Although many people leave a period of rehabilitation addiction treatment feeling great and feeling confident, the first 3 to 6 months after primary treatment are the period of greatest risk for relapse. Because of this, it is vital that any rehabilitation treatment (whether on an inpatient or outpatient basis) get followed up with 6 to 12 months of continuing care.
Aftercare (Continuing Care)
According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM):
Addiction is a chronic medical disease requiring acute stabilization and continuing care to manage waxing and waning symptoms.1
Continuing care programs are similar in nature to rehabilitation programs, and include counseling and support, but they are less intensive and less frequent than those of the rehabilitation period. During continuing care, you might start off with once or twice weekly group or individual counseling sessions – and by the end of 6 or 12 months of continuing care, you may have progressed to the point where only 1 or 2 brief sessions a month are necessary to support continuing recovery.2
Although continuing care may seem like a sometimes unnecessary burden, research shows that people who stay involved with addiction treatment for a year or longer are far more likely to maintain a lasting recovery. People in rural or remote locations, people without a driver’s license and other people who have difficulty traveling to community meetings can get great benefit from counseling offered over the telephone.3
Some of the benefits of continuing care include:
- Working with a counselor to practice and modify the lessons of primary care in the community – learning to deal with and overcome temptation in a way that works for you
- Receiving encouragement for progress made and finding motivation to continue
- Getting support as you make the significant the life changes that are necessary for continuing recovery (changes in living environments, relationship changes, etc.)
- People who stay in close contact with a counselor once in the community are more likely to get back into treatment quickly after a slip – before that slip becomes a lengthy full relapse
page last update Jun 26, 2011
