The best way to ensure that one maintains sobriety after treatment is by continued involvement with a long-term recovery programs. There are many abstinence-based recovery programs, and it may be difficult to determine which one will be most effective. Exploring the variety of options available can be an enjoyable experience in early sobriety, and help one decide which program will be most conducive to their sobriety. The most highly suggested option is 12-Step recovery. Clinicians recommend 12-Step recovery because it has been proven to be the most effective recovery program, and meetings are available in nearly every area. Alexandre B. Laudet, in a Journal of Substance Abuse and Misuse article entitled Attitudes and Beliefs About 12-Step Groups Among Addiction Treatment Clients and Clinicians: Toward Identifying Obstacles to Participation, explains, “Participation in 12-step groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous, both during and after formal treatment, is associated with better outcomes among substance users. Twelve-step groups (12SG) are a form of mutual-help or mutual aid based on the premise that individuals who share a common behavior which they identify as undesirable can collectively support each other and eliminate that behavior.” A report by Lee Ann Katsukas for the Journal of Addictive Diseases entitled Alcoholics Anonymous Effectiveness: Faith Meets Science, found that rates of abstinence at one year were about twice as high among those who attended Alcoholics Anonymous or another 12-step recovery group. For those unable or unwilling to engage in the 12-step recovery program, there are other options, but little research has been done regarding the effectiveness of these programs. Refuge Recovery, for example, is a recovery program that describes itself as “a mindfulness-based addiction recovery community that practices and utilizes Buddhist philosophy as the foundation of the recovery process. Drawing inspiration from the core teachings of the Four Noble Truths, emphasis is placed on both knowledge and empathy as a means for overcoming addiction and its causes.” SMART recovery is a recovery program that focuses on secular and scientific approaches to recovery, utilizing non-confrontational motivation, behavioral, and cognitive methods to help an individual maintain sobriety. While 12-step recovery is the standard because it has been proven to be the most effective, there are a variety of other abstinence-based options.
Your story can become one of happiness and health in sobriety. You can make the decision to seek help now and embark upon the rewarding journey of recovery. Oceanfront Recovery, located in beautiful Laguna Beach, is staffed with caring and compassionate professionals dedicated to helping clients develop all the tools necessary to achieve and maintain lasting sobriety. For information about individualized treatment options, please call today: (877) 279-1777
