Finding Therapy After 90-Day Inpatient Services
Choice House’s 90-day inpatient program gives patients the necessary time to begin to set their sober lifestyle behaviors as new, muscle memory habits. Not only is the extended length of stay beneficial to developing healthier behavioral habits, but it also allows addiction recovery patients to develop comfortable relationships with the therapy professionals on staff. The bond between therapist and patient is critical to the addiction recovery process.
Being able to have open and honest conversations about your addictive disorders and co-occurring mental health issues will ultimately prove vital to any form of long-term sobriety maintenance. The issues discussed in therapy will help unearth the root causes of an addictive disorder, and it is through this self-awareness that addiction recovery patients can begin to avoid potential triggers once they are eventually discharged from rehab. We cannot stress enough how much of the work in maintaining long-term sobriety is achieved through therapy, which in turn requires a comfortable relationship between therapist and patient.
Choice House does offer continuing programs of service where you could potentially extend your previous relationships with on-staff therapists through either our outpatient treatment program or residency at our sober living campus. However, you most likely will eventually need to find a therapist outside of Choice House’s programs of service and staff. Finding a therapist once you leave rehab may seem like a daunting challenge; on top of maintaining your sobriety, you are now tasked with navigating the complex medical and insurance field to find not only a therapist but also the right therapist for you. Below we have provided a brief guide on the “do’s” and “don’ts” of finding a therapist to help ease your transition to a more independent sober lifestyle.
Therapy Tryouts
The first rule in finding a new therapist once leaving rehab is to begin the search immediately. If left on the back burner, you will most likely never actually commit to seeking further therapy treatment outside of rehab. Although the mental health issues may initially appear to be resolved after treatment in rehab, the addictive behavioral traits tend to resurface, and you run an increased risk for relapse by not seeking ongoing therapy options.
Once these old habits resurface, it is generally too late to take the necessary preventative measures to avoid relapse. You should try your best to stay ahead of the game and use self-care techniques to employ preventative measures and avoid triggers before they can spark a relapse. A large part of those self-care techniques will involve knowing how and where to seek therapy.
The second “do” would be to just find a therapist and make an appointment. It is that simple. Although therapy is not always an affordable option, most insurance policies will cover mental wellness checkups that include a certain amount of therapy visits per month or year. If you do not have insurance, the Affordable Care Act has greatly expanded coverage for Americans, and you should seek out options through your state-run program. For those with insurance, you can easily find a therapist who is covered from a quick google search, and many therapists will even list their specialties online as well. Find one that has experience in addictive disorders, and then let the therapy tryouts begin.
We use the term tryouts because the relationship between you and the therapist needs to be comfortable as well as conducive to aiding your particular disease. First and sometimes even second sessions should be where both you and the therapist feel our comfort levels and make sure you are both on the same page when it comes to addiction recovery. The key to any successful therapy relationship is honesty, and we would suggest a possible initial check-in question with yourself about whether you are willing to reveal intimate details about your life and addictive disorder with this particular therapist. You probably will not have a direct answer, but a feeling of comfort or discomfort should guide your decision to either seek further treatment with this therapist or whether you should find another.
Local Recovery Meetings
While searching for a therapist after leaving rehab, you should be taking full advantage of a free resource that provides community-based therapy. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings can be found nightly in most areas across the country and will provide therapeutic services for addiction recovery while you are still searching for a new therapist. For some, this group form of therapy may be enough, and you may decide you do not need more personal therapy sessions. Either way, some form of emotional and psychological assistance — be it one-on-one therapy or group meeting sessions — should be sought without delay after leaving rehab.
If you or someone you love needs treatment for an addictive disorder with co-occurring mental health issues, then Choice House can help. Through a variety of therapeutic modalities, we offer men the opportunity to achieve and learn how to maintain sobriety as they build a new foundation of love, empathy, and understanding. Our addiction recovery treatment services include a 90-day inpatient program, an intensive outpatient service, as well as the chance to take up residency at our sober living campus. Located outside Louisville in the Boulder County area of Colorado, our facilities benefit from being near both a bustling city as well as the nature preserve that is the Rocky Mountain National Park. For inpatient services, we take full advantage of having the Rocky Mountains in our backyard utilizing a unique outdoor wilderness therapy modality. Through physical activities like hiking, rock climbing, and kayaking, men begin to reconnect with nature, fellow recovery patients, and themselves forging bonds of friendships that will last a lifetime. We firmly believe that the relationship formed while at Choice House will prove vital to the recovery process long after leaving our treatment facilities. For more information regarding Choice House facilities or programs of service, please give us a call at (720) 577-4422.