programs, offering services for 12-18 months, long enough for you to extract real value. Any significant life change takes time and practice, and the personal transformation community members go through at Pacifica is no different.

Our continuing care program provides ongoing support to assist community members as they navigate the process of settling back into their home communities. Our Continuing Care program offers:

  • One group session per week
  • Intensive relapse prevention education
  • Structured content and assignments
  • One-to-one sessions (as required)

 

Alumni Services

One of the most powerful and supportive communities you can be involved in is full of people who have fought and won the same battles that you have struggled with. The community of people who make up our Alumni group are incredibly supportive, compassionate, empathetic, and encouraging individuals. The goal is to continue learning, growing, and providing help to those in need.

Alumni Services offer graduates of Pacifica’s treatment program year-round opportunities to make connections through workshops, peer-support gatherings, social events, volunteerism, and through meaningful engagement on committees and working groups.

Learn More About Recovery and Continuing Care Programs In Vancouver, BC

Pacifica offers a continuum of care over a period of 12-18 months, designed to enhance your quality of life and well-being along with promoting sustainable recovery from problematic substance use. For more information about our in-residence treatment programs call our offices or reach out to us online today!

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