The Importance of Remaining in Touch with an Alumni Group After Treatment

Getting into recovery can be a difficult process. Often, you may have to leave home and receive treatment, where your focus shifts to sobriety and better well-being. During this time, it is important to surround yourself with a community you can lean on when you struggle. Sometimes when we go back to our day-to-day life, we find that the people or places we used to hang out are not beneficial for our recovery. When your life shifts to focus on bettering yourself, sometimes the people you surround yourself with must also change. West Coast Recovery Centers offers an active alumni community to help our clients stay healthy and stay in recovery. 

The period after treatment can be difficult as you adjust to making these changes in your own life without the guidance of a treatment program. That is why it is important to maintain a connection with an alumni group. Alumni groups are an effective way to stay connected to therapy even after you are done with treatment. These groups help to keep you connected to your recovery and treatment. Alumni groups let you develop a community that is focused on the same things as you and will support you as you maintain your newfound recovery in your life. 

The Importance of Group Work in Recovery

Most treatment facilities and programs utilize group work and group therapy within addiction recovery. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) states that group therapy “provides potential benefits in promoting social support, reducing isolation and stigma, developing effective communication and interpersonal skills, and practicing recovery-oriented coping strategies with group members.” People who struggle with substance use disorder (SUD) often feel that they have been isolated from their support systems or friends by their usage. Group therapy helps to build up that trust and connection to other people.

This group work also lets our clients see that they are not alone in their struggles. Group therapy allows the opportunity for people to feel connected to another patient and see that everyone starts somewhere in recovery. This connection helps to build a community within treatment, which helps provide a base for people to lean on when things get tough. Alumni groups are a continuation of this community once a client graduates from a treatment program. 

What Is an Alumni Group?

An alumni group is a gathering of graduate clients from a treatment program that continues to meet to provide comfort to one another. These groups can be integral to newly sober people. The period after treatment can be difficult to adjust to. You go from receiving guidance and support every step of the way to integrating this treatment back into your day-to-day life. Alumni groups help to bridge the gap between treatment and your new life. 

The goal of an alumni group is to provide community and support to newly sober people and help avoid relapse. Many alumni groups are run by the treatment facility from which you may have graduated. Finding an alumni group allows you to maintain the connection that you made in group therapy and work to maintain your recovery as a group. Focusing on an alumni group will help keep the focus on your life, your health, and your future. 

How an Alumni Group Helps to Maintain Recovery

Alumni groups are an effective tool for continuing your treatment once you go back home. They help to keep you surrounded with people whose focus is on recovery. This support allows you to connect with people with the same goals as you and avoid unhealthy influences. Treatment center-run alumni groups also can keep you in touch with your treatment providers. Maintaining that relationship after you leave will help give you someone to lean on once you are home. This focus on healthy living will allow you to know that you can stand up against the risk of relapse. 

Alumni groups are a form of support group that is often sanctioned by the treatment facility that you stayed in. West Coast Recovery Centers hosts an active alumni community for treatment aftercare for our clients. This aftercare helps maintain our influence and the community you build in treatment. We also believe in the power of giving back to our community to help keep people healthy and focused on recovery. Experience has also shown that organizing volunteering in our community helps our clients in our alumni group find a deeper sense of purpose. 

We also encourage our alumni to raise money and spend their time to help focus their lives on the betterment of themselves and others. On top of community work, we also organize get-togethers that focus on building relationships and positivity. These events are meant to help remind our clients that they are not alone.

Alumni groups can be integral to your long-term success in recovery. These groups help you maintain a connection to your treatment facility. They also help you build relationships with people who are in the same phase of life as you. Having peers that are focused on recovery helps to keep yourself focused on recovery in your own life. Our alumni groups also allow us to give back to the community. Volunteering allows our clients to find a sense of purpose after they leave us. Volunteering and meeting with an alumni group will help prevent relapse, and keep you in recovery. If you are interested in learning more about our alumni programs, contact West Coast Recovery Centers at (760) 492-6509 today.