Recovering from drug and alcohol addiction is an immensely arduous challenge to overcome. It is even more strenuous to do it alone. Thus, people struggling with drug and alcohol addiction who are in desperate need for a solution turn to clinical substance abuse treatment for help stopping the destructive pain their addiction is causing them and their loved ones.
As a licensed mental health and substance abuse counseling whose worked with thousands of recovering addicts, see countless relapses, and hear the needs from those I have served, I wonder if modern addiction treatment is falling short of meeting the genuine needs of recovering addicts, their families, and our communities.
The Standard “One Size Fits All” Approach
The standards of care for clinical substance abuse treatment are designed, discussed, and implemented nationwide by the National Institute of Health (NIH), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the respective State Office of Behavioral Health (OBH). These standards govern how State programs, treatment facilities, insurance companies, hospitals, and individual clinicians conduct themselves in their treatment of clients with substance use disorders.
The standard care for the treatment of substance abuse often consists of a combination of interventions, including: detoxification services, medication management (the standard approach used to stabilize a wide-variety of mental health symptoms or cravings to use), in conjunction with different types of Cognitive Behavioral interventions that are interweaved into individual and group therapy sessions, and often form the bedrock for how an agency manages its clinical program. Some treatment programs may also offer 12 Step support groups as an additional service.
The underlying belief that forms the standards of care is that “chemical imbalances” of the brain caused by substance abuse, coupled with a learned pattern of addictive behavior (as well as all other problematic behaviors) can be unlearned and modified through the use of various medications and behavioral interventions.
These combined elements create a cookie-cutter “one size fits all” approach to clinical substance abuse treatment. It is a collectivist model that gives everybody the same service regardless of what they need or if it will ACTUAL work for individual clients who desire long-term sobriety. Not only does this approach often neglect the unique and complex biological, psychological, social, and spiritual needs of clients, it limits the interventions clinicians can utilize clients to address these complex dynamics in a meaningful and impactful way.
I have heard numerous clients tell me that “they’ve done this all before” and how treatment programs “all feel the same”. Most clients implicitly know these cookie-cutter approaches aren’t giving them the help they need to recover from drug and alcohol addiction, but sadly, they often have no other choice.
I have worked in programs where I was instructed to teach only from a specific treatment manual, or that I had to run a specific type of group on a specific day even when there were other issues or topics the clients really wanted to talk about. Why? Well, the most common response I received was “because this is just how we do it”.
While the “one size fits all” approach to substance abuse treatment is simpler and easier to manage and requires less resources to maintain, many clients unfortunately fall through these systemic cracks, never receiving the individualized care they need to help them succeed in their recovery journey.
The entire worldview that forms the standards of care needs to change its approach to clinical substance abuse treatment by envisioning a longer-term, more individualized approach that will help clients get at the heart of their substance abuse issues, as well as providing them with ongoing guidance and support through the many challenges they will experience after leaving a treatment program.
Client’s Lack Continuing Care & Support Re-integrating Back Into the Community
I’ve witnessed clients make tremendous changes in treatment, just to have it all unravel once they leave. When repeated several times… and dozens for some… it can leave many recovering addicts’ feelings even more hopeless and defeated about recovery.
Also, many clients feel great pressure from their family, loved ones, or the legal system to stay sober. This can feel like an overwhelming emotional burden to bear for clients starting their recovery journey.
Foraging a new life in recovery requires community connection
One of the root causes of addiction is social disengagement and isolation, therefore the paradoxical antidote to this problem is connection. Many recovering addicts have broken trust, hurt others, and lost significant relationships due to their addiction, and often isolate from others out of a deep sense of guilt and shame. Feeling isolated and disconnected from meaningful relationships is a powerful influencer for addictive and self-destructive behaviors.
In other words, we need to feel like are safe and that we belong to a group of people who will care, support, and when needed, will protect us… sometimes even from ourselves… when we need it most.
Plus, when we are in dark and difficult times… it’s always nice to have friends and family who care about us, who hold us accountable, and who want to help move through it. Thus, it is super important to cultivate and nurture these vital relationships before leaving treatment.
However…
Clients often lose their community after leaving treatment
Most services end once a client completes a prescribed amount treatment (usually a certain number of hours of group and individual therapy over the course of 28-90 days). When services end, many clients losing the meaningful connections they formed with their peers and staff, often at a time when clients need the greatest amount of guidance and support as they make a leap-of-faith into the scary unknowingness of recovery.
Clients who go through treatment together begin to gain a long sought-after sense of connection and belonging. But then they leave treatment, lose these meaningful relationships, and often feel lonely and lost again.
I’ve noticed dynamic this tends to trigger a sense of grief and loss within clients, often going unrecognized before a client leaves treatment, which really increases their risk for relapse when they discharge. I have also witnessed many clients procrastinating working on their discharge plan and/or actually discharging from treatment because they don’t want to leave or lose those formative bonds and again, feel lonely and isolated.
Therefore, modern addiction treatment needs to incorporate a long-term recovery community into their treatment programs. Clients want to belong to their “tribe”, their tight-knit group of trusted people having fun together in recovery. This may come in the form of an alumni group, a team of peer support specialists, or just a group of people who come together to have fun and celebrate recovery. Without a strong sober social support network, recovering addicts are at a significantly higher risk of relapse or continued use.
The (Much Needed) Evolution of Addiction Treatment
As we can see, the limitations of the current model of addiction treatment is no longer adaptable to the current (and dire) situation we’re facing with wide-spread substance abuse nationwide. Far too many addicts are not getting the individualized treatment they need to genuinely address the underlying roots of their addiction and end up falling through the cracks.
There is a desperate need for an evolution in the paradigm of clinical addiction treatment.
Myself, along with other professionals I have worked with agree that recovering addicts need longer-term, individualized clinical care (often care that addresses underlying trauma), mentorship, recovery coaching, and social support that will help them transform their recovery and maintain long-term sobriety. While this paradigm will require more assets being directed to support an agency’s clinical team, I strongly believe that having a great team of clinicians who have the resources, leadership, and maneuverability to work with the complex dynamics of clinical addiction treatment will help clients attain their long-sought goal of recovery.
At WholeHearted Therapy we offer in-depth and diverse clinical services to meet YOUR individual recovery needs such as: trauma therapy, group therapy, recovery coaching, and community integration; as well as offer a great community of members in recovery from addiction, trauma, and mental illness that want to support those in need of some help recovering from addiction. Here we are your mentors and guides that will encourage and empower you throughout your recovery journey.
Here we are your mentors and guides that will encourage and empower you throughout your recovery journey.
You may Contact me for a free 15-minute phone consultation to address any questions, comments, or concerns you may have about starting your recovery journey with WholeHearted Therapy or you may directly request an appointment below.
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