The Importance of Aftercare in Sustainable Recovery

Learn more about the importance of aftercare and how it plans an integral role in your journey to sustainable wellness and healing.

The Importance of Aftercare for Sustainable Healing

At AM Behavioral Health, we understand healing is a journey that doesn’t stop after you complete treatment. It’s a continuous process that requires ongoing guidance and support. That’s why we offer aftercare services to foster a sustainable healing journey.

Our aftercare program plays a pivotal role in complete recovery by providing a safe and supportive space for you. We provide the necessary tools for long-lasting and sustainable well-being.

The Importance of Aftercare for Effective Healing

Research shows that 65% to 70% of alcohol-dependent individuals that went through treatment relapsed within a year.¹

Another study also highlights a 91% relapse rate for people who previously experienced addiction to opioids.²

At AM Behavioral Health, we’re committed to challenging those statistics.

We believe that this high risk of relapse reinforces the importance of aftercare. Our aftercare program addresses any problems you may experience in your everyday life that could lead to a relapse.

Understanding the Importance of Aftercare in Behavioral Health

Aftercare services are programs that help people recovering from addiction adapt to daily life after completing treatment. An aftercare program provides the person with helpful tools to address important problems like relapse or stigma relating to recovery.

Over the years, aftercare has evolved into a holistic post-treatment approach to addiction and mental health conditions.

Depending on the person’s needs, it may also include a combination of:

Therapy modalities
Peer support groups
Lifestyle changes

Transitioning from Mental Health Treatment Programs to Aftercare

There are many benefits that show the importance of aftercare programs, but it’s also vital to understand the common transition challenges and how to overcome them.

Common Challenges During the Transition that Highlight the Importance of Aftercare

During the transition period between treatment and aftercare, people may have the following concerns:

Fear of relapse: People may have experienced a relapse in the past after completing their treatment program. They may have a sense of vulnerability based on that experience.
Independent living: It’s normal to feel nervous about the independence that comes with an aftercare program, though clients still have significant support and guidance.
Stigma and shame: There’s an increased level of awareness and acceptance of mental health conditions. However, people often still feel ashamed when transitioning from their treatment program to aftercare.

How Transition Planning Helps Overcome Challenges

Transition planning plays a major role in overcoming transition challenges by providing individualized support. A transition plan takes each person’s needs, strengths, and challenges into account. It also provides helpful resources for navigating through the transition process.

Our transition planning process at AM Behavioral Health focuses on helping clients set clear goals and milestones. These goals will help them stay motivated in achieving their recovery goals and avoiding relapse.

Facilitating Successful Transitions Using Collaborative Approaches

When developing a successful transition plan, we employ effective collaborative approaches like:

Transition planning meetings: These meetings include the client, our licensed therapist, and other trained mental health professionals.
Skill-building workshops: We offer skill-building workshops or group therapy sessions that focus on developing coping skills, communication strategies, and stress management.
Peer support groups: We connect clients with people who have experienced similar life events to provide a sense of belonging and encouragement during transition.

The Importance of Aftercare: Components of an Effective Aftercare Program

An effective aftercare program is a combination of three major components:

Continuous support
Relapse prevention
Holistic approaches

Here’s how those three components help create an effective aftercare program:

Continuation of Therapeutic Interventions and Support Services

Most aftercare programs will include therapy sessions and peer support to help the person stay true to their goal and get the help they need during recovery.

We understand that it’s easier for a person to relapse when they feel isolated. This is why our support groups offer connection, compassion, and holistic care to maintain a positive outlook and stay motivated through recovery.

Relapse Prevention Strategies and Coping Skills Development

We empower clients with the necessary relapse prevention strategies and skills for sustainable recovery.

These strategies may include:

Identifying triggers: We help clients understand situations, emotions, or thoughts that could trigger relapse. Common examples of triggers are depression, fatigue, loneliness, anger, insomnia, and relationship problems.
Eating a healthy diet: At AM Behavioral Health, we encourage eating a balanced diet to help the body remain properly nourished and improve cognitive function.
Regular exercise: Regular exercise can help reduce feelings of anxiety and stress, which are common relapse triggers.
Quality sleep: High-quality sleep is essential for brain function and sleep deprivation increases the risks of relapse. It’s important for individuals to obtain anywhere from seven to nine hours of good sleep each night.
Taking up a creative endeavor: Individuals can work through relapse feelings by taking up certain art endeavors such as painting, sculpting, writing, dancing, or playing an instrument.

Incorporating Holistic Wellness Approaches in Aftercare Plans

At AM Behavioral Health, our aftercare plan focuses not only on building mental strength but also on prioritizing physical and spiritual health, as the body, mind, and spirit are a cohesive unit that works together to maintain well-being.

The Importance of Aftercare: Tailoring Aftercare to Specific Behavioral Health Needs

Every aftercare program differs from the other, based on a person’s specific needs. It’s a personalized roadmap of strategies that provide the best recovery outcomes. Before recommending an aftercare plan, we make certain mental health considerations.

The Importance of Aftercare Considerations for Substance Use Disorder Treatment

Some of the most common considerations for aftercare for people experiencing substance use disorder include:

The best therapies for the client based on previous substance use disorders.
Medication-assisted treatment to support long-term recovery.
Advisable lifestyle choices to encourage a sustainable recovery.
Building and updating the relapse prevention plan to ensure it addresses evolving challenges and circumstances.

The Importance of Aftercare Programs for Co-Occurring Disorders

We treat aftercare programs for co-occurring disorders differently. At AM Behavioral Health, we ensure that our dual diagnosis recovery team takes into account each client’s specific needs to manage both substance use and mental health symptoms.

Family and Community Involvement During Healing

Due to the collaborative nature of aftercare, a person’s family and community play vital roles in a successful recovery journey.

Involving family and other loved ones in the community could serve as a strong support system against relapse.

That’s why we allow clients and their families to collaborate with our expert medical staff throughout treatment.

Engaging Family and Loved Ones in the Aftercare Process

Here’s how engaging family and loved ones can help during the aftercare process:

Improving the open communication culture that reduces feelings of isolation.
Rebuilding trust and a healthy relationship within the home.
Building awareness about addiction, recovery, and strategies that could support recovery.
In some cases, they serve as accountability partners in the recovery process.

Leveraging Community Resources and Support Networks

During aftercare, clients can leverage community resources by taking part in educational workshops and seminars that help in understanding mental health conditions and available coping strategies.

Access to these resources can help people make more informed decisions about their mental health, reducing the risks of relapse.

Importance of Social Connections in Sustaining Recovery

Family and community involvement are one of the foundational forms of social connection. They create a sense of purpose and meaning, which could help enhance a person’s self-esteem and build resilience against relapse.

Social connection also helps provide emotional regulation, which helps reduce stress, anxiety, and depression.

The Importance of Aftercare: Monitoring and Accountability

At AM Behavioral Health, our aftercare program ensures clients get all of the help they need to sustain recovery without them healing or recovering in isolation.³

Here’s how we do it:

Regular Check-Ins and Follow-up Appointments

Our aftercare support at AM Behavioral Health includes constant check-ins and follow-ups with the medical expert. Appointment times will vary based on a person’s specific needs, treatment goals, and the severity of the mental health condition.

Here’s what to expect during a check-in or appointment at AM Behavioral Health:

Our mental health professional assesses each client’s current mental health state. This may involve asking questions about sleep patterns or significant life changes.
If needed, medical experts will review treatments to know whether to continue with them or start new ones.
Our team encourages regular goal setting and progress tracking to stay motivated during recovery.
We follow a collaborative decision-making process that empowers clients to effectively manage their well-being over time.

Utilizing Technology for Remote Monitoring and Support

When needed, the mental health center uses tech-like telehealth platforms to conduct virtual sessions. They could also send out emails through a secure messaging platform, which helps in facilitating ongoing communication.⁴

We encourage using mobile apps and wearable devices to monitor:

Mood
Sleep patterns
Activity level
Other metrics that play a role in a person’s mental well-being

Celebrating Recovery Milestones

Aftercare is a journey, and it’s important to set goals, monitor the progress of those goals, and celebrate milestones.

Here are some of the common milestones clients may work toward celebrating during recovery:

Maintaining their mental health for a set period
Re-entering relationships and work
Feeling physically strong enough to handle tasks they were previously not confident about
Specific anniversaries in their recovery journey

The Importance of Aftercare Accessibility

People in recovery can face problems with a program’s accessibility and comprehensiveness for several reasons.

These include:

Limited resources: Some aftercare programs have funding problems, which affects their capacity to meet the needs of those who need support. Over time, this leads to long wait times and inadequate staffing.
Geographic barriers: Many people living in rural areas are often unable to access aftercare programs due to transportation barriers or lack of resources in their area.
Lack of coordination and continuity of care: Some people experience a high level of coordination when transitioning from one treatment provider or professional to the other. This disjointed aftercare experience discourages them from forging ahead.

AM Behavioral Health’s Commitment to Providing Accessible and Comprehensive Aftercare

At AM Behavioral Health, we understand the setbacks people face due to the inaccessibility of an aftercare plan.

Below are some of our strategies for providing a more accessible and comprehensive aftercare plan:

We perform a comprehensive assessment that highlights each person’s needs, strengths, and barriers they may have in aftercare.
Gathering a multidisciplinary team that helps implement the treatment plan based on our initial assessment.
We have a relationship with community organizations and healthcare providers to improve access to needed aftercare resources.

The Importance of Aftercare: Empowering You for Your Aftercare Journey

At AM Behavioral Health, we are focused on empowering you for your aftercare journey through teaching self-management and self-advocacy techniques like:

Coping skills: These include methods such as deep breathing, meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation.
Problem-solving skills: Having the ability to weigh problems and take action to address them effectively.
Practicing assertiveness: We always encourage you to communicate your needs, advocate for your rights, and practice active listening during aftercare.
Effective communication: Good communication skills are essential in expressing concerns, asking for help, and building a support network.
Self-reflection: Learn to assess your progress, strengths, and areas that need growth.

Discover the Importance of Aftercare with AM Behavioral Health

We know that leaving the structured setup of rehab can be challenging, and we understand the importance of aftercare in bridging that gap.

Our aftercare program involves a team of professionals that provides individualized support through:

Regular one-on-one counseling sessions
Constant review of each person’s recovery journey
Connecting clients with specialized support groups

Why Choose AM Behavioral Health?

Engaging in our aftercare plan is a decisive step to securing a future filled with wellness and fulfillment. It’s an opportunity to experience lasting change and to become a better version of yourself. We believe that our approach to aftercare increases the possibility of recovery.

Contact AM Behavioral Health Today

Whether you need to make inquiries or begin your aftercare program, please reach out to us. Your mental health matters, and you deserve the support and resources available to help you thrive.

Take a brave step to a brighter future. Contact us today to learn more about the importance of aftercare and how to get the help you need.