When facing an issue as serious as substance abuse disorders, it’s critical to have a game plan in place that blankets every aspect of recovery. There is no one solution to addiction; everyone’s needs are different. Lasting success when seeking addiction treatment requires a holistic approach that considers the emotional, physical, mental, spiritual, and social aspects of substance addiction. In addition, you need a succinct strategy to ensure you reach and maintain sobriety. Read on to learn more about the different aspects of a thorough substance abuse treatment plan, and see what treatment plans are available in Indiana.
What Goes into an Addiction Treatment Plan
It’s essential to have a plan when taking on any momentous task, such as recovering from a substance abuse disorder. When seeking treatment for a substance abuse disorder, you likely want to know what to expect and how long it should take to return to your regular life. When entering into rehab, the first thing you’ll do is create a substance abuse treatment plan that carefully outlines the details of your recovery process.
Intake and Information Gathering
The first step of a treatment plan starts at intake, where healthcare providers take down all the pertinent medical history and background information that helped lead to addiction. It’s imperative to outline all the information pertinent to your daily life and how it’s impacted by addiction.
- Your address and residence history
- Your medical background, as well as any prescriptions and supplements you take
- Your educational and professional background
- A profile of your social behaviors
With this data, clinicians can make a diagnostic summary of your recovery needs. Medications and behavioral interventions are recommended at this point, which helps your recovery coordinators design an effective therapy plan.
Identify Specific Problems With Your Substance Use Disorder
After the background basics are gone over, you’ll make a list of problems related to your drug and alcohol use. For example, it can be listed that you are unable to stop using a certain substance. It can be noted what evidence you have to prove your addiction, like a DUI or a tendency to use substances whenever you go out. With this list of specific issues and clarification of the destructive behaviors leading to them, you can easily define what you want to change. You’ll identify any use of illicit or legal substances, including:
- Alcohol
- Benzodiazepine
- Crack and cocaine
- Meth
- Opioids
- Suboxone and methadone
For example, in your treatment plan, you can list any legal issues and court-required programs, social activities you regularly enjoy, or serious health issues that impact your sobriety. Once you and your intake specialist have painted a clear picture of what your specific substance abuse issues are, you can begin taking your next steps towards recovery.
Creating Goals and Objectives
Once you’ve defined what changes you need to make in your life, you can undergo the next task, goal setting and defining your objective. Goals are larger accomplishments, like completing rehab or finding stable housing or employment. Objectives are the daily and weekly tasks you take on to achieve your goals. For an effective treatment plan, goals and objectives need to have:
- Specific tasks and activities on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis
- Quantifiable metrics that can be easily observed, such as days without using
- Realistic objectives, people need to be able to meet their goals without too much pressure or fear of failure
- A time limit!
- A clear relation to the goal of reaching sobriety, vague goals aren’t very helpful
It’s vital to create short and long-term objectives that will lead to fulfilling your primary goal. In setting goals to achieve sobriety, make sure at least one daily task relates directly to your recovery, such as practicing your mindfulness exercises or attending a support group. Long-term objectives can include things like completing a program or maintaining sobriety for a set amount of time. Some examples of effective objectives are:
- Maintaining a healthy diet and exercise regime
- Following your recommended medication plan
- Attending your scheduled therapy and support group sessions
- Learning emotional regulation and anger management skills
Setting Up Your Action Plan
This is where you can explore the different support groups, peer support programs, and other community interventions that will help you succeed. Your personalized treatment plan will include:
- Your level of care and what type of rehab you need, whether it be detox or outpatient treatment
- Medication management recommendations
- Daily and weekly support services
- Practice the 12 Steps of an Alcoholics Anonymous program of Narcotics Anonymous
Your Success Must Be Measured and Celebrated!
After you’ve spent a legitimate amount of time doing the things you need to reach recovery, you’ll be able to look back and see the accumulation of your hard work. Set up recovery metrics that can help you see how far you’ve come and prepare for your next goals. Your healthcare providers will be able to measure your progress by observing and noting:
- Positive changes in your substance use disorder
- How you respond to your treatment plan
- Any needed adjustments in your substance use recovery plan
Find healthy ways to celebrate your success when you reach your recovery goals. For example, take a staycation in Indiana, or treat yourself to a day at the spa or a fancy dinner. Remember that addiction recovery is a lifelong struggle, so once you’ve completed rehab, you’ll need to set up long-term care to maintain your sobriety. Continuing your therapy and medication is essential to preventing relapse.
When Mental Health Conditions Are Comorbid with Substance Abuse
Drug and alcohol abuse is commonly experienced alongside mental health issues such as bipolar disease, PTSD, and anxiety disorders. People with a dual diagnosis of both mental health disorders and drug addiction have unique challenges when seeking treatment. It might be difficult to find a rehab center that understands mental health conditions. Insurance providers might not want to pay for both mental health services and addiction treatment services. We can help you navigate your insurance coverage and find the best program to meet all of your mental health and recovery needs.
One of the greatest difficulties of having a mental health disorder is finding a way to regulate your emotions, and many people turn to substances to hide the painful symptoms of their disorder. Research shows that treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can reduce withdrawal symptoms and improve depression and anxiety.
We also use EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), effective psychotherapy that treats substance use disorder and mental illness. This treatment is designed to help heal from traumatic events, proving invaluable to the many people living with addiction who have experienced trauma or are diagnosed with PTSD— studies show at least one in three people with mental health disorders also experiences a co-current substance abuse disorder.
If you or a loved one has mental health issues and is facing a problem with substance abuse, we can help. Our licensed healthcare providers can help you deal with the complex relationships and compounding stress of living with both mental health and substance abuse issues. At the Indiana Center for Recovery (ICFR), the dual diagnosis program helps people suffering with:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Schizophrenia
- Bipolar disorder
- Eating disorders
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Using an integrated care model, ICFR treatment programs address the bigger picture about everyone’s personal addiction story. Our dual diagnosis program uses medication management, behavioral therapy, and EDMR to facilitate psychological healing. Using a holistic view helps your mind and body work together towards recovery.
Levels of Care
Depending on your stage of addiction, there is a range of treatment options available. Inpatient rehab options can help you get through the hardest part of your battle, detox. The first step of the treatment process includes medical and psychological assessments, medical stabilization, and any therapies needed to get you through the detox process.
After your body has acclimated to sobriety, you can enter our residential treatment program. Here you can live in a relaxed environment, settling into a healthy routine that includes intensive daily individual and group therapy. If you’re suffering from any lasting side effects of detox, our trained medical staff will help coordinate any necessary medical interventions to keep you comfortable. Our residential treatment center is filled with compassionate doctors and nurses to supervise your recovery and all the amenities of a luxury resort. You can expect your stay to last up to a month, though it can take longer, before moving on to the next stage of recovery.
Our outpatient drug and alcoholism treatment programs use a combination of on-site individual and group therapy, as well as community support to ensure the successful treatment of your addictions. Addiction is a lifelong struggle, but with peer support from your friends in recovery, you can stay strong. The best plan for relapse prevention is to have a strong network to reach out to when you’re in need.
Substance Abuse Treatment in Indiana
Don’t let your substance use disorder hold you back another day. Get started on your road to recovery now. Reach out to speak to an addiction specialist today and get started on your plan for sobriety. With locations in Bloomington, Indiana, and Mishawaka/South Bend, as well as a new center opening up in Indianapolis soon, you can find a convenient solution to your substance abuse disorder at the Indiana Center for Recovery.