Treatment centers and recovery programs are two different things.
Treatment centers
Treatment is considered the process of going to a facility such as an inpatient rehabilitation center or an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP). Treatment centers are designed to help the alcoholic deal with the immediate issues of coming off the influence of alcohol, both emotional and physical. Often the detoxification process is done at a separate facility such as a hospital or designated detox center which is better equipped to deal with the physical and/or medical side-effects of detoxification.
Alcoholism treatment centers offer education and training on how to incorporate a recovery program into the alcoholic’s life. A common saying around recovery is “treatment is a great place for discovery, Alcoholics Anonymous(AA) is a the place for recovery.” Personally, I have been through a treatment center three times. I can say that if there hadn’t been a place I knew I could go to (treatment center), I might not be around today. Sure AA was there, but I still felt like an outsider because I hadn’t embraced the recovery life outside of treatment yet.
There are some who feel treatment centers are only around to make money, that everything an alcoholic needs to recover can be found in AA. Personally, I do not agree with that while I do see the point they’re trying to make. More than likely, they have never been to treatment and found everything they needed in AA, or they’ve had a bad exerperience with a certain treatment facility. Everyone’s path to sobriety is different, mine happens to include inpatient treatment centers, so naturally I tend to see them as a valuable part of my early recovery.
In-patient treatment center programs range anywhere from a few days, months, to even years. The most common time being 28 Days. While there, the patient is introduced to the disease of alcoholism and educated on the process of recovery. In the treatment centers I have been in, the patients are encouraged to attend local AA meetings in hopes of helping them begin a routine once they’re discharged.
Recovery Program
A recovery program is the on-going process and actions taken by someone in recovery long after they have left a treatment facility or have stopped drinking. Most recovery programs involve some type of ongoing support group such as AA. From my experience as a recovering alcoholic, AA is the only recovery program that has worked for me. Abstinence is not recovery. Not in my opinion. There was a period in my life where I stopped drinking for over six years, but since I was not working any type of recovery program, the day came when I drank again. The disease of alcoholism is progressive, once you have the disease, it only gets worse if left untreated, never better.
A recovery program may consist of, but is not limited to; therapy, relapse prevention, spiritual and/or holistic growth, structural changes, and service work. It is often said that if you truly want to recover, you don’t need to change much, just everything. One of the amazing things of a recovery program is the opportunity the person in recovery gets to help others. A common trait of those who maintain long-term sobriety is their willingness to help other alcoholics. Only an alcoholic can truly understand what it means to be an alcoholic.
Most people are familiar with The Twelve Step Program of Alcoholics Anonymous. The program is designed to help the alcoholic develop a spiritual life, ego deflation, deal with their past, move on into their future, and is considered a design for living based on a set of spiritual principles.
A successful recovery program will continue to enhance the individuals life which will become much greater than it ever was while drinking. That has been my experience so far in my recovery. It continues to evolve as does my outlook on life. It continues to get better.
Personally, my recovery program consists of anything and everything it takes to stay sober.
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