Everyone’s need for healing from substance use disorder (SUD) and or other conditions is unique. Moreover, stepping down in levels of care as you transition from treatment to recovery is complex and unique to you. Despite the value of step-down care, any transition in treatment and life can be stressful. In the continuum of care, it is invaluable to your recovery to have support in transitioning to aftercare. Whether you are stepping down from a residential or intensive outpatient program (IOP), transitioning to aftercare is imperative to maintaining recovery.
At Driftwood Recovery, we recognize that you can face challenges and unexpected situations in recovery. Therefore, we are dedicated to providing a sober community in alumni services to address your specific needs to thrive. With support, transitioning to aftercare does not have to be daunting or impossible. Through a wide variety of support services and resources, you can build a path to long-term recovery that matches your life. Yet, you may question what services alumni can offer you on your recovery journey.
Understanding IOP and the challenges of transitioning to aftercare can highlight the value of additional recovery support.
What Is IOP?
Much like a residential treatment program or other outpatient program, IOP is a level of care in the continuum of care treatment system model. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an IOP is a diverse and flexible intermediate level of care on the continuum of recovery. In the process of transitioning to aftercare, IOP helps you seamlessly move along the continuum to step up or down with less disruption to lasting healing. Some of the components of IOP that support transitioning to aftercare include:
- Goals
- Healthy behavioral changes
- Supports abstinence and a new lifestyle
- Active participation in community support network
- 12-Step or other mutual-help programs
- Identify and address psychosocial challenges
- Housing
- Employment
- Problem-solving skills
- Adaptive coping strategies
- Healthy behavioral changes
- Intensity
- Flexible frequency of contact with support services
- Frequent, shorter sessions
- Few but longer sessions
- Flexible frequency of contact with support services
- Duration
- Flexible duration based on individual client needs
- The minimum time is 90 days
- Low intensity over a longer period
- Cost-effective
- Better treatment outcomes
- Flexible duration based on individual client needs
- Settings
- Flexible settings that meet license or certification criteria
- Offers multiple levels of care along with different structures and services
- Hospital settings
- Medical detoxification
- Pharmacotherapy
- Other medical and psychiatric conditions
- Prison facilities
- Community-based step-down services
- Community centers
- Vocational training sites
- Therapeutic community programs
- Hospital settings
- Stages
- Service intensity and structure lessen as you progress
- Tapered service intensity
- You assume more responsibility for your well-being
- Less structure and supervision
- Service intensity and structure lessen as you progress
Further, IOP typically offers effective support in transitioning to aftercare on the continuum spectrum. Through the continuum of care in IOP, you experience less intensive and tapered contact with treatment systems to step down to independence in recovery.
The Value of Transitioning to Aftercare
Transitioning to aftercare along the continuum is vital to independence and self-determination for sustained recovery. At the root of transitioning to aftercare is growth and, thus, improved health outcomes. As noted in the Journal of Substance Use and Abuse Treatment, continuing care services can support sustaining the positive effects of treatment. Some of the elements in continuing care services that support sustained recovery:
- Longer planned duration of therapeutic contact
- Interventions that support active and direct treatment
- Outreach
- Low-burden service delivery systems
- Telehealth services
- Systematic monitoring of treatment response
- Power of choice for clients regarding treatment type and setting
Although every individual’s needs in recovery are unique, transitioning to aftercare offers a foundation for whole-person recovery. Yet, some challenges can arise when you step down in treatment.
Step-Down Challenges in Transitioning to Aftercare
Recovery is a complex and dynamic process that life stressors try to impede. Leaving the intensive daily support of a treatment program can feel understandably daunting. You may be left with many concerns about relapse, how to cope with stressors, and how to manage your daily life. Listed below are some of the most common challenges that arise in recovery:
- Cravings
- Triggers
- Financial instability
- Boredom
- Relationship conflict
- Repairing relationships
- Building new relationships
- Loneliness and isolation
- Guilt and shame
- Sense of purpose
- Relapse
Looking at the challenges in transitioning to aftercare highlights the need to dismantle barriers to continuing care.
Addressing Barriers to Transitioning to Aftercare
Barriers to continuing care are tied to your recovery capital. Your recovery capital is the various resources you draw on to initiate and maintain recovery. Thus, recovery capital covers multiple domains of life, like education, employment, health, social networks, and beliefs and values. In continuing care, barriers can be defined as negative recovery capital. Listed below are some of the barriers or negative capital that can prevent successful transitioning to aftercare:
- Lack of awareness of continuing care services
- Fear of stigma at work and in the community
- Comorbid mental and physical health conditions
- Unemployment
- Low income
- Unstable housing
- Limited or no transportation
- Lack of childcare
- Other structural barriers
- Gender
- Sex
- Race
- Orientation
- Contact with the criminal justice system
Despite the challenges and barriers in transitioning to aftercare, a successful transition is possible.
Stepping Into Recovery With Alumni at Driftwood Recovery
At Driftwood Recovery, we know sustained recovery is made possible through aftercare and community-based resources. Therefore, we are dedicated to providing alumni services where you can find the practical guidance, support, and community needed to thrive. Through alumni services, you are reminded that you are not alone in the peaks and valleys of healing. When you step down in treatment, you are not stepping away from support but rather adding a new dimension to your journey. With a vibrant alumni community, you continue to learn how to integrate adaptive coping skills, build enriching connections, and empower a sense of purpose.
Transitioning to aftercare, whether you are stepping down from residential treatment or an IOP, can feel daunting. Stepping down in care can present various challenges and barriers as you come into contact with stressors like cravings, unemployment, houselessness, lack of childcare, unreliable transportation, and fear of relapse. Despite step-down challenges, continuing care services offer access to various tools of support for maintaining recovery. Through continuing care services like an alumni program, you can access services and resources to address and dismantle challenges and barriers at every stage of recovery. Thus, at Driftwood Recovery, we are dedicated to providing an active alumni family where you can thrive on the guidance of a connected community. Call (512) 759-8330 to learn more today.