When you are looking for help with a substance abuse problem, your choices for help may seem overwhelming. There are several different kinds of treatment and several different levels of care that vary in intensity. It can be a challenge to determine what level of care is appropriate for you. The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) has established a set of criteria for determining the most appropriate level of care for individuals seeking treatment for substance abuse. A skilled substance abuse counselor will be able to help you make this determination and guide you to the level of care that best fits your needs.

Early intervention treatment is the least restrictive and least intense level of care. In early intervention treatment, people who are considered to be at a high risk for abusing substances are able to learn more about drugs and alcohol and identify high risk behaviors. Individuals that are appropriate for this level of care do not currently meet criteria for a substance abuse disorder, but are still able to benefit from some sort of treatment.

Outpatient treatment is the next level of care that is provided for substance abuse treatment. Individuals receiving outpatient services are seen by a counselor according to patient need, although this must be less than nine hours a week. Generally, an individual will carry a substance abuse diagnosis at this level of care, but the symptoms the individual displays are not serious enough to interfere with daily activities of living to a point that a higher level of care would be necessary.

Intensive outpatient treatment is very similar to traditional outpatient treatment. The main difference between these two levels of care is that the individual must spend a minimum of nine hours a week in services. Intensive outpatient treatment does not require the individual to live at the facility where treatment is being provided, but does offer the individual the opportunity to work through issues related to substances on an intense level. Individuals in this level of care are experiencing a decline in the ability to handle their daily activities of living and, therefore, meet criteria for receiving services at a higher level of care than those in traditional outpatient settings.

Residential treatment takes place when the individual lives at the facility, and the majority of the individual’s time is spent focusing on recovery. Residential treatment is gender specific in terms of living quarters, although treatment oriented activities such as group may contain members of both sexes. Residential treatment facilities have staff members on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and are able to provide constant support for individuals receiving treatment. Residential treatment is recommended for individuals who cannot abstain from using substances in a less intense level of care, and/or cannot keep up with activities of daily living. These programs are traditionally 28 days in length, but can vary depending on the needs of the individual.

Medically managed treatment is the most intense level of care available. This setting has the same components that of a residential treatment, but also requires a doctor to see the individual on a daily basis. This level of care is appropriate for individuals who have severe biomedical complications due to their substance use, such as a person requiring a medically monitored detox. This level of care tends to be brief in nature due to the intensity of the services provided, but is often followed up by traditional residential treatment.

Jessica Parks is a certified alcohol and drug counselor in the state of Illinois and has her M.A. in art therapy counseling.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   

www.soberrecovery.com

Online Multi-Faceted Resource Center and Community Forum for Substance Abuse and Addiction Services Further Assists 50,000 Recovering Addicts; Now Offers Recovery Coaching Services

May 18th, 2009 – SoberRecovery.com, the preeminent online resource for drug rehab, treatment options and community forums for recovering substance abusers and their families, today announced a new online resource center to promote and enable the use of recovery coaches in the post treatment lives of former substance abusers and addicts.

The new section of the site, available at http://www.soberrecovery.com/links/recovery-coaches.html, is designed to connect visitors looking to utilize a recovery coach to assist them in staying sober after treatment.

“Recovery coaches work with people after recovery to help them deal with the wreckage normally created during active addiction and how to walk through those challenges still clean and sober,” stated Tom Mulligan, CFO of the Mulligan Group, a provider of marketing, financial and compliance services to the addiction treatment industry that oversees SoberRecovery.com. 

“SoberRecovery® is an industry leading service for the addiction and treatment community and is the largest source of referrals to treatment centers with over 130,000 clients served every month,” noted Mulligan, adding that the biggest push for adding the Recovery Coaches section to SoberRecovery.com was that “coaching is not treatment but the next step after treatment.  Once an alcoholic or addict stops using, there is strong pull to drink or use again when one encounters bad credit, old bills, relationship problems, relationship dysfunction, motivation, hopelessness, employment or unemployment.  Coaches help with long term life and sobriety planning.” 

A key piece of the Recovery Coaches section at SoberRecovery.com is the Academy for Coaching Excellence’s role.  Dr. Maria Nemeth, founder and creative director of the Academy, explained that the role of recovery coaches is a relatively new concept for recovering addicts and former substance abusers looking to create a sober atmosphere following treatment. 

“A recovery coach helps people who have completed a recovery program stay on the path by attending meetings, much like a sponsor would do.  The goals they work on are very small and immediate, such as how to find a job and stabilize. 

“For others, recovery coaches work with people who have completed a recovery program and who have their own sponsors.  In this case, the recovery coach helps them begin to formulate small personal and professional goals that will not overwhelm them during the first year of recovery.

“Still others who call themselves recovery coaches work only with people who have had a year or more of continuous sobriety and a sponsor. They help these folks craft more long-term life goals because they have become stabilized.”
 
An internationally recognized author and speaker as well as a Certified Master Coach and licensed clinical psychologist, Nemeth has over 25 years’ experience in training individuals to utilize the coaching methods she’s developed. 

To learn more about Recovery Coaches or to find a trained professional in this field, please visit http://www.soberrecovery.com/links/recovery-coaches.html.

ABOUT SOBERRECOVERY.COM: The preeminent online resource for drug rehab, treatment options, and community forums, SoberRecovery.com is now in its 9th year of helping addicts, alcoholics, dual diagnosed, and their friends, family, and loved ones find hope and help.  Founded in 2000 as a resource for people looking for addiction treatment and recovery, over 53,000 people have become regular users of the site.  People look for detox, treatment, and extended recovery.  To learn more or to find treatment centers and local resources in your area, please visit www.soberrecovery.com. 
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A recovery center is a place where people who are suffering from drug or alcohol abuse can go to find their sobriety and potentially save their life. If you or someone you love has an addiction problem with any substance, a recovery center may be a good idea to beat the addiction. You can find a recovery center in an area near you by checking the yellow pages in the phone book, searching the internet or asking your family physician.

If you need a recovery center to help you with any sort of drug addiction issue, make sure you do your research, as not all centers are created equal. One may specialize in heroin addiction while another may specialize in methadone detox. It’s not that a heroin center can’t handle your methadone problem, but if you can find one that specializes in your addiction, you’ll be better off in the long run. The staff most likely has dealt with your type of addiction before and therefore can treat you with more success.

Get Recover Center Details

If you’re going to be attending a recover center, it’s good to ask all the questions you want to ahead of time. This way, there won’t be any surprises. Ask about their payment options and see if your insurance covers treatment. If your health insurance doesn’t cover treatment from anywhere, that doesn’t mean to give up on recovery. Just talk to them about a comfortable payment plan. They are more than willing to help. Sobriety doesn’t have to be a stressful situation. With the help of a reputable recovery center, sobriety is in sight.