The first step towards sobriety is creating a treatment plan for your recovery. Many rehab centers will provide you with a counselor who will build a treatment plan to best suit your individual needs. Treatment plans can help you stay on track during your recovery by providing structured plans to complete your specific recovery goals. Treatment plans should also help you understand what is expected of you during your treatment programs such as expected commitment and attendance. Throughout your recovery, your treatment plan may change as you develop healthier habits both physically and mentally.
Individualized Treatment Plans
A counselor will create a treatment plan that is specific to your needs. Everyone comes from a different background with a different story, perspective, and relationship to his or her alcoholism. That’s why it’s important that you receive a treatment plan that focuses on your unique situation. This treatment plan should include an understanding of how your alcoholism has specifically affected your life and a program that is best suited for your needs and goals.
An example of an alcohol treatment plan might include pinpointing how alcohol is negatively affecting your life, what goal(s) you would like to meet through your addiction treatment, what initiatives you plan on taking in order to meet this desired result, and how the staff will be able to help you obtain your goal(s) during your addiction recovery. It may take time for you to understand the best tools and therapies to help you stay on the right path to your recovery. Addiction recovery takes time and is a journey you will constantly be on.
During this journey, your treatment plan may change several times as you discover what types of treatments are most effective for you. When it comes to creating a treatment plan, it is important to be open and honest with your counselor so the treatment plan accurately reflects your needs and addresses your strengths and weaknesses. Treatment plans will also differ based on a person’s addiction severity and possible co-occurring disorders.
Assessing a Patient
To receive a treatment plan that is tailored to your specific needs, a counselor will have to give you an assessment so he or she will be able to better understand your relationship with alcohol and your addiction. The counselor will ask you questions about your employment and how you currently support yourself. You will also be asked about your current alcohol use, your legal status, your relationships with family and friends, and your current mental situation.
Patient assessments are designed to help you and your counselor identify which resources and activities the rehab facility offers that will best benefit you during your recovery. During the assessment, both you and your counselor can identify the specific problems you encounter caused by your substance use disorder, to determine what goals you should focus on during your treatment. Assessments determine the severity of your alcohol addiction, ultimately influencing the types of activities and tools that will be most effective during your recovery.
Creating Obtainable Goals
One of the major benefits of creating a treatment plan is goal-setting. During your treatment plan, you will want to identify not only the goals of your addiction recovery but also possible benchmarks of your progress that you will have to meet to obtain your goal. You want these goals to be measurable, attainable, time-limited, specific, and realistic. Measurable means that the goals you make for yourself should be able to be physically tracked. For instance, you can physically track client reports and mental scale changes. Creating attainable goals means that your goals should be achievable at your current level of treatment and should be revised when your level of treatment changes.
When you are creating goals for your treatment plan, you want to think about improving your functioning instead of becoming “cured.” Time-limited goals mean that you should be focusing more on your short-term goals rather than your long-term goals. If you focus on long-term goals, it can become overwhelming and they can seem unachievable. This is why it is important to break up your goals into more digestible chunks. Realistic goals are goals that are supported by the environment of the facility and should require you to achieve progress towards your sobriety to be accomplished. Lastly, your goals should be specific, concentrating on specific behavioral or emotional changes that you wish to achieve. It’s easier to focus on your goal when you narrow in on something specific that you want to change.
If you are struggling with alcohol addiction, receiving a specialized treatment plan that is specific to your needs is crucial to recovery. Communicating with your counselor will help them more effectively work with you to develop a treatment plan that addresses both your strengths and weaknesses. When you are being assessed for a treatment plan, be as open and honest as possible.
The more specific you are about how your addiction has affected you, the better suited your treatment plan will likely be for your specific needs. One of the most important aspects included in your treatment will be the goals that you set for yourself during your addiction recovery. At Shoreline Recovery Center, professionals can help you establish short-term goals designed to help you reach your bigger goal of living a sober and healthy life. Please call (866) 278-8495 today to learn more about the programs we offer and how we can help.
