Surfdawg

Hi all -

I'm looking to start some sort of intensive therapy for my alcoholism. My wife and I met with a counselor last Thursday, and she recommended an a 30 day inpatient therapy course, but there is no way I can do that with my job.

Outpatient therapy is an option, but I wasn't sure if that would be more effective than just going to AA. I tried searching the forum for info, but couldn't find anything specific as comparisons between the two routes. My guess is a combination of both is needed.

Does anyone have any experience with the outpatient treatment and its effectiveness vs. AA meetings?

I'm looking to start treatment in the LA area. I have found local AA meetings, and have researched a few outpatient treatments.

Any and all information is appreciated.

Thanks -
SD

luvmygirls

The last time I tried to quit, I went to my Employee Assistance Program through work and they referred me to an outpatient program at my request. I had an "intake" session with one of the counselors and then joined meetings twice a week. I was the only person who was there voluntarily. The rest were court-ordered for reasons such as DUIs and forging prescriptions to get pills, but within that group there was a lot of diversity (age, income level, race, ethnicity, etc.) There were about 10 people in the group, which was facilitated by a counselor while we sat in a circle and shared. I'm not really the sharing type, but I really liked it. At the end of the session (maybe 10 weeks) they started encouraging us to go to AA and have a sobriety plan for life beyond the program. I went, but I didn't like AA as much because the meetings I went to were much bigger groups than the outpatient sessions. Everyone seemed to know the drill except for me (I know that wasn't true and I would have caught on eventually, but that's how it felt at the time.) Feel free to PM me with any questions. I really liked the outpatient format and would do it again if I had the opportunity...with a new mindset of accepting my powerlessness over alcohol. Back then, I thought I was in control.

Anna

We tend to not do specific comparisons on the forum because our mandate is Support & Experience only and no debating recovery methods.

That said, you will find lots of information and opinions on various recovery methods in this forum. Our members use a variety of recovery methods.

If your therapist recommended inpatient treatment, maybe it's worth considering. It might pay off in the long run.

Personally, I have used books and SR as my lifelines.

This link might help:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...at-we-did.html

Zencat

I've done both. My experience with out patient treatment for alcoholism was a very positive one. Learning and practicing new ways to act and think by way of CBT and DBT proved to be a valuable skill to learn. I still use cognitive/behavioral skills with meditation to maintain my sobriety and improve over all wellness. I needed to learn a whole new way of living. One that has become satisfying along with challenging so I can have a balanced life.

With AA, there are meetings I found where I was included even tho I am a freethinker. AA offers a lot, the social interaction with other alcoholics helped me a great deal. One alcoholic helping another is unparalleled.

Be an active participant in your recovery and you will do well.

Db1105

I did both for the first 6 months, in addition to Narcotics Anonymous. Then just AA and NA, then just AA.

Mountainmanbob

After many years of Recovery in the rooms of AA and the attendance of several outpatient Programs, it seems that the odds are best for one if they attend both. Actually most outpatient Programs also recommend participation in AA or NA or both.

From what I have seen many have gotten clean and sober by using this site only. Seems that in the beginning a combination of all three would be to ones advantage.

MM

Ruby2

Ditto on combining outpatient with AA if that is what you are considering. I did inpatient and AA. Outpatient eventually comes to an end but alcoholism never goes away and neither does AA so for help in staying sober I attend AA.

Surfdawg

Thank you all for getting back to me - I understand the reasoning behind not comparing the two options. I also understand that probably both are necessary and that this is really the start of a lifelong journey for me.

I look forward to a continued dialogue with the community here.

awuh1

I think you can get something from both. I would try several different AA groups in any event, just to get a better idea of what AA is like. It will not be as easy sample outpatient groups, but if one group does not seem to be helpful, then perhaps try another group.

MIRecovery

Out patient got me sober AA keeps me sober

Surfdawg

I need to research through my work to find out what OP programs I can attend and what is covered by insurance. Until then, I will attend my first AA meeting tonight or tomorrow.

Also - a little bit about my alcoholism. I have struggled with binge drinking as opposed to the daily drinking sort of thing. Every few months there will be some sort of event where drinking is the central activity, and I will eventually go off the deep end and turn into a total jerk.

I had a typical drunken night moment last memorial day and after that I told my wife that I was giving up alcohol for good. I made it through the whole summer without a drink, and then we went on a family trip two weeks ago to Germany to see her relatives who are big drinkers (it's germany after all...) Up until that trip I had been feeling good about my sobriety, but I felt pressured to have a drink with the Euro family while we were there (or maybe I just didn't want to explain to them why I wasn't drinking...). My plan was to have one drink max per day (which i succeeded with), but then on the last day of the trip we went to the Oktoberfest, and I fell off the wagon big time. I drank too much and turned into my usual jerk self. This time was worse than the others because her family was around. I haven't had a drink since we've been back on 9/22.

So I thought I would be able to do it by myself, but I was not able to withstand the pressure that I felt/created in my head.

Anna

I think it's hugely important to remember that you do not owe anyone an explanation as to why you are drinking or not. It's a personal choice.

I'm glad you are here and posting. Whatever path you choose for recovery, there is always lots of support here.

Surfdawg

Yeah I agree with you that I don't have to explain to anyone why I choose not to drink. I should've prepared myself better and probably talked more to my wife about how I was feeling the pressure to drink and then set a plan in place to tackle any difficult situations while we were in the trip.

Surfdawg

Sorry for the radio silence, but I attended my first AA meeting on Tuesday. I was a bit nervous about going but in the end I think it was a largely positive experience. the diversity of the people at the meeting was very interesting to me - quite an age spread and quite the differences in background. I guess it goes to show that this disease can affect anyone.

I was pretty impressed with the support people provided each other, and I met a potential sponsor, which I definitely did not expect after one meeting.

I will definitely attend again next week and hopefully start working more with my sponsor.

I think this was a good step forward.