Drug Rehabilitation and Substance Abuse Treatment at Support Systems

The recovery process does not end when an individual completes our drug rehabilitation programs. Continuing support upon completion of drug and alcohol treatment is the key to a healthy recovery from addiction. Treatment is just the beginning of a lifelong process of growth and recovery in all areas of life that have been affected by drug addiction and alcoholism.

In order to provide a complete, supportive continuum of care, Support Systems provides weekly Aftercare for program graduates. Clients participating in Aftercare have usually completed our residential, day, or outpatient treatment programs. Although they have completed a more instensive level of care generally referred to as primary treatment, clients are more likely to be successful in maintaining abstinence if they are involved in recovery activities on a long term basis. SSH's Aftercare program consists of a weekly group facilitated by an experienced counselor who helps guide clients in their recovery efforts, assisting them in meeting the goals contained in their continuing care plans. Aftercare is a forum in which clients may explore successes, obstacles, and day to day issues that confront them, receiving feedback and support from the group facilitator and other participants.

Graduates of our programs are also encouraged to attend Alumni meetings and events. Alumni Association activities include quarterly picnics, activities, and sponsorship for new clients. The Aftercare program is designed to provide ongoing support in the form of structured activities that include clients, alumni, staff, families, and the community.

Please call 1-800-811-1800 for further information

Aftercare Definition - From National Library of Medicine & SAMSHA

Aftercare, or continuing care, is the stage following discharge, when the client no longer requires services at the intensity required during primary treatment. A client is able to function using a self-directed plan, which includes minimal interaction with a counselor. Counselor interaction takes on a monitoring function. Clients continue to reorient their behavior to the ongoing reality of a pro-social, sober lifestyle. Aftercare can occur in a variety of settings, such as periodic outpatient aftercare, relapse/recovery groups, 12-Step and self-help groups, and halfway houses. Whether individuals completed primary treatment in a residential or outpatient program, they have at least some of the skills to maintain sobriety and begin work on remediating various areas of their lives. Work is intrapersonal and interpersonal as well as environmental. Areas that relate to environmental issues, such as vocational rehabilitation, finding employment, and securing safe housing, fall within the purview of case management.

Because case managers interact with the client in the community, they are in a unique position to see the results of work being done in aftercare groups and provide perspective about the client's functioning in the community. Recent findings suggest that the case management relationship may be as valuable to the client during this phase of recovery as that with the addictions counselor (Siegal et al., 1997; Godley et al., 1994). Aftercare is important in completing treatment both from a funding standpoint (many funders refuse to pay for aftercare services), as well as from the client's perspective.