Most individuals who enter treatment for substance use and mental health disorders are taken through an intensive program. They are introduced to various interventions, including detox and therapies. Recovery experts coach them on how to handle stressful situations and triggers. But the challenges do not stop when recovering individuals complete these treatments. They will face more challenging experiences after completing treatment. Continuing care (or aftercare) is for when the rubber hits the road. That is when relapses may happen.
Why Do People Who Complete Treatment Later Relapse?
The purpose of recovery is not only to maintain sobriety. Early sobriety is actually not that hard to achieve as long as you are in a detox and rehab facility; the real challenge is when you leave the facility. Once you transition to a home environment, sobriety depends on your ability to identify and avoid triggers.
The most common reasons for relapse include poor coping skills, lack of motivation, slacking in keeping a regimen, and lack of an ongoing accountability and support system. These are the exact areas continuing care programs seek to address. Continuing care, whether in-person or virtual, is a sustainable recovery model that provides ongoing support throughout the recovery journey.
Physical relapses are always preceded by emotional and mental relapses. You need all the professional support you can get to stop a relapse from sliding from its earlier stages to a full-blown crisis. A most ideal continuing care program should include motivation, training coping skills, tracking and monitoring, and ongoing professional support.
How Does Virtual Continuing Care Work?
With a virtual continuing care program, much attention will be given to tracking daily coping processes, symptom management, and social support. All these can be achieved through an easily accessible mobile platform. Users of virtual continuing care are encouraged to aim for long-term success because it can take months or even years for people to develop control over their cravings or behaviors.
Because substance addiction is a chronic disease, it should be managed as a chronic condition. You need a long-term plan for continuing care. Intensive or residential treatment can get you back on your sober feet, but it takes longer than weeks to sustain sobriety. That is why continuing care is designed into outpatient or virtual follow-up programs. It is the maintenance that truly matters.
Can Continuing Care Lead to Lifestyle Change?
Adopting a healthy lifestyle is the ultimate solution to substance addiction. This takes daily building up of healthy habits. Continuing care is all about forming habits by taking small baby steps. You do not necessarily need to meet up with a therapist every day to form good habits. Virtual continuing care provides the basic structure for connectivity and accountability.
Many recovering individuals find it time-consuming to attend in-person meetings. Using an app to complete daily check-ins can be more accessible. People can still stay connected with recovery experts who monitor their key progress indicators through this app. This is why virtual continuing care has higher success outcomes. For young people who are used to mobile apps, it can also provide better engagement.
How Effective Is Mindfuli?
As a virtual continuing care platform, Mindfuli helps users experience positive effects over a long duration of continuing care. Its highly accessible and user-friendly app removes major barriers to engagement. The stigma of seeking continued treatment is also removed. Users of this program are not likely to experience burnout in attending in-person meetings with therapists.
The Mindfuli experience begins with our proprietary Care PredictorTM algorithm. It screens all care providers to ensure that they have the necessary qualifications. Mindfuli helps users form a strong therapeutic alliance with recovery experts. Once paired with their care provider, users will be provided with a unique and customized continuing care program.
Mindfuli excels in integrating a wide range of evidence-based practices. These include peer support and cognitive-behavioral relapse prevention. Our goal is to support a new, healthy, and sober lifestyle. Users in continuing care can receive immediate tracking of their own data. There will also be virtual support groups and weekly personalized counseling.
Transitioning from Other Continuing Care Programs to Mindfuli
If you are considering transitioning from another continuing care program to Mindfuli, we can work closely to ensure this process to be less risky. Transitions between care levels are considered periods of high risk for relapse. This includes the time when a recovering individual is first discharged from an intensive treatment program. Mindfuli is designed to monitor and manage these transitional risks.
When starting with Mindfuli, our services include measurement-based care with personalized treatment plans. We utilize evidence-based curricula tailored to an individual’s needs and expectations. Mindfuli is proud of having the highest customization capabilities. Aided by a strong network of connectivity and accountability, Mindfuli can ensure a seamless and low-risk transition. You will receive the same if not a higher level of quality care.
Expert Care at Mindfuli
In sum, virtual continuing care programs are an innovative way to provide barrier-free continued treatment. By utilizing technological innovations, its monitoring and matching functions may lead to better outcomes than in-person aftercare. They are a new step toward removing societal stigma attached to addiction recovery.
Dr. Martin is the chief scientific officer for Alter Health Group and co-founder of Mindfuli, a mental health platform that utilizes the latest technology to enhance the collaborative relationship between clients and providers. Dr. Martin has a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Tennessee and was a professor and research director for the doctoral program in clinical psychology at Azusa Pacific University for over a decade.
Do you understand what continuing care is? Are you aware that continuing care is the most efficient program to prevent relapse for people who have completed detox treatment? There are many aspects to continuing care, and you need to look for a program that offers professional mental health maintenance and reliable support. The Mindfuli platform excels as a continuum of care. We use the latest technology to enhance the collaborative relationship between clients and providers. High connectivity and reliability provided by a therapeutic alliance is what you get from working with Mindfuli. Do not wait until relapses happen. Get control of your recovery regimen while you are still sober. Call us today at (866) 973-4415.
