Residential treatment is over and it is time to transition. Maybe, residential was never the option and the search is on for sober living during intensive outpatient or partial hospitalization programming. Sober Living is a means of maintaining sobriety and accountability in a home-like setting. However, with the need for sober livings far exceeding government regulation, a lot of stigma has come to share the spotlight with the necessity for sober livings, making choosing one, and living in one, a challenging process. At the core, a sober living is meant to provide a safe environment of sobriety to help someone stay sober and encourage their process of recovery. This is done through regular testing, required meeting attendance, regular house meetings, and responsibilities around the house.
The amount of time to be spent in sober living is conditional. Depending on the individual’s program, sober living could be from one month to one year. Some facilities have specific step down processes and varying stages of sober livings. Other sober livings are completely independent but have working relationships with nearby treatment centers. Sober livings can offer all kinds of amenities from basic to high end luxury. Gym memberships, yoga classes, professional chefs, cooking, house cleaners, in house counselors, excursions and more are things that can be offered at a Sober Living. Don’t be too quick to judge a book by it’s cover just because it’s pressed in gold. Here are a few important things to do or not do before and during sober living.
Do look for a place that has positive reviews and is suggested by different members of a treatment center’s staff.
Don’t just pick a place according to a pamphlet or a website.
Do look for a place that conducts varying levels of drug testing from breathlyzer to urine analysis.
Don’t choose a place that does multiple urine tests a day. It’s usually a scam that only they benefit from.
Do consider places that have shared bedrooms, or shared bedrooms only, as well as private bedrooms.
Don’t choose a place that lines each room with bunk beds.
Do research local sober living coalition guidelines and check to see if the spot being considered meets those requirements.
Don’t assume that every accreditation is valid. Look up a license number and call the board.
Do contribute to the house, maintain sobriety, accountability and responsibility
Don’t consider sober living a paid vacation after treatment and a place to slack off.
Do fill time with meetings, a part time job, school, volunteering or some other commitments
Don’t hang with the slackers
Do stay as long as necessary until there is a total readiness for independence
Don’t be quick to run out just because it would be more fun without rules
The recovery process can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. The Villa Treatment Center strives to make transitioning from one phase of treatment to the next seamless. For more information in our plans of treatment, call 1-818-639-7160 today. Our representatives are standing by by phone and online.