What Is Aftercare?
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the term aftercare can carry different meanings in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and recovery. SAMHSA notes that aftercare can refer to traditional a outpatient program (OP) level of care following a residential or intensive outpatient program (IOP).
The term aftercare can also be used to discuss a client’s participation and work in different support group programs such as 12-Step program after formal treatment is completed. However, at Grace Recovery TX, we perceive aftercare as a continuum of care in which clients receive ongoing clinical support throughout their SUD and recovery journey.
Building a recovery plan is not a “one-size-fits-all” process. As a woman moves through their individual recovery journey, aftercare can shift and change to match their needs in different stages of care. Through every setback, challenge, and success, a continuum of care is designed to support those seeking recovery as they progress toward an independent life with less clinical support.
Why Is a Continuum of Care Important?
A continuum of care is a fundamental pathway to finding and building lifelong success in recovery. According to a journal article in Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment, SUD care models have traditionally been focused on stabilization and discharge. Traditional SUD treatment models support short-term recovery, but these models do little to account for co-occurring mental health conditions or chronic relapse.
Clients struggling with SUD and co-occurring mental health conditions require support services that focus on building skills and goals for lifelong recovery. With an aftercare model that prioritizes a continuum of care, clients receive individual support and guidance to successfully move through the necessary stages of growth for long-term recovery.
Aftercare at Grace Recovery TX and Emerge Recovery TX
Our work at both Grace Recovery TX and Emerge Recovery TX is dedicated to the importance of aftercare as a support network for long-term recovery. We have seen firsthand how investing in the process of caring for the whole person in body, mind, and spirit can lead to more successful long-term outcomes for the women we work with every day.
Our continuum of care is designed to follow initial stabilization and fits into these basic steps:
- Work through an inpatient residential treatment program for 30 to 90 days
- Go through a partial hospitalization program (PHP) for 30 days
- Participate in an intensive outpatient program (IOP) for 60 days
- Receive outpatient program (OP) services for up to six months
Through our aftercare services, clients will see a gradual dissipation of clinical support as they integrate back into their families and a new independent lives. Even as women graduate from receiving support services at Grace Recovery and our sister company, Emerge Recovery, we continue to provide them with knowledge and tools to support them in living autonomously.
Full Continuum of Care for Moms:
- Normally stays with us for three months
- Will split her time between Grace housing and her home
- Processes her homelife experiences with us
- Slowly, over time, transitions to spending more days at home
- Up to three months of post-graduation coaching after she transitions out of Grace Recovery
To learn more about our approach to aftercare, visit our Aftercare page.
Guidance in Recovery
Recovery is a gradual process, and as SAMHSA notes, there are four major dimensions to supporting life in long-term recovery.
4 Dimensions of Recovery:
- Health
- Home
- Purpose
- Community
The four dimensions for lifelong recovery support our belief in caring for the whole person. As our women engage with their support team, they build the emotional intelligence necessary to care for themselves in body, mind, and spirit.
Emotional intelligence allows women to find more meaning and joy in themselves and the community of love and support they create with other Grace women, family, and friends.
Every aspect of our work at Grace Recovery TX and Emerge Recovery TX is designed to guide each woman toward long-term recovery.
At Grace Recovery TX, clients will work with:
- Case manager
- Recovery coach
- Academic and career advisors
- Clinician
- House managers
- Fellow house members
The goals you set and the skills you build at Grace Recovery TX will create and support emotional intelligence. Every day in small and big ways, you are taking steps toward building a life you are thrilled about. The team at Grace Recovery TX is here to walk next to you and guide you, but you will make the choices to create a life of purpose for yourself.
To learn more about our approach to recovery, visit our Recovery Coach page.
Community in Long-Term Recovery
An important aspect of long-term recovery is community. At Grace Recovery TX, women form long-term bonds with one another and create a fellowship of support and healing. Building long-term connections with each other allows clients to form new ways of thinking about themselves and other women. Learning to cultivate self-love and build self-esteem and resilience, they can start to build bridges instead of walls.
Benefits of Community Living for Women:
- Learn to be a friend to fellow women.
- Build emotional intelligence and integrity.
- Let go of old ideas that position other women as enemies and competition.
- Women build strong foundational relationships in recovery.
- Alumni continue to support each other long after their time at Grace and Emerge.
Our aftercare services are made for women, by women, to empower each other to lead principled and fulfilling lives. Long-term recovery means finding purpose in yourself and community with your peers. In lifelong recovery, you create a life based not on the assumptions and expectations of others, but on your own values, goals and beliefs.
Our approach to aftercare can support you through every stage of treatment as you work toward lifelong recovery. At Grace Recovery TX in Austin, Texas, our women support one another as they build lives they are excited about in long-term recovery. Call us at (737) 237-9663 to learn more.