Find out about aftercare from rehab clinics in England and Wales
If you are in a position where you have already completed enough time in rehab care to effectively quell your bad habits, then you are not necessarily ready to go back to your old life. There is a transitional period, especially for those who have received inpatient rehabilitation, between leaving rehab and rediscovering what your version of a normal life is. During this transitional period, many of our clients choose to aid their recovery a little by way of secondary rehab treatment.
This page aims to tell you everything you need to know about secondary rehab treatment so you can prepare yourself for this crucial stage. The science says that getting initial help for an addiction instead of quitting yourself boosts your chances of staying sober at the 3 year period[i]. With the right rehab and aftercare program, we help our clients to achieve that three year period, through finding the correct therapies for them.
What is Secondary Rehab Treatment
Also known as extended care, secondary rehab care is the third stage of your treatment. In the first stage, you decide to get help and combat your addiction. To do this, you go through a detox period. Once complete, you move on to that second stage – where you attend rehab and get the therapies that arm you against future relapses. This third stage that secondary treatment plans move you into, is the true recovery period.
This is a transitional phase in your life. You are free of either outpatient or inpatient alcohol rehab, and you are looking to go back to your life – or at least to start putting a new life together. This is a difficult period if you must go through it alone. You have just emerged from one of the toughest times you are likely to have, but you have been in a supportive, understanding and patient environment to do so, up until the point when you go home again.
What is Aftercare for Addiction Rehab Treatments?
Aftercare is just another name for extended treatments or secondary treatment for addiction.
How do you get into an aftercare/secondary treatment program for your addiction?
The two main ways in which you can seek treatment during this transitional time are as follows. The first, by specifically seeking out a recovery from addiction treatment program that caters specifically to your current situation. You may end up in a dayhab centre or joining a support group in such circumstances. The second way to get secondary help for your rehabilitation is to opt for a rehab clinic that provides excellent aftercare services from the outset of your treatment plan.
What elements are included in secondary treatment?
Secondary treatment will follow on from rehab treatment, in which you will have covered several life areas that might be problematic when you finish rehab. Problematic areas typically include housing, jobs and careers, and family life.
As a result, secondary treatment plans deal with the following elements:
- Housing – they may support you while you find somewhere to live, provide you with a recovery home[ii] or help you into homeless accommodation if necessary. Destructive living is an identified obstacle to continued sobriety[iii].
- Careers – you might be invited to attend educational workshops, jobs fairs, and seminars aimed at finding you work. Unemployment among individuals in recovery is another recognised barrier to sobriety[iv] but career counselling has shown effective[v].
- Family – you might be asked to attend family therapy sessions or otherwise be given support while you reconnect with family. Family therapy has proven promising in studies[vi] and in research spanning more than two decades[vii].
- Co-Occurring disorders – if you had a dual diagnosis for drug or alcohol addiction you may be offered ongoing mental health support.
- Social – if you return to your old life you return to your old social circles. This may mean getting in touch with friends that encouraged your addiction. Social factors are one of the elements which will cause a relapse from addiction recovery[viii].
To aid you with all the above, aftercare, extended rehab, and secondary treatment options involve a blended mix of telephone work, online therapy, courses taken outside of the clinic, and any other means available in your area.
How does Secondary Treatment for Rehab Work?
When you return to the triggers that made you turn to drug or alcohol misuse to begin with, you are in the path of direct danger. If you cannot resist those old triggers then you might well relapse, slipping back into those old ways. Avoiding this is the key to your successful recovery.
Secondary rehab treatment works by providing support to you, tailored to help you through this tricky time. The secondary care you will need ought to be devised from the outset of your treatment, in your comprehensive care plan or treatment plan. However, this can be added to before you leave rehab in reviews with your doctors. Since it is tailored to you and includes everything you need to recover, all you must do is follow it for a better chance at continued sobriety.
Who can get Addiction Treatment Aftercare?
Addiction treatment aftercare plans are offered to all who have gone through addiction recovery. To be eligible for an addiction treatment aftercare plan, you need to have completed the early stages of recovery. This means you need to have completed detox and preferably have attended a rehab clinic.
If you want to go to aftercare without having gone to a rehab clinic, this is possible to do. However, you are not giving yourself the best chance at addiction recovery. We would urge you to reconsider.
Addiction treatment is available to anyone suffering a drug addiction in the UK, be they Narcotic drugs or Prescription drugs. We would recommend it to those suffering from an alcohol addiction, or for those that are coming off binge eating, gambling, or sex. You can also take aftercare as a mental health patient.
What might be included in an aftercare package at a rehab clinic?
What is offered in secondary treatment by your clinic will depend on them. As a general guide, here are some of the things you should expect from aftercare:
- Group sessions are generally kept up although they will operate at less of a frequency. When you first emerge from alcohol rehab or drug rehab it is likely that your group sessions will be once a week, as opposed to upwards of 3 times a week while you are in a rehab clinic.
- Online Therapy is becoming more and more popular now, particularly after the pandemic, since it allows you to stay at home while still getting the help that you need. You can read more about online therapy through our website.
- CBT, MI, or DBT therapies, sessions with a therapist or psychiatrist do not have to end if you have found them useful. The average mental health patient will see a CBT therapist for around eight weeks’ worth of sessions. If you are in rehab for 28 days, this is still shy of those 8 weeks. Behavioural therapies have proven a useful tool in fighting addiction[ix].
- Some programs will offer you telephone support. This allows you to call them on a support line, usually 24/7, and someone will help you deal with situations in your life as they arise.
- Life Skills Development[x] is often available through workshops, each of which are targeted towards different areas of your life.
- Leisure facilities which help keep your mind off using are quite common. These are the same as what you find in outpatient or inpatient care, which are designed to occupy you while you are in rehab by keeping your mind busy. Art courses, gym access, or animal therapy are all known in the UK.
- Family sessions are an important part of getting back to your life. When you are going through substance abuse you forget about those closest to you, ultimately hurting them as they watch you suffer. Family therapy has shown effective in mending damage in countless trials[xi].
Your treatment plan can include any number of things – if they are tailored towards your recovery. Some examples of this might be treatment for an existing medical condition that you have always put off because of your addiction to drugs. You might need guidance to mend your relationships, find work, or help you with day-to-day life.
What types of rehab clinic give secondary treatment for addictions?
In general, the types of rehab clinic that give aftercare are inpatient services. Although some outpatient rehab clinics (such as dayhab clinics) will offer similar services to ease you back into your old life.
NHS Assisted Inpatient rehab
An NHS Assisted Rehab usually takes place in a private clinic. They should give you access to similar aftercare services as what is included in the private clinic, since it will be included in the cost of your NHS placement.
Quasi Residential Rehab
Quasi-Residential rehab clinics allow you to live offsite and travel to the clinic, without you remaining at home, near your triggers. There will be a few weeks or months of aftercare included in your package but do ask for clarity on what it contains.
Private Residential Rehab
Those staying in a private facility paid for by private health insurance get the best deal. Rehab costs between £3,000 and £7,000 per week but your stay is comfortable, and you have a full range of aftercare options.
Luxury Rehab
Luxury rehab comes with a high price tag but an extremely comfortable stay. It should offer the most in terms of groups, sessions, and workshops when you leave rehab.
Can I get secondary treatment for addiction from an outpatient facility?
Absolutely. In fact, inpatient care during the secondary stage of treatment is not as popular as outpatient rehabilitation services are. This is simply because of the nature of the transitional period. This phase aims to get you back to the real world. You may wish to engage in secondary treatment programs wherein you stay a few nights at home and a few nights at a nearby rehab facility.
Can I get secondary treatment for addiction from an inpatient facility?
Inpatient secondary treatment programs are slightly rarer because of the costs involved. Regular rehab clinics in your area will cost around the £1400 mark, since England and Wales are covered by the NHS (which absorbs most of the overheads). If you decided to further your treatment beyond those 28 days and live in the centre as an inpatient, those costs will understandably go up.
Can I get aftercare if I was in rehab as a psychiatric patient?
You can use a secondary treatment program if you are just out of the inpatient psychiatric care program. It facilitates the 12 steps, can be used to refresh your CBT or DBT lessons, and makes for an excellent tool in your rehabilitation.
Free consultations on Secondary Treatment for Addiction
We offer free, no-obligation aftercare chats. Our experts can offer you helpful advice on what to look for in a rehab clinic and can help you choose one if you are ready to go. They can even just listen if that’s all you want them to do.
Where can I get Help to Find a Rehab Clinic?
To discuss this further and decide how you can work aftercare into your options for rehab clinics, contact us today. Here at Help4Addiction it is our number 1 priority to get those struggling against an addiction the help they need. Our number is 0203 955 7700 but you can also fill in our online consultation form and one of our valued team members will get back to you.
[i] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1976118/
[ii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2888149/
[iii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3057870/
[iv] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3416052/
[vii] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/10826088509047758
[viii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1976118/
[x] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4050678/
[xi] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5781095/
Frequently Asked Questions
What is secondary rehab?
Why would I need secondary rehab?
Do I have to go to secondary rehab as well?
What are the benefits of secondary rehab treatment?
What is relapse prevention?
Can you get secondary rehab help for drinking too much?
Is there a secondary rehab clinic in England that helps cocaine addicts?
Can I get therapy after rehab is finished?
How do I handle normal life after rehab?
Where can I get extra help with addiction?
