Detoxification and the initial treatment programs are not the final steps of the recovery journey. Recovery is a process that can be life-long. Therefore, it is crucial to not lose sight of one’s recovery goals after the primary treatment program is completed. After initial treatment, clients are encouraged to continue their care. Depending on their recovery needs, clients may enter outpatient programs. Others may opt to join an extended support system through alumni programs. Some people may find it more beneficial to keep in contact with their facility for emergencies as they navigate their newly sober lives. Regardless of the path clients pursue, long-term care can be a critical element in their recovery journeys.
At First Steps Recovery, there are different options for clients looking to extend their care beyond the primary treatment program. Even if this means simply staying in frequent contact with the facility and taking advantage of alumni opportunities, long-term care can make a difference. Often, this choice to continue care can be the difference between a relapse and successfully preventing a relapse.
What Are Long-Term Care Options at First Steps Recovery?
First Steps Recovery offers a full spectrum of care. After residential treatment, which is commonly the primary treatment program, clients typically enter some form of outpatient treatment. However, not every client requires an outpatient program to ease the transition into their normal routines. Some clients may take advantage of a supportive network with other alumni instead. Each client is unique, and their recovery journeys will reflect that. Regardless of the path an individual takes in recovery, long-term sobriety is the ultimate goal.
There are two main ways clients can continue their care with First Steps Recovery: outpatient services and alumni support in the aftercare program.
Outpatient Programs
There are multiple options clients have when considering an outpatient program: intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) and online outpatient programs (OOPs). These intensive outpatient options allow clients to continue their treatment while not being required to stay on campus. Clients can transition back into their home and work lives while navigating sobriety alongside their responsibilities. IOPs offer the same services as residential treatment and require that clients spend a certain amount of time per week attending their treatment program. The length of an IOP is dependent on the individual, but the program typically lasts 60 or more days.
An OOP is the second outpatient option for clients looking to extend their treatment. This program mimics the IOP style of treatment, but the client attends sessions online. These sessions are required for clients in the program on either a daily or weekly basis. In-person treatment is also encouraged, but not every client can fit that into their schedules. This is especially true for clients who have transitioned into their normal routines and have significant work or home responsibilities to tend to. These responsibilities can prohibit a client from being able to drive to the campus.
Aftercare and Alumni Programs
Extended support does not end with outpatient programs, either. Alumni support (sometimes called extended support or aftercare) is an ongoing program that clients can participate in at any time. Aftercare is typically the sixth step in the full spectrum of care. Clients who are fully immersed in their daily routines may need a supportive shoulder or a regrouping session to promote relapse prevention. Recovery can be challenging, and it is not linear. Having ongoing extended care allows clients to return to their recovery roots and stabilize themselves during their path to permanent sobriety.
Aftercare also provides clients with a stable, sober support system. Being surrounded by a group of sober individuals who are also navigating a new phase of their lives is not only comforting but also promotes sobriety long-term.
What Are the Benefits of Long-Term Care For Optimal Recovery?
Long-term care, which is often called continuing care, keeps support and treatment more available in a client’s life. Continuing care means the client is making active efforts to be engaged in sobriety-promoting activities and therapies. This yields more positive recovery results.
Clients who may be at a higher risk of relapse may benefit from long-term care as it keeps them occupied with their sobriety. There are incentives for maintaining abstinence, especially in outpatient programs where session attendance is required.
Connecting to Oneself and Prioritizing Self-Care
More personal benefits can also come out of long-term care that surpass relapse prevention and maintaining sobriety. These include gaining a deeper knowledge of oneself, leading a self-directed life, and creating a personalized self-care routine. Long-term care provides clients with more time to engage with their inner selves on a deep level rather than becoming caught up with responsibilities and putting self-care on the back burner.
Active engagement in long-term care services, even if it only consists of staying in contact with alumni or staff members, provides many benefits. Staying engaged allows clients to continue learning about themselves, figuring out what works best for them in their lives, and learning about which methods of relapse prevention and self-care are most beneficial for them.
At First Steps Recovery, we offer a full spectrum of care for all clients. Care does not end after a client finishes their primary treatment program, which is often residential treatment. Instead, clients are welcomed and encouraged to extend their treatment via an outpatient program of some sort or the alumni/aftercare program. These programs help clients remain focused on their recovery goals as they transition back into their normal routines. Long-term care helps clients prevent relapse, create a healthy self-care plan, and learn more about themselves. These resources help them to be more self-advocating with recovery long term. To learn more about long-term care and our programs, please call us at (844) 489-0836.
Dr. Curl is the Medical Director and primary on-site provider for First Steps Recovery. He is a Board Certified Internist and Addiction Medicine Specialist having attended the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and completing his residency at Mount Auburn Hospital with Harvard Medical School. Following several years work as an internist and physiatrist (physical medicine and rehabilitation). Dr. Curl completed the Addiction Medicine Fellowship at Howard University in Washington DC and participated as a RAM Scholar (Research in Addiction Medicine). While part of the fellowship, Dr. Curl pursued research investigating the barriers to expanding and improving medication for opioid use disorder. Following his fellowship, Dr. Curl spearheaded the Opiate Use Disorder outpatient clinic and worked in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences within the Howard University Hospital. In 2023, Dr. Curl completed his Board Certification in Addiction Medicine.
