choice house blog

Rehab vs. Recovery Residences: Understanding Two of Today’s Treatment Types These days, experience has taught us that addiction recovery doesn’t necessarily follow a predictable, linear path. It can be as varied as the individuals brave enough to step into the journey, and can include inpatient treatment, intensive outpatient treatment, recovery living communities, and more. Today…

Making a one-size-fits-all claim such as “12-step programs work” will likely always elicit spirited discussion from those who disagree. Few, however, would dare say that 12-step programs never work. Life at times can get lonely, and exceptionally so if you’re struggling with alcohol or substance abuse. This is one of the main reasons that Alcoholics…

So you’ve made the decision to get sober, you gave inpatient rehabilitation your best effort, and your on your way to the next step of living life, sober – whether that means a sober living home or venturing back out into the “real world”. First of all, congratulations on your progress. And next, as you…

Years ago, those who had completed drug or alcohol inpatient rehabilitation were considered “cured” once they were discharged and sent back to their lives. Today, however, we know better. First, there’s really no “cure” for addiction. And second, recovery is a lifelong pursuit, one in which the individual is best served by a treatment approach…

“If we help heal the animals, Mother Earth will begin to heal, and when this occurs, the people will remember many things they have forgotten; those sacred spaces and places we once called home. This can only bring good into our lives and the lives of others” Mary Ann McCain Co-Founder Song of the Wolf…

Healthcare continues to make significant advances each year, and thankfully, treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs) and alcohol addiction is keeping pace. Thankfully, there’s been a shift away from the oversimplified goal of abstinence alone to a more holistic perspective. Today, recommended treatment for substance use disorders and alcoholism validates the need to not only…

  Although the opioid crisis is currently getting more press coverage, there’s another insidious disease that’s quietly wreaking havoc on personal goals and aspirations, families, career plans, financial health, and untold other instances of unrealized potential. It’s the same condition that claims around 88,000 lives each year (roughly twice as many as opiate overdoses). Those…

If you know someone who’s struggling with substance abuse, and you’ve ever thought, Hmmm, I feel like he/she might also have depression/ADHD/generalized anxiety [insert any mental health disorder], you’re observing something known as “dual diagnosis.” Also sometimes referred to as “co-occurring disorders,” the condition describes a situation in which an individual has both a mental…

Building a Case for Connection For a long time, “abstinence” was considered the opposite of addiction. Just put systems in place to ensure the person doesn’t have access to his or her substance of choice… and – ding! – addiction solved. Fortunately, the research and understanding around psychological and physiological addictions continue to evolve, and…